5 Tips For More Productive Blog Tours For Your Writing Business
Blog tours for authors, sometimes called virtual book signings, have become increasingly popular.
I’ve been hosting these for around 18 months on my various blogs. As I’ve done so, I’ve observed some do’s and don’ts that make the tours more productive for the author, and the organizer.
Because these tours take quite a bit of time and expertise, many authors hire the services of a blog tour coordinator. However, I sometimes wonder if they’re wasting the time of the coordinator, the host, and themselves because they sit back and expect it to happen without their participation.
Here are 5 tips for more productive blog tours:
- Realize it will take much of your time during the period (2 weeks, a month, two months) for greatest success. The author needs to participate, not simply sit back and think it’s going to happen.
- Help your hosts by giving them options…Q and A, guest post, book review, interview, or showcase. Some hosts are more comfortable at one aspect than another. Some are experienced at hosting while others are just beginning.
- Prepare some Q and A’s the host can use if he/she doesn’t have questions to ask you. Also, have guest posts, book excerpt, synopsis and bio prepared. These latter can be on your web site or blog, too. I often refer to these by linking, rather than reprinting on my blog post.
- Post your schedule on your web site or blog, letting your readers know where you’re going to be. Try to make time to post a journal of your day to day experiences on your blog.
- Say “thank you” to the host and visit the blog, leaving a comment. They have taken their time to feature you on their blog. I was impressed with a comment left by one author. She thanked the blog host and then encouraged readers/commenters to visit the host’s blog regularly. Hosts who are appreciated will be more willing to host you again, as well as other authors…and encourage their visitors to buy your book.
Bonus Tip: Enjoy the experience and show your enthusiasm with your responses. Be excited over your book and your opportunity to visit the various blogs around the world.
These are just a few of the tips I’m compiling for authors, hosts, and blog tour coordinators.
What have you found successful and productive (producing results and sales) during your blog tours?
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
© Productivity image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com
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2 opinions for 5 Tips For More Productive Blog Tours For Your Writing Business
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Apr 23, 2008 at 3:00 am
[…] Home Biz Notes wrote an interesting post today on 5 Tips For More Productive Blog Tours For Your Writing BusinessHere’s a quick excerpt HomeBizNotes.com Blog tours for authors, sometimes called virtual book signings, have become increasingly popular. I’ve been hosting these for around 18 months on my various blogs. As I’ve done so, I’ve observed some do’s and don’ts that make the tours more productive for the author, and the organizer. Because these tours take quite a bit of timeand expertise, many authors hire the services of a blog tour coordinator. However, I sometimes wonder if they’re wasting the time of the coordina […]
Dorothy Thompson
Apr 23, 2008 at 11:13 am
Absolutely absolutely you hit the nail on the head, Mary Emma. We have told authors countless of times to participate…some will, some don’t have time, but the ones who do participate are the ones who are showing stronger sales. It’s hard out there…unless you’re a NY Times bestselling author (LOL…Lisa Jackson can get away with this), there’s nothing much else you can do but get the word out about your book. No matter if you hire someone or not, you STILL need to get your name out there. Great post, Mary Emma, and I will be blogging about it!
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