How to Build a Launch Team (So You Don't Publish to Crickets)

You've spent months writing, editing, and polishing your book. You've got a professional cover and clean formatting. You hit publish. And then... nothing. A few sales trickle in from friends and family. Your Amazon page sits there with zero reviews, looking abandoned. Potential readers click away because nobody else has taken a chance on you yet.

This is the cold start problem, and it kills more self-published books than bad writing ever will. Amazon's algorithm favors books that already have momentum. Readers trust books that already have reviews. Promotional sites require a minimum review count before they'll feature you. Everything in publishing rewards the books that are already succeeding, which makes launching a new title feel impossible.

The solution is building a launch team before you publish. Not after. Before.

What a Launch Team Actually Does

A launch team (sometimes called an ARC team or street team) is a group of readers who receive advance copies of your book and agree to post honest reviews around your publication date. The goal is simple: when your book goes live, it already has social proof. Instead of an empty Amazon page, you have 15, 25, or 50 reviews telling potential buyers this book is worth their time.

The math matters here. Only about 20-40% of people who receive a free advance copy will actually post a review. If you want 25 reviews on launch day, you need to recruit at least 75 people. That number varies by genre. Commercial fiction benefits most from hitting 25+, while poetry or niche nonfiction might launch successfully with fewer. But for most authors, 25 is a reasonable target.

Some authors distinguish between ARC teams (focused purely on reviews) and street teams (superfans who promote across multiple releases). For your first book, don't overthink it. Build one team that does both.

Where to Find Your First Readers

If you're starting from zero, this is the hard part. You need readers before you have readers. A few approaches work consistently.

Your email list is the most valuable asset you can build. Start collecting addresses now using a "reader magnet," which is typically a free short story, deleted scene, or bonus content related to your book. Services like BookFunnel ($20/year) or StoryOrigin ($100/year) handle delivery and let readers choose their preferred ebook format. Put the signup link in your social media bios, on your website, and in the back matter of any existing work.

Genre-specific Facebook groups still work for recruitment, but only if you've been an active member first. Showing up just to promote gets you ignored or banned. Join 3-5 groups in your genre, participate genuinely for a few weeks, then post a recruitment call when your ARC is ready. Discord servers are increasingly popular for the same purpose, with better organization tools for managing team communications.

If you need reviewers fast, paid ARC services connect you with readers who've opted in specifically to review books in your genre. BookSirens ($100/year unlimited) and Booksprout (free tier available) both have large reviewer pools. NetGalley reaches librarians and professional reviewers but costs $450-850 per title unless you access it through a co-op like Victory Editing at around $50-75/month. None of these are required. Plenty of authors build successful launch teams using only free methods. But they can accelerate the process if your timeline is tight or your existing network is small.

Sending ARCs Without the Hassle

Once you've recruited your team, you need to actually get them the book. Email attachments create headaches. Readers end up with format incompatibility issues, files get lost in spam folders, and you have no way to track who's actually reading. Professional distribution platforms solve these problems and make your life easier.

BookFunnel's Mid-List tier ($100/year) handles format delivery automatically, letting readers choose EPUB, MOBI, or PDF based on their device. It also offers watermarking that embeds each reader's email in the document and download tracking so you can see engagement. StoryOrigin bundles similar features with newsletter management tools at the same price point. Both are worthwhile for the convenience alone.

For file formats, EPUB is now the standard. Amazon discontinued MOBI support in 2022, and Kindle devices accept EPUBs through Send-to-Kindle. Create one clean EPUB file and you're covered for nearly every reader.

The Timeline That Gets Results

Timing determines whether your launch team actually delivers. Start recruiting 3-4 months before publication. Send ARCs 4-6 weeks before your launch date, adjusting based on book length. A 50,000-word novel needs 3 weeks of reading time. A 120,000-word epic fantasy needs 5-6.

Communication frequency separates successful launches from disappointing ones. When you send the ARC, include a clear timeline. Two weeks before launch, check in on reading progress. One week out, remind them of the date. Launch day, send the purchase link with direct requests to post reviews. Two days after launch, follow up individually with anyone who hasn't posted yet. Two weeks after, share your results and thank everyone.

The soft launch strategy improves your launch day optics significantly. Publish your book 2-3 days before your public announcement. Have your ARC team post reviews during this quiet window. When you start marketing publicly, your book already looks established instead of brand new.

What You Can and Cannot Ask For

Amazon's review policies allow ARC reviews, but the boundaries are strict. You can give away free copies. You can ask readers to post honest reviews. You can remind them multiple times. You cannot require a review in exchange for the book, offer any compensation beyond the free copy itself (including gift cards or discounts), ask for positive reviews specifically, or suggest a minimum star rating.

The phrasing matters. "Please leave an honest review if you have time" is fine. "Please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed it" violates the terms. "I received this book in exchange for a review" implies a requirement. Better: "I received a complimentary copy and am reviewing voluntarily."

Goodreads adds one extra rule: disclosure is mandatory. Every review from an ARC reader must mention they received a free copy. Goodreads also strongly warns authors against engaging with negative reviews. Don't do it. Ever.

One tactical note: many authors recommend staggering your review requests over 2-3 weeks rather than asking everyone to post on the same day. The common wisdom is that a sudden flood of reviews from a small group can look unnatural to Amazon's systems. Whether or not that's technically accurate, a gradual rollout mimics organic reader behavior and feels less frantic for everyone involved.

Making This Repeatable

The launch team you build for book one becomes the foundation for book two. Keep your ARC readers engaged between releases with occasional updates, early cover reveals, or input on decisions like character names. The authors earning sustainable income from self-publishing aren't running one-time launch campaigns. They're building communities that grow with each release.

Twenty-five reviews on launch day is the minimum target. That's enough to qualify for most promotional sites and provide meaningful social proof to browsers. Hit that number, and you've solved the cold start problem. Miss it, and you're fighting uphill against an algorithm designed to ignore you.

The work happens before launch day. Not after.