Behind the book: The List by Yomi Adegoke

Posted on August 8, 2024 in North

SYP North dissects the campaign behind their next book club read, delving into marketing, publicity, sales, design and how they all connect.

Yomi Adegoke (@yomi.adegoke) published Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, in 2018, and has since created over five other publications including The List. Her success has taken off with the achievement of being included in the Forbes Top 30 Under 30 list three years after her debut novel.

Published by HarperCollins under its innovative 4th Estate imprint in July 2023, The List interrogates themes of fourth-wave feminism (the #MeToo movement), cancel culture and navigating life as a British-Nigerian woman.

Not only is The List a sharp look into the current cultural moment, but it’s a page-turner too. The story unfolds as Ola Olajide, a prolific magazine journalist, is in the midst of wedding preparations with her gorgeous fiancé Michael. However, their social media credentials as ‘couple goals’ are brought into question when, one day, they wake up to the same message: “Oh my god, have you seen The List?” As the days count down to their wedding, Ola has to come to terms with unsavoury allegations levelled against her husband-to-be. What will she do?

Marketing

Thanks to the highly topical nature of The List, the novel is ripe ground for a whole slew of promotional strategies: traditional outbound marketing via billboards and other highly visual materials, PR, traditional print, radio, television and, of course, social media. 

It all began with a competitive 11-way auction back in early 2022, with the hype growing in December of the same year as 4th Estate posted a video teaser incorporating the iconic tagline – “Have you seen #TheList?” – along with an exclusive 24-hour sign-up. 

This sense of buzz (or FOMO if you were too late) ramped up when limited gold-foiled proofs were finally sent out to enthusiastic influencers, and reached a peak as the cover reveal was announced in a stunt labelled “dramatic” by Adegoke herself. An apt description as the front windows of Croyden Waterstones were practically turned into a shrine for the book, posters plastered onto the glass from top to bottom!

Things reached a whole new level as billboards and posters appeared across London on the streets, at tube and bus stations; everything culminated in a big moment during the novel’s US release when it was projected on the screens of Times Square in New York.

Publicity

Press coverage for the novel was wide and varied, directed to different segments of its target readership. Adegoke appeared on The Guilty Feminist podcast, Virgin Radio, BBC Radio 4 and The Independent’s Love Lives podcast to name a handful. With such a relevant and thought-provoking narrative, there was a lot for interviewers to sink their teeth into, but many honed in on the dark side of social media. 

Harper Collins’ publicity team also secured coverage in major UK print publications, including The Guardian, Vogue and Hello Magazine; a move that has garnered attention for the author in part due to the topical (yet evergreen) nature of the novel’s themes.

Perhaps the most lucrative feature occurred when the American paperback release clinched the October spot on the Good Morning America book club, drawing the eyes of international readers towards the book.

Sales

The List was a popular title across major retailers from Waterstones and WHSmiths to large supermarkets like ASDA. Thanks to the wide-reaching appeal of the novel’s themes, it had the potential to reach many audiences. With endorsement from a handful of huge names in the book world, including Bernadine Evaristo, Paula Hawkins and Annie Lord, it’s easy to see it being pitched as the next big feminist thriller. 

The blurb and promotional copy alongside online listings of the book include Yellowface as a comparison title, which came out only 4 months prior. This might suggest they’re similar in tone or genre – both dealing with topical issues in an intelligent domestic thriller format. The inclusion of Frances Deborah-White (author of The Guilty Feminist), in particular, signals that this book can be situated alongside other thought-provoking titles that contribute to feminist discourse.

Design

The List clearly belongs in the minimalist book cover camp, and has similarities in appearance with Yellowface, Greta and Valdin, and No Worries if Not. It’s all about one block colour, one central motif and a simple sans-serif font. Just like the lime green of Charli XCX’s Brat album, the light purple colour becomes part of the book’s brand identity.

The use of clean lines and the emoji motif also effectively capture the novel’s social media theme as it wouldn’t look out of place on an influencer’s feed. Compared to other 2023 releases, it sticks out for being so plain in design, which may have worked in its favour alongside other titles on the shelf.

The simplicity of the design made promotional materials instantly replicable, recognisable and memorable. For instance, consumers saw teams at both indie and chain booksellers sporting branded tote bags, badges, bookmarks and even nails!

Join us on Wednesday 28th August where we will be talking more about The List. Whether you’ve finished the book or haven’t started it yet, come and join us for a relaxed hour of bookish chatter. Sign up here.

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