Welcome to my Town Hall.
I’ve recorded a video with all the behind-the-scenes bits, then used Claude to translate it into the article below.
If you want more of the uncut stuff (including the the nuance I didn’t want to write down), watch the video above.
In Leanne Hughes’ Town Hall, I cover three things:
The book launch, behind the scenes: what worked well, and what I’d do differently
Reflections from Japan: my first time working and visiting there
What’s next: for me and the business
1. The book launch, behind the scenes
What worked well
Number one is you
You came to the party. Thank you so much.
I was out of the country when the book actually launched in Australia. I was a bit sad that I wasn’t in Brisbane on 30 September, but it didn’t matter, because all of you came along to the rescue.
You shared photos, selfies, pics of the book in the wild. My phone was going nuts on Wednesday. It was totally unexpected. I didn’t think it would be as crazy as it was, and I just want to say thank you so much. I’ve only shared a snapshot of the posts that went up on social (in the video above), let alone the messages of support.
This is not an individual solo effort. It is all of you. I know how corny that sounds (and, you know, everyone says it), but I am just so grateful for all of you. Thank you for making my day last week, and for continuing to.
Also, what’s cool? You don’t have to be in the country when you launch your book. In fact, you can even record your own book launch from a laundromat in Osaka!
The machine behind me was epic: a washer and a dryer combined, very efficient. I did love the efficiency in Japan and the punctuality (of course).
The Wall of Work Fame
What worked well for this launch? The Wall of Work Fame was the #1 thing that encouraged pre-orders. Work Fame is all about recognition, and I wanted to recognise early action takers.
My goal was 1,001 pre-orders. 538 is amazing. Later today, I discover how it’s all tracked across week one sales (fingers crossed) and whether it’s hit the Top 20 chart across Australia non-fiction sales.
That whole campaign, using the book to fuel recognition, bulk order perks, and recognising everyone who pre-ordered, has been massively successful, even though I didn’t hit my original target.
A social media kit for everyone in the book
You might have seen on LinkedIn that in Work Fame I feature stories and case studies, and I’ve had great people endorse the book as well.
Something I made which might interest you is a website that creates a personalised social media kit for everyone who was part of the book.
Take a look - it’s pretty neat. All contributors can create their own social media images and posts with the click of a button.
Btw - my friend Steph Clarke (featured on this site) is also launching her excellent new podcast, How to Friend today, so check it out!
It was a nice way to evangelise the people who contributed to the book, and it didn’t take too long to create using Claude.
You could use this concept if you host a conference; and want speakers to share a bit more about themselves etc.
Appearing on podcasts
I don’t know if podcasts actually link to direct sales. But I’ve loved reconnecting with podcast hosts and riffing on these conversations.
It’s helped me really consolidate the key themes of Work Fame and how to describe them. When you do that in audio, it’s quite different to writing. You have to punch the point a little bit harder and use more storytelling. That’s been a great experience.
Here are some of my latest podcast appearances:
Career Stories with Luella Forbes (also linked in video below)
The Values Lab with Viren Thakrar: Leanne Hughes on Resourcefulness and Work Fame
Ways to Change the Workplace with Prina Shah: Work Fame, Hesitation Stations and Why Your Career Isn’t Stuck
Leadership at the Edge with Andrea Levinson: Work Fame: Why good work doesn't speak for itself with Leanne Hughes
Speaking with Confidence with Cat Matson: How to become “Work Famous” with Leanne Hughes
I’m always up for more podcast chats, so hit reply if you want to talk all things WORK FAME!
Even better if (aka what I failed at)
I didn’t send an email the day the book launched
It would’ve been good if I’d sent an email out the day the book launched. I didn’t do that. That’s crazy!
Marketing 101 is to notify people when something big happens.
I just didn’t have the capacity nor the bandwidth. I could’ve done it months ago, I could’ve scheduled the email. But if you know me well, I don’t do things in advance. I don’t batch content. I like to do things organically. In this instance, I failed.
However, it does get to a point where you ask, what is actually going to move the needle? For me, it was less important to send an email the day it launched, and I could rely on all the great prep work that had gone on from 100 days out.
I let my podcast slide
I rebranded the Leanne on Demand podcast from last year to Work Fame by Leanne Hughes, and the goal was to just keep it going. I haven’t uploaded an episode in two weeks.
There will be content on it. But again, is it THAT important? I don’t think doing a podcast on my own podcast hosting site was going to be that effective in moving more books.
Mainstream media
I’m still trying to crack this. My goal this month is to get Work Fame featured in some part of mainstream media, whether that’s even just local ABC radio or a segment on a morning show.
Maybe that bridge has passed, because it’s outside week one. Maybe the week one sales figures will help drive some media attention? Watch this space.
My Flipchart Facebook community
I’ve held onto this, and I’m curious to hear from you if you’re part of it. It feels like I’ve moved on from it, given First Time Facilitator and The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. The community there isn’t really engaged.
Is it time to retire it? You’ve got to think about what’s a business and what’s a hobby, and whether it’s worth even keeping open.
Now that I’ve moved on from the workshop stuff, maybe it is time to say goodbye and close it down. What are your thoughts?
Targeted comms to previous clients
The people approaching me about Work Fame are people I’ve worked with in the past. Previous clients are approaching me because we’ve built up the trust.
So I probably should have done more deliberate marketing to them, saying, “Hey, you can get this at a really great deal. I can run a webinar for you if you buy X books.” More one-to-one, targeted outreach would’ve been more helpful than a broad-brush marketing strategy.
There are an infinite number of things to do when you launch anything. It’s good to be really clear on the actual things that will move the needle, as opposed to more broad-brush posting, which I don’t think is that effective.
So, those are my lessons.
2. Reflections from Japan
I was working in Japan last week. How good! Never been there.
If you’ve followed my stuff, I was in Bangkok a few months ago working with the same organisation on a multi-day conference with lots of different parts: a workshop and a huge gala awards night, which I hosted as the emcee.
We had six different language groups, live translation. It was fantastic. I had a great time, and I love working with the team.
This is not a typical workshop. In Japan, we were working with production teams of 20 or so people. It is a huge, huge effort. It’s more like a Broadway show than a workshop. There are definitely performance elements in it. We spent 10 hours rehearsing on the Monday, so it’s quite involved.
The AFL Grand Final in an Osaka pub
When I arrived in Osaka before all the work ramped up, the AFL Grand Final was on, and my team, the Brisbane Lions were playing. I had to figure out whether I wanted to rock up to a pub solo and watch it, or watch it on my iPad in the hotel room?
I went out. I had the best day, and not only because of the result. My team snatched victory in the last four minutes. It was incredible. (The last 18 seconds is when we actually won the game, properly.)
Andy, the guy running this Australian pub was the best host around. You had to pre-purchase tickets, and when I got there, he met me at the door. He walked me into the pub. He introduced me to everyone. He found me a seat. He asked everyone to make me feel welcome, and they all gave me a round of applause.
First time I’ve ever walked into a bar and had that happen.
And not just me. Everyone who came in, he’d do an introduction and make them feel welcome. So we were all just great mates by the end of it.
(Read the LinkedIn post about my Osaka experience here)
3. What’s next?
Client projects
Client projects are number one. This is why we do all the marketing and write all the books: it wins us work, and the right type of work. I’ve got some really great client projects on, and a highlight has been a speaking tour around Australia in independent retirement living. They’ve set me up on site tours to speak with their village managers.
Just getting an insight into this part of an industry I would never have worked with, or had any insight into, has been amazing. To see people who genuinely love their job, building community, have loads of empathy and patience has been inspiring to be around.
I’m also helping teams plan strategy, running workshops on Work Fame (which has been fun) and webinars; lots on between now and the end of the year.
Fri 16 Oct: The Brisbane Work Fame premiere party
The Brisbane party is coming up, so I’m locking in final details. It’s going to be a ton of fun. And I STILL don’t have my outfit, eek!
So please, I don’t want you to get FOMO afterwards. You want to come to this party. Nab your spot here.
It’s a red carpet gala theme, but really it’s “What does glam mean to you?”
Just think of it as Friday afternoon knock-off drinks with a bit of flair. Look forward to partying with some of you there!
Con Con 2027
50 spots have been taken already. I said 75, but I might limit that to 65, depending on the venue I lock down.
I’m still working through the format. I don’t want to repeat last year’s, so I just need to focus on this; and lock it down after the Brisbane launch party.
Never Stop Marketing (NSM)
Another three-letter acronym I’ve created: Never Stop Marketing (NSM). It never ends.
The next step for the book anyway, is encouraging/basically PLEADING for Amazon reviews.
It is more important than endorsements. Social proof on Amazon is a really key driver.
This is the next step of the book process, and of getting Work Fame out in the world.
…
Ok, that’s it!
Thank you for being part of my Town Hall.
Let me know if you have any follow-up questions or thoughts. I look forward to seeing you in your inbox, reading your thoughts in the comments, or partying with you person in Brisbane next week.
Ciao!
🌴
Leanne “NSM” Hughes
p.s. If you enjoyed the read, tap the heart 💙 to let me know.
p.p.s. Haven’t grabbed Work Fame yet? Get your copy, and if you’re in Brisbane, it’s your ticket to the party.
