The Book Blog Tour

Authors are so lucky in these modern times in terms of access to marketing themselves and their work. Through the Internet, authors are able to tap into a wealth of marketing opportunities they not even have realized were out there. One of those marketing tools is the book blog tour.

Essentially, the book blog tour is going out on somewhat of a book signing tour without having to leave your house. All authors really have to do is an initial interview with the host blogger (or prepare a blog post on a given topic), log into the blog stop of the day and respond to any questions or comments.

I am currently on a book blog tour with WOW-womenonwriting for promotion of my children's picture book. I was actually very nervous about the idea at first. My book was self-published almost two years ago and I worried that I'd waited too long to get to the marketing part of writing the book. But the ladies at WOW have been wonderfully supportive and found me fantastic blogs that are a perfect match for my intended audience.

For those authors out there seeking new ideas in getting their work out there a book blog tour is one of the better ones. Here are some great inside tips on a successful book blog tour:

(1) Research your options. You want to pick a place to back your blog tour that has a hugely successful blog themselves with a large following. I know for a fact that WOW has hundreds of hits weekly on their site, as well as their blog, and the CEO/Founder, Angela Macintosh, is a well-known connection in the writing world. Authors, editors, agents and publishers alike seek WOW out for advertising, promotion and interviews for extra exposure. I knew I was in good hands.

(2) Make sure your book will be well represented. You want to know that the place you choose to back your book blog tour has represented books in your genre previously, with success. Ask questions about who they've done tours with in the past with similar book topics, ask whether those authors had an increase in sales after they did their tour, and were those previous authors impressed? These are important things to know before signing them on.

(3) Shop around for the best deal. It can actually be very expensive doing a book blog tour, especially since you are hiring these people to find the blogs your work will be featured on, contact host bloggers for you, pitch your book for you, etc. If people aren't convinced your work will bring in more viewers, why would they waste their time? You really want to make sure that you'll get enough blog visits to make the price you'll pay worth it. For me, the ladies at WOW are honest and upfront with what they'll do and they follow through.

(4) Understand everything that's expected of you. Will you be interviewed? Will your book be featured on the blog? Will the blogger do a book review or put the book cover on their site? These are questions you need to ask so you submit all the pertinent information. Remember the reason you're doing this is to get your name and your work out for the world to see. Make sure you're giving it your all!

(5) Be sure to stop in and answer any questions or comments. This is very important. On your "visit" day, be sure to check in periodically throughout the day to respond to any comments. You'll want to make sure to check back for a few days after the actual day because sometimes people will miss the initial posting and check in later. Making this contact shows that you care about those awesome people who bought your work! That's very important.

(6) Have a killer bio and an author picture. These things make you seem more...real...to readers. Since you aren't actually going to see anyone face-to-face, having a great photo and short summary of who you are helps to make that initial connection with readers. You don't need to have a model-like picture. Some authors have professional photos done, which is awesome if you can afford it. But for a lot of starving authors this isn't feasible. Get a friend to snap your picture in a great background setting-outside shots usually turn out great. As for your bio, make sure it's short and sweet. Most places ask for something 50 to 75 words or less. Figure out your best features, briefly outline current/future works, add your website or blog address and that's good enough. Then people will have enough information to get to know you and the information on where to check you out in more detail if they choose to.

(7) Use your time wisely. Talk about upcoming projects or past ones that matter and are related to what you're on the tour for. Remember: It's a marketing tool so MARKET YOURSELF!!

(8) Wait until the book is available. It's wisest not to do a book blog tour until the book you're promoting is ready for purchase. Otherwise you could run into the problem of getting people excited and interested in your work only to find out it won't be out for several months down the road. You don't want people to forget about your new book after all of the hard work you put in to promote it! Arranging your tour just around or a month or so after it's come out is perfect timing.

I've learned so much on my own blog tour and plan to do another one for my memoir coming out in August! Be sure to add the book blog tour to your list of marketing strategies. Done right, you'll reap the rewards.