Publishing · BookTok · Lifecycle Marketing · 2025

Bloomsbury × BookTok

A 12-month digital strategy for the romantasy moment.

Role

Marketing strategy, audience planning, RACE framework

Sector

Publishing · BookTok · Lifecycle Marketing

Year

2025

01 / 21

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— Overview

A 12-month marketing and digital communications plan for Bloomsbury Publishing — leveraging Sarah J. Maas, BookTok, and the romantasy boom to launch an AI-personalised novella spin-off from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Built on the RACE framework: Reach → Act → Convert → Engage.

— The challenge

UK publishing is projected at £1.5bn by 2025, but rising hardback prices have slowed traditional formats. The growth is digital — and the audience that drives it is on TikTok, deciding what gets read in community, not in marketing meetings.

— The insight

BookTok readers don't want to be sold to — they want to be part of the discovery. Sarah J. Maas already commands 161% YoY sales growth and 38M+ books sold. The opportunity is to give that fanbase something only Bloomsbury can: an AI-personalised novella that puts them inside the story.

The market

Reynolds 2024; Creamer 2025; Bloomsbury PLC 2024

£1.5bn

UK publishing market by 2025

+41.3%

UK sci-fi & fantasy sales growth, 2023–2024

+30%

Bloomsbury revenue growth, 2024 — record year

+50%

audiobook revenue growth in 2024

The author engine

Bloomsbury PLC 2024; Statista 2024

38M+

Sarah J. Maas books sold globally

+161%

year-on-year sales growth

Crescent City: House of Flame and Shadow — global No.1, Jan 2024

— Pen portrait

Emma, 26

UK · BookTok community

"I don't pick books. My For You page does — and then I post the annotations."

·Late Gen Z / Millennial — primary BookTok demographic
·Seeks strong female protagonists, inclusive worldbuilding, romance tropes
·Curious about AI-written and AI-personalised fiction
·Reads to escape — and to belong to a community of readers

— 12-month plan · RACE framework

Jun → Sep 2025

Reach

Build awareness of the upcoming novella. Excite the Maas fanbase, attract new romantasy readers, highlight the AI personalisation feature.

·1M+ social media impressions by end of June
·50,000 unique landing-page visitors
·50 influencer teaser collaborations secured

Oct 2025 → Jan 2026

Act

Strengthen audience engagement. Convert awareness into active interaction across social and the interactive landing page.

·100,000 newsletter signups by end of phase
·30% engagement rate on the interactive landing page
·+30% user-generated content vs. previous phases

Feb → Apr 2026

Convert

Aggressively push pre-orders. Transition engaged audiences into confirmed buyers before and during launch.

·50,000 pre-orders before novella release
·+15% ad conversion rate vs. past campaigns
·40% of pre-orders driven by digital formats

May → Jun 2026

Engage

Build post-launch loyalty. Drive additional sales through engagement and ecosystem tie-ins.

·+20% growth in long-term brand engagement
·25% community engagement rate, sustained YoY
·£500,000 in additional digital revenue from ACOTAR ecosystem

— SWOT

strengths

·Record revenue and profit — 30% growth in 2024
·Sarah J. Maas as a category-defining author
·First publisher to coin the romantasy genre on TikTok
·Strong digital infrastructure: ebooks +47%, audio +50%

weaknesses

·Heavy reliance on a small number of bestsellers
·Limited owned community infrastructure outside social
·AI-personalisation introduces production complexity

opportunities

·UK digital revenue at £3.2bn and growing
·+24% growth in audiobook downloads
·Romantasy genre still expanding internationally
·AI lowers cost of audio production and personalisation

threats

·24% of Britons hadn't read a book in three months
·Industry consolidation among Global 50 publishers
·Reader fatigue with AI-generated content
·Algorithm volatility on TikTok

"Marketing as the room — not the speaker."

— Outcomes

£500k

projected ecosystem revenue, post-launch

200k

first-month sales target

1M+

launch-day impressions across TikTok and Instagram

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