CASE STUDY - Harry Potter!
Want to discover how JK Rowling and Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury commenced the epic marketing journey for Harry Potter?
Here we breakdown the early steps of promotion for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone!
The Harry Potter series is one of the best-selling book series in the world, with over 500 million copies sold worldwide. Many have researched the strategies that have established the series as a multi-billion dollar franchise, but few look back at the early days of J.K. Rowling's journey before the mega marketing budgets came into play.
J.K. Rowling spent approximately five years writing the manuscript for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” which she completed in 1995. She then spent 12 months circulating her synopsis and the first few chapters of her book to numerous publishers. J.K. has often spoken of this being an incredibly challenging period, as she faced rejection after rejection. However, her perseverance finally paid off when Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury Publishing accepted her manuscript in 1996.
A copy of the synopsis can be found at the bottom of this post.
The team at Bloomsbury set to work having the original manuscript professionally edited and prepared for publishing, which took over six months to complete. However, during this time, J.K. and Barry didn’t sit around waiting—they began marketing!
The team commenced by distributing proof copies of the manuscript (which didn’t have a cover) to carefully chosen critics and booksellers. Publishers often distribute early editions of a manuscript once it’s had preliminary edits completed but is still undergoing an editing process. Early distribution of the manuscript (Advanced Reader Copies or ARCs) was a key step in their strategy, as the team sought to generate pre-release hype and word-of-mouth promotion driven by book industry professionals.
Simultaneously, Bloomsbury submitted the manuscript to trade and library publications such as Kirkus Reviews and Booklist to obtain comments that could be quoted prior to the book’s release and used in marketing materials. While reviews by Kirkus and Booklist are somewhat expensive, they are a great tool in your editing process, and most importantly, they are highly regarded by industry professionals such as librarians and booksellers; the target for the Bloomsbury team.
Although the book’s final target audience was children and young readers, booksellers and librarians were targeted to be the champions of the book.
A book champion is someone who passionately promotes and advocates for a book, often going above and beyond to help it succeed. This person could be an author, a fan, a reviewer, or even a bookstore owner. They will recommend the book to their networks and ultimately promote it through word-of-mouth engagement, write reviews, and influence sales by encouraging others to purchase the book.
This was a smart move by Bloomsbury, as who better to gain the trust of the parents accessing books for their children than librarians? The team nurtured these relationships, and the initial print run for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” saw 300 of the 500 copies produced in hardback distributed to libraries, offering an exclusivity that further built hype.
For booksellers, Bloomsbury offered an opportunity to generate excitement for the book’s release by coordinating themed launch events that were engaging for both children and their parents. Each event featured activities such as readings from the book, interactive displays, sorting hat ceremonies to place attendees into Hogwarts houses, and children were encouraged to come dressed as wizards and witches.
At the book’s launch, the quotes received during editing were featured in press releases that were distributed to major and specialized media outlets, including The Herald, The Guardian, and The Sunday Times. It is important to note that major press coverage took time—in fact, most of the coverage occurred months after the book was released—but early coverage saw the book promoted in smaller and industry publications.
Momentum in marketing didn’t stop after the initial launch period and continued with the Bloomsbury team applying for book awards. In the first year of its release, "The Philosopher’s Stone" earned three literary awards, including the prestigious British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year.
Key Steps in Bloomsbury's Strategy:
Target Audience Identification: Booksellers and librarians to target children.
Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) Distribution: Distributed to critics and booksellers.
Professional Reviews: Obtained from Kirkus and Booklist.
Editing and Cover Design: Completed concurrently with early marketing efforts.
Themed Launch Events: Coordinated with booksellers.
Exclusive Print Run for Librarians.
Press Release with Professional Review Feedback.
Book Award Applications.
The team implemented a comprehensive plan that was timed so as to achieve maximum impact, with each step feeding into the next.
Another tactic that significantly boosted Harry Potter book sales can be demonstrated through an excellent graph developed by Rachel Drinkwater. It shows the impact of subsequent Harry Potter book releases on previous novels and how they continued to keep book sales steady, avoiding the inevitable and natural decline in sales following a book’s release. Importantly, the sequel book releases were frequent, leaving minimal time between each novel.
Over time, the marketing budget for Harry Potter grew and grew, making launches and advertising bigger and better. However, the initial engagement approach follows some of the key actions we recommend in marketing and publishing your book.
At M&A, we provide you with an extensive plan built specifically for authors that incorporates the essential steps to market and publish your work.
The Synopsis from JK Rowling that was used in her submission to agencies:
