I love that authors who introduce print books may go on a book tour, but we electronic authors get to go on blog tours! Book promotion in front of the computer. As you know, I’m new to fiction writing, but I have a background in PR, so I decided I could arrange my own tour (there are services out there that will do it for you, also). Starting about two months ago, I plunged in. How successful my tour was I won’t really know until I start to see sales figures, but meanwhile I can share some of the steps I went through to set up the tour.
- · Decide if you want your tour to begin before your book releases or on the date. Since I’m new and have no back list for an inspired reader to buy, I didn’t want to create too much demand that couldn’t be filled, so I decided to start on the day. Plus, I knew I wouldn’t have my blurb or copies of my book until right before its release. As it turned out, I started on the weekend before the Tuesday of release .
- · Start contacting authors and reviewers you know. If you have been on tour before, you have lots of contacts. I didn’t, so I started by offering myself as a guest blogger on the author’s loop from my publisher. I got lots of response. Next, I went to some of the author’s communities and Yahoo groups I belong to and offered there. More response. Authors are so kind in helping other writers, especially newbies.
- · Decide if you want more than one blog stop on a day. Sometimes you won’t have a choice, because the blog author will have a specific date they want you to appear. Most don’t mind if you double book as long as you support both posts with social media, etc.
- · Check each site for what type of blog they prefer. Some sites like interviews, others want you to write something in line with their blog’s theme or topic, others may just want an excerpt and blurb. Often, you’ll just have to be creative, so start thinking of fun blog posts that may tie in with your book ,but aren’t all about it.
- · Create a blog library. I don’t know if others do this, but it worked for me. Rather than waiting for the last moment, I started creating blog posts on different topics whenever I had a minute to create one. I still do this, even now that the tour is winding down. I had a last minute request for a post last night, and I had a fun post I’d created recently that I could send.
- · The required time before the post date (some blog owners want posts there a week in advance, others just the day before), prepare a complete document with the necessary materials attached and included. Send: your post, a book cover photo, a photo of you, your short bio, an excerpt from the book, your book blurb, your buy link, all your contact information, and in some cases, a contact at your publisher so the site can notify them. If the site is also going to review your book (Oh, JOY and happiness!! ) I generally send the book under separate cover to be sure it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. I know this is a LOT of stuff, but often if the site has all this they may use more than they’ve asked for, so give them a lot to choose from. Make a copy, and keep it in a file so you know when and to whom you sent it.
- · On the day(s) of your posts, check in frequently to answer questions and comments.
- · Promote every stop on your tour extensively – Facebook, Twitter, multiple Yahoo groups, direct e-mail if you have a contacts list, and not just once, but frequently throughout the day. If you’re lucky enough to be on the host site for more than one day, keep plugging it throughout. (What? You’re not doing all this social media? Time to start. But that’s a topic for another day LOL)
- · Thank your hosts for their hospitality, and return the favor whenever possible.
If this sounds like a lot of work, you’re correct. I was lucky to have some vacation time saved, plus I work from home, so I could keep up with my tour. But it was still a lot to do, and it definitely cut into my writing time. Still, I figured there’s no point in writing if there’s no one to read it, so for me it was definitely worth the investment of time and energy. Questions? Comments? Have you planned a blog tour? Suggestions on what works for you?