Laura MacDonald, Marketer in Toronto, ON, Canada

Overview

Publishing person turned influencer marketing person. I've been eating/sleeping/breathing all things books for about as long as I can remember. I have a couple degrees in literature (including a Master of Arts in Children's Literature, nbd) and I worked in Canadian publishing for about 5 years before making the jump to influencer marketing in fall 2021. And now I can't wait to help you market your book! I have worked with a variety of big 5, mid-size, and indie publishers including:• Marketing: Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Canada (internship)• Sales: MacMillan, Sourcebooks, DK Books, Chronicle Books, Wattpad Books, Annick Press, Owlkids• Editorial: Penguin Random House Canada (internship)✅ WHAT I CAN OFFER YOU:• Full-scale marketing plan development (strategy + timeline)• Author branding + platform building• Title-specific digital asset creation for websites, social media, digital ads• Influencer marketing campaigns• Social media best practices coaching• Social media content planning • Copywriting (website content, social copy)• Press release + media kit (writing + design)✖️ WHAT I CAN'T OFFER YOU:• Advertising services • Publicity services (media contacts, pitches)👩🏼‍💻 LET'S WORK TOGETHER:• If you have no idea where to start• If you've published (or are about to publish) a board book, picture book, middle grade novel, or young adult novel in any fiction genre• If you're looking to work with someone detail-oriented, strategic, creative, and design savvy💬 TESTIMONIALS:"Thank you for being wonderful to work with and everything you've done for These Violent Delights + Our Violent Ends!! It's been such a joy!" —Chloe Gong, #1 NYT Bestselling author of These Violent Delights"Thank you for helping Legendborn soar!" —Tracy Deonn, NYT Bestselling author of Legendborn"You’ve been such a tremendous support and help to me and A Dark and Hollow Star and I’m just so grateful for having you on my side!" —Ashley Shuttleworth, author of A Dark and Hollow Star"[S]o thankful for all the hard work and creativity you put into supporting and promoting [It Fell From the Sky]. Creating a book is always a team effort and we’re very grateful that you were part of our team." —Eric Fan of The Fan Brothers, bestselling author & illustrator

Services

Marketing Strategy

Fiction

Middle Grade Middle Grade Fantasy Picture Books Young Adult

Certifications

BA Honours English Lit & Cultural Studies
MA Children's Literarure
Marketing to Generation Z (LinkedIn Learning)
Strategic Partnerships (LinkedIn Learning)

Work experience

Influencer Marketing Account Manager

The Shelf

Nov, 2021 — Mar, 2024 (over 2 years)

• Co-managing multiple campaigns form influencer hiring to post-mortum reporting • Matching influencers to a variety of brand campaigns based on campaign requirements and client preferences • Working closely with influencers - building relationships, answering questions, providing guidance, and helping complete content

Marketing Assistant

Simon & Schuster Canada

Nov, 2019 — Oct, 2021 (almost 2 years)

• Developed and executed full-scale marketing campaigns for all children's and teen titles • Created, managed, and scheduled content for corporate Instagram & Twitter • Digital content creation for organic social media and digital advertising campaigns • Responsible for influencer management and growth, focusing on Instagram and TikTok

Account Manager (maternity leave contract)

Ampersand Inc.

Mar, 2018 — Nov, 2019 (over 1 year)

• Sales representative for SW Ontario independent bookstores • Sales representative for Toronto + GTA special markets retailers • Analyzed data from show sales and trends to report back to clients • Social media coordinator

Operations Manager (maternity leave contract)

Ampersand Inc.

Mar, 2017 — May, 2018 (about 1 year)

• Regular communication with over 50 client publishers (Canada + US) • Supported sales reps with sales materials, metadata • Website management

Editorial Intern, Young Readers Group

Penguin Random House Canada

Jan, 2017 — Mar, 2017 (about 2 months)

• Fact-checked, proofread, copy edited • Logged, read, and reported on all submissions

Marketing & Publicity Intern

HarperCollins Canada

Oct, 2016 — Jan, 2017 (3 months)

• Created press releases, marketing materials, and online content (photos, blog posts, tweets) • Oversaw mass media mailings and individual influencer mailings

Projects

These Violent Delights - Bookstagram Tour

A surprise and delight PR mailing to 10 bookstagram influencers + a 5 day bookstagram tour with 2 in-feed posts per day—one from #TeamScarletGang and one from #TeamWhiteFlowers to mirror the rival gangs aspect of the story—featuring a photo & review of These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong.

> 10 influencers (potential reach 141.2k)
> 10 in-feed IG posts
> Campaign engagement rate of 5.3% (industry standard = 1.5%)

What I Like About You - Bookstagram Tour

A surprise and delight PR mailing to bookstagram influencers + a 5 day bookstagram tour with 1 in-feed post per day featuring a photo & review of What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter.

> 5 influencers (potential reach of 72.6k)
> 5 in-feed IG posts
> Campaign engagement rate of 2.42% (industry standard = 1.5%)

YA Fall Into Fantasy - Mailing + IG Activation

A month-long group campaign featuring four key YA fantasy titles with an autumnal twist!

Campaign components included:
• PR box mailing to 10 top YA Bookstagram and TikTok influencers (combined potential reach of over 225k!)
• Weekly IG in-feed posts featuring of one of the four focus titles
• Weekly IG story sets including exclusive of author videos and activations
• A custom landing page on simonandshcuster.ca
• A consumer newsletter
• An IG in-feed giveaway of all four titles (321 entries)

> IG in-feed engagement rate of 6.95% (industry standard = 1.5%)

*All digital assets designed by me

Simon & Schuster Canada x Indigo - Virtual Summer Camp & Author Panel

A week-long digital YA summer camp hosted on Instagram to highlight 3 key YA reads for the summer. In 2021, we partnered with Indigo to moderate and co-host the live author panel at the end of the week.

Campaign components included:
• Daily IG story sets including exclusive author videos and virtual camp activities
• A custom landing page on simonandschuster.ca
• Camp Ambassadors: 8 Bookstagram influencers (over 68k combined following) promoted the event and daily activities on IG stories
• Live author panel (22 attendees)
• Giveaways: 4 prize packs including books, swag, and $100 worth of Indigo gift cards

> FB + IG ad results: $0.60 cpc, 0.58% ctr (on par with similar S&S Canada event ads)

*All digital assets designed by me.