Friday, July 02, 2010

Blog Book Tours

 Have a book coming out in a few months? Or have a book that’s just come out? Want to set up a blog tour promoting your book, but the whole idea is mind boggling, scary, and seemingly impossible? Maybe you’re not even sure what a blog book tour is? Dani Greer teaches a month-long class on how to do a blog book tour, and here’s her definition:
An online book promotion method in which an author visits a series of high-traffic blogs for the purpose of promoting their latest book release. The process works best for everyone involved when the author stops at 10-15 blogs, one each day, consecutively over a period of 2-3 weeks. Each blog post should be different and slanted to "fit" the hosting blog, and the author should plan to visit each blog during the tour in order to interact with readers. The tour is also promoted on the author's blog and website, and on social networks such as FaceBook and Twitter. This formula seems to create a high degree of search engine notice, and thus helps boost author profile, with an ultimate goal of selling books.
What will you learn in this class?
How to fine tune your own blog.
How to find blogs that you can approach to host you and open new reader markets
What you’ll need to create and look for in your tour
How you can promote your book and tour
She recently opened the door for authors interesting in the class to sign up. For this class she’s going to take about 25 participants. And those spots are filling up quickly. I’m a co-moderator and every day I see emails coming in from two or three people requesting permission to join the group.

This class is not a breeze. You can expect to put in a lot of hours. You can also expect to gain and learn and grow, if you put in the time and work.

Interested? Act soon. Sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogbooktours and be sure to give your name and book title.

Thinking you might want someone to hold your hand? Dani has also started a five-stop blog book tour service for $200 to guide the author - you can then easily expand the tour by adding more stops based on the  foundation and guidance from the first five. Sometimes a bit of assistance with the time-consuming parts of planning a tour is just what every busy author needs. Email Dani at quoe2@earthlink.net  if you'd like more information. She specializes in children's literature, cozy mysteries,  and any book with an environmental focus.



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20 comments:

  1. That would be an awesome class. Intense too!

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  2. Great info here. My blog is a hosting blog for the WOW Women on Writing tours, and what I like about hosting authors is the way they customize a post tailored to the blog while incorporating a theme of their book. It's a nice way to blend books and blogging. I've also found that the best responses happen when the author stops by frequently in the comments and joins the dialogue there.

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  3. I agree with you totally, Joanne.

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  4. I'm not this far along in my journey yet, but I'll look into this when I am! :)

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  5. Good points, Dani. Catching the attention of the search engines is vital. An intensive 3 weeks is a good plan but once the author has done that tour, it's important NOT to return to your anonymous shell. Spend a couple of hours a week keeping your name out there.

    One thing I can say, with regard to guest blogging, don't just drop the article in the blog owner's lap and think your job is done. Be an active participant on your blog day. The purpose of a blog tour is for an author to build a READERSHIP, not just to sell THIS book. Chatting and/or laughing with the commenters will help accomplish that.

    Something I've learned, where ever you are on the path of publication, start now getting name recognition. You'll build contacts and connections that will be very important WHEN your book is published.

    Great topic Helen and Dani!

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  6. I just registered. I was part of the group last year and they critique helped take my crappy little blog and make it into a pretty darn powerful source to promote my book. Hope to build upon these successes this time around.

    Stephen Tremp

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  7. Very good points Sia. It really does very little good to just post then not show up for the interaction of the comments.

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  8. Too early for me to need these resources...but good to learn about.

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  9. I did a blog tour when One Small Victory came out two years ago and plan to do another when Open Season is released. It is a lot of work, but so much fun and I connected with some folks whose blogs I still enjoy.

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  10. Thanks, everyone. And what Sia says is excellent! One tangential benefit of arranging a blog book tour and seeking good hosts, is that you'll find ten times as many as you need for the actual tour - those blogs are perfect for that continued keep-your-name-out-there promotion. Maybe the blog isn't one of the top blogs for your tour because the focus isn't exactly what you're after, or their readership isn't as strong. But later down the road, they may be a great match for building your fan club.

    Off to the city - I'll drop in again later to answer questions.

    Dani
    http://blogbooktours.blogspot.com (where updates will soon be regular to coincide with classroom discussion and assignments.)

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  11. Thanks, Helen, for the info. I really think blog tours are the way forward for authors with low (or no) promotional budget.

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  12. I'll have a blog tour in September, and you offered to host a stop, thanks.

    Now, if you'll go to http://vivianzabel.blogspot.com, you'll find a surprise.

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  13. I'll put this in my file for when my book is accepted!
    Helen - come over and pickup an award if you like!

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  14. Yup, I've signed up as a helper! Can't believe my class was a year and a half ago.

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  15. I'm curious if you think blog book tours work for independent (self-published) authors as well as established press authors?
    ~jon

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  16. I think this is great Dani has taken this on. I have been a host, since about April, of Blog Book Tours that a 3rd party has organized and I have learned a few things: The authors who have stopped in to visit and sort of get a feel for my readers get better response, and MY BLOG isn't for everyone. It isn't necessarily genre so much as angle. My blog is a little silly and naughty, and writers who bring a sense of humor or a little sassiness seem to speak to readers best.

    That said: as a BLOGGER, I think hosting about once a week is optimum--still should be YOUR blog--and ideally the blogger and author choose each other. Mutual attraction is always most effective.

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  17. Jon, yes they work for independent authors. No matter how you're published, you need to get your name and book title out to readers.

    I agree Hart. I try to host only one author a week, and some weeks, none at all. I love having authors post, but there are blogs out there that do it every day of the week. I don't know how they do it. For me, it's work to get it all ready.

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  18. I agree they work as well for independent authors - in fact, I think the Internet has somewhat leveled the playing field. Remember, too, that a blog book tour can come after a live tour. For example, you might do a three-book holiday promotion if you work in series, or for authors who have reprints in paperback, that might be the time for a blog book tour - sort of a "second wind" promotion. There is much room for flexibility.

    Thank you all for stopping by with comments, and I do hope you decide to join the class.

    Dani
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogbooktours

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  19. Great advice. I was recently a guest at ThoughtsinProgress.blogspot.com
    It was a lot of fun.
    Ann

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