Feel Good Case Study: Launching Dan Batchelor and Jack Palmer: A New Order

At Feel Good Comms, we are Scotland's newest communications agency built on a belief: that the best brands make the world genuinely happier. We help brands become the catalyst for that feel good moment, and there’s no better feel good story than helping a passionate teacher and first-time author inspire thousands of young readers.

Challenge

The book market is fiercely competitive. Our challenge was two-fold: to launch author and teacher Dan Batchelor's debut novel, Jack Palmer: A New Order, into this crowded space and to build his public profile from scratch. We needed a strategy that would cut through the noise and highlight Dan's unique, inspiring story to resonate with his target audience of kids and young adults.

Strategy

Our plan was designed to get Dan and his book in front of as many potential readers as possible. We developed a multi platform approach focusing on:

• High-Visibility Engagement: Delivering a comprehensive book tour schedule to meet readers face-to-face, alongside designed banners and bookmarks.

• Credible Endorsement: Working with a number of influential book reviewers and influencers to secure pre release buzz.

• Authentic Storytelling: Highlighting Dan's passion as a primary school teacher and his powerful, personal journey of receiving a late dyslexia diagnosis to genuinely inspire his target audience of kids and young adults.

Execution

To establish a central hub for all campaign information, we first helped Dan build a dedicated website: https://www.jackpalmerseries.co.uk/. This ensured that press and influencers had a single, up-to-date destination for book info, reviews, and tour dates.

Media Buzz: Pre release, we distributed a press release announcing the book, securing valuable early coverage in London based titles and Dan's local media in Chiswick.

Influencer Reviews: To generate buzz, we arranged pre release reviews with 17 key book influencers who received an advanced copy. These included Thrillers Chillers and Killers, Inspiration Reads, Roberta’s Bookstagram, Book Lover Nix, YA Book Reader, One Too Many Books, and Bookish Coffee. The response was overwhelmingly positive, setting the perfect tone for the launch.

Connecting with Readers: We organised a 7 stop book tour where readers had the chance to meet Dan, chat about the book, and purchase signed copies. We also designed the exhibition space to be a high impact space to showcase the sci-fi elements of the book. Events included:

• Brentford Canal Festival

• Aylesbury Comic Con

• Guildford Comic Con

• Northampton Comic Con

• Bournemouth Comic Con

• BristolCon

• YALC – Young Adult Literature Convention

The Feel Good Moment: At YALC, we arranged for Dan to deliver a powerful talk about his late dyslexia diagnosis at age 17 and the profound impact it had on his self-confidence. This led to our biggest media moment.

This created National impact, when we issued a press release where Dan called for an end to traditional school spelling tests, arguing they do more harm than good for children with learning differences. This bold, feel good stance secured national coverage, including a feature in the I Paper, effectively building Dan's profile and positioning him as an expert on child wellbeing, leveraging his background as a Primary School teacher.

Social Amplification: We continuously created high quality content, including images and giveaways, for his social channels to keep momentum high.

The Feel Good Impact

The campaign successfully elevated Dan Batchelor from a first-time author to an influential voice in education and young adult literature, creating a massive feel good moment for both him and his growing readership:

• Media Coverage: Secured over 10 pieces of coverage on the book launch and profile, including the I Paper, Sussex Express, Bucks Herald, Chiswick W4, and Bristol World.

• Critical Acclaim: Generated over 17 positive reviews with book influencers.

• Sales Success: His debut novel, Jack Palmer: A New Order, is available through Waterstones and Amazon, boasting a strong 4.3-star rating on Goodreads.

• Reader Engagement: Completed 7 successful stops on his book tour, facilitating direct connection with his audience.

• Growing Platform: Dan's social following grew to over 1,200.

The Ultimate Feel Good Result: Most importantly, his inspiring story and the success of the campaign led to Dan being signed to release a sequel, the most feel good part of the entire campaign!