One of the new launch-publicity methods I’m trying out is a thunderclap campaign. If you’re like me and eschew social media whenever possible, a thunderclap can be a way to get that launch bang without maintaining a large twitter or facebook following. Or at least I hope that will turn out to be the case!

“What’s a thunderclap?” you might say. It’s a bit like a kickstarter, but with no money changing hands. Instead, people pledge to share your image, note, and link with their facebook, twitter, and/or tumblr audience on a specific day. You can spend up to 60 days accumulating supporters, and then all of the shares go off at once with a bang…or, rather, with a thunderclap.

The tricky part is getting all of those supporters lined up in the first place. Like kickstarter, there’s a minimum (100 supporters in this case) or nothing will happen at all. So you need to hustle a bit to get all of your ducks in a row. I’ve asked my facebook friends for their help and will beg for support from my email list the next time a newsletter goes out, but I’m getting most of my supporters by joining this facebook group where you can trade support for each others’ campaigns. To keep your request in the public eye, be sure to thank each supporter and to acknowledge as you support them in return. The return comment is just polite…and it also pushes your post back to the top of the group feed so others will notice your campaign.

The other important factor in your thunderclap, of course, is to make the tweet/post you eventually send out as enticing as possible. Being a twitter neophyte, I studied up on hashtags a bit and worked up the best image I could come up with for the project. Here’s hoping the effort will pay off!

If you’d like to support my thunderclap campaign, you can do so here. And I’ll do my best to remember to report back in three weeks when all of the shares come rolling in. I’m curious to see how a thunderclap compares to a paid promotion!