More than 300,000 books are published each year in the U.S. alone. I’m an avid reader and bibliophile (a new book arriving in the mail feels like my birthday—Every. Single. Time.), and I can’t fathom trying to keep up with even a small percentage of the new books being published. As readers, what makes us take notice of a book? And for authors, how do you ensure your book stands out, and is seen and read and talked about?

Think about how you hear about good books: a recommendation from a friend, required reading for a class, a book club, Oprah. What does it take for people to take notice of a book and recommend it to others?

Ask just about any author and they will probably say, “it takes work.” And it takes a strategic public relations and marketing campaign that anchors on content and follow-through. It requires getting your book in front of the right audience groups in as many places as possible: social media campaigns, interviews, book reviews, and more. To accomplish this and build a successful campaign, you must create relevant content and adapt it for a variety of platforms.

Since this week’s news release assignment focused on a book launch, I wanted to share two recent book launch campaigns I’ve been following. Both of these books are from women I follow and admire for how they are leading in their industries. And not only am I excited about their books, but I also love following their launch strategies.

Jaclyn Johnson, the founder of Create & Cultivate, recently launched her first book, WorkParty. The book captures her story and builds on the passion and vision of C&C; she has a built-in audience that is primed and ready to pick up and read this book. Even so, she’s not taking anything for granted and has created a strong strategy that incorporates the best of what she does with her business. From a book tour with special guest speakers to her podcast and social media, she’s getting the word out in a great way. Get a glimpse of her strategy: WorkParty Tour.

Beth Comstock, former vice chair and chief marketing officer at GE, just launched her book, Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change. She, too, is combining her personal story and more than 30 years of experience to share what she has learned. And similar to Johnson, she’s building a strategic campaign that gets her in front of the right audiences through a variety of platforms, from being interviewed on various podcasts to media interviews, social media, and more. See more of her Imagine It Forward campaign.

Bounce around on their sites and social media to see more of what they are doing. What do you think of these campaigns? Have any book launches caught your attention in the past? What did they do well? What was it about the campaigns that caught your attention?

Also, have any good books to recommend? 😉