Virtual Blog Tours - The Latest Innovation for Promoting Your Writing
Guest Post by Mary Emma Allen
The latest popular technique for authors, and freelance writers, to promote their work consists of virtual book signings or blog tours. Rather than taking time to make a physical tour of bookstores, many writers now appear on blogs throughout the world. Many publishers have begun to expect authors to engage in online tours.
At present, I’ve hosted mainly authors. However, some also write articles, give motivational talks and teach workshops. While they may be promoting their current book, they also refer to their other writing activities.
How Writers & Authors Can Promote Themselves Through Virtual Tours
I also see blog touring as a way freelance writers can promote themselves. Writers are beginning to make appearances on other blogs, as Yvonne did recently, by writing a guest post on my Home Biz Notes blog. Also, they are interviewed by other bloggers, thus getting their name into the blogosphere.
Writers and authors can participate in several ways:
* Tour blogs to promote a new book, a series of workshops, or something else new in your writing life.
* Host tours to bring traffic to your blog and help you become better known throughout the writing world.
* Coordinate tours for others. These specialists charge for their services of organizing a blog tour/virtual book signing. Some, like Dorothy Thompson also make trailers and videos for you to use on your tour.
* Write guest posts for other blogs. Sometimes you exchange articles with another blogger.
Making the Most of the Virtual Tour
* Realize it will involve work even when you hire a blog tour coordinator. You must answer questions from the blog hosts and help the coordinator with information that will enhance your tour.
* Answer in a timely manner the questions the host e-mails you. There is considerable work for the host (I know because I frequently host) in formatting the questions and posting them on the blog. If you send your answers to the host at the last minute, you run the risk of their being posted late…or not at all if she’s hosting someone else the next day.
* Post your tour schedule on your blog and/or web site to let your readers know where you are. Hopefully they’ll visit you, and leave comments.
* Comment at your hosts’ blogs and leave a thank you. Most hosts are doing this on a volunteer basis. Yes, they generally will see some traffic to their blog, perhaps some comments. However, if you, the author/writer, leave a comment and thank you, it looks good for you and starts the comment ball rolling. You even can mention on your tour schedule that you’ll answer readers’ questions on the blogs.
* Communicate with both coordinator and host. I encountered a problem with questions I sent being regarded as spam by the author’s secretary. So she deleted the questions. We had to schedule the author’s tour the next month because we got the misunderstanding straightened out too late to go on as scheduled.
Coordinating Virtual Tours
* You can do it yourself. Find and contact blog hosts for the specific number of days you plan to tour, coordinate the dates, post book summary and excerpts on your blog, put out announcements to various groups…in general, spend a great deal of time organizing this.
* Contract with a coordinator who will do this for you. He/she also has a regular group of hosts to call upon, has outlets for publicity, will write these excerpts and post them on a blog or site designed especially for this purpose.
* Work with a coordinator and, for a lesser fee, you will do some of coordinating and planning, contacting hosts, etc. Make sure you coordinate well when you do this.
Ultimately…HAVE FUN!
Some Virtual Tour Resources
* Interview with Dorothy Thompson, Tour Coordinator Specialist, at Blog Critics Magazine.
* Why do you need a PR person? Also, shows possible blog tour packages when hiring a coordinator or specialist.
* Author appearances on my Potpourri of Writing blog
* More articles giving tips about Virtual Blog Tours
Mary Emma Allen is an author, freelance writer and blogger. She blogs at several b5media blogs – Home Biz Notes, Alzheimer’s Notes, and Quilting and Patchwork and hosts writers at her Potpourri of Writing blog.
This is very interesting. I like the idea of virtual tours in promoting a new book and reaching worldwide readers.
Hi Rach - It certainly offers a lot of possibiliites. I can see big possibilities for ebooks too.
Thank you, Yvonne, for asking me to be a guest blogger on Grow Your Writing Business. I hope your readers find information here to inspire and encourage them to take the plunge into this fascinating world of virtual blog tours…or to host a blog tour.
Thanks for a very useful post, Mary Emma. You’ve provided a wealth of information here for anyone interested in getting involved in virtual book tours, whether as a host or as a writer.
I’ll certainly be referring to this, as it’s great to have practical tips from someone who has actually been involved in virtual book tours as much as you have.
Great post, Mary Emma. Virtual book tours are definitely increasing in popularity. When I did my first virtual book tour earlier this year, I found very little information on how to organize one. Now, information and tours are popping up everywhere, which is exciting.
I’m currently doing a Summer Sojourn virtual book tour; Yvonne is hosting the finale on Friday. This time around, something magical has happened: a theme has developed quite organically, which all the hosts have picked up on. I don’t think I could have planned it any better if I had tried.
Please join me for today’s stop at http://putzworld.blogspot.com/2007/08/glenda-watson-hyatt-roars-in.html
I am at the tail end of a one month VBT, and I can say it has been great fun and a LOT of work. I will be writing an article for John Kremer’s site soon on this topic and on everything I have learned recently, but until then I invite you to check out my original article on VBT’s, which incidentally became a VBT stop.
Virtual Book Tours - How Authors Can Travel the World
Cheryl Kaye Tardif
bestselling author of Whale Song
Hi Glenda - Thanks for stopping by. What with jetting about and spinning the wheels on that zippy red ferrari, I guess you needed a break. Grab a virtual coffee and stay awhile. See you Friday.
Hi Cheryl
It sounds like you have a lot of experience in virtual book tours. I guess I should have known there would be an acronym for virtual book tours - VBT. Have fun and thanks for visiting. Hope you’ll call back on Friday for Glenda’s Virtual Book Tour.
I wish I DID have a lot of actual experience in VBTs…hehe. Actually, I have been researching them off and on since 2003, reading articles and following other authors around on theirs to see what they’re doing. And then I planned my own, which is now into day 28 out of 31. And I can definitely say the past 4 weeks have taught me a lot. The biggest thing I learned? NEVER go for 1 full month!!! 2 weeks is more than enough.
As for the acronym for virtual book tours, I was writing so much about them that I got tired of writing out the words that I shortened it! haha And the funny thing is, it is catching on. More people are now calling it a VBT.
Cheers!
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl
Isn’t language a wonderful thing? It changes all the time, and we can even invent our own new words and acronyms… Even better if they take off and others adopt them too…hehe.
Thanks for the insights. You’ll be an old hand at it next tme round, and I’m sure you’ve learned a lot, and have a lot to share. The time span insight is interesting. Why did you think a month was too long?
Glenda, thanks for taking time to chat and respond to my post. I’m pleased your VBT is going so well. It must be enjoyable to tour the world this way. It’s interesting how a theme developed with yours. Also, giving names to one’s tour helps call more attention to them, I think.
Cheryl, thanks for taking time to stop by and comment on my post. VBTs certainly are work for the author and the host (and a coordinator, if you engage one), but they seem to be the way so many authors are going these days. It’s interesting how the Internet has taken book signings and tours to another level.
P.S. I like VBT, too!
Ten Keyboards…if you’re looking for tips on how to set up a virtual book tour (VBT) I recommend two things: pick up a copy of Plug Your Book by Steve Weber. There is a section in there on VBT’s, plus other marketing strategies that I can tell you WORK! Also, you may want to check out my article on VBT’s at http://www.lestout.com/article/arts-humanities/books-literature/virtual-book-tour.html.
Yvonne (by the way, that’s my middle name :), I found that one month was far too long. Within two weeks I had covered all the pertinient information about my book, and even my other two. I had done enough interviews to keep things interesting. After two weeks the momentum that I had built started to fade and the interview questions seemed to be very similar. It became more difficult to keep them original, so I wrote more articles and used excerpts to kick things up a notch. What many people don’t understand is that it takes some time to properly organize a VBT. Then the time you take on the VBT. By the end of two weeks I felt I had really accomplished more than enough. But being me, I kept going and finished the month. The last two weeks were still fun and challenging, but I won’t do a VBT this long again. I have 3 days left and I know I will crash for a few days afterward.
ZZZzzzzzzz………
A virtual book tour takes even more preparation than a book signing. And it still takes many hours a day to advertise the heck out of it. The advantage is that you can reach far more people with a VBT.
I prefer to organize it myself as I found that every host had different needs and were flexible enough that I could write something that fit us both. I was also able to alternate interviews with other posts to keep things looking fresh for visitors. Plus, I like to build relationships with people and there is no better way than to do that yourself. One day I might help them out. One day they may host me again. Finding the right hosts takes some time and energy. You want to find hosts with high Google ranks, preferably 5 or more. Yet some with smaller ranks have a great following of loyal readers and if those readers are your target audience for your book then it’s worth having them host you. Other websites that write on a theme found in your book can also make wonderful hosts. Some may not score high on Google rank but may have thousands of daily visitors, so it’s important to ask your host about their traffic.
A quick search on yahoo and google on your keywords or keywords that a reader might use will show you which sites and blogs rank on the top 3 pages. Those are the ones to target as well.
Cheers and happy VBTing.
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl
I’ve let Scot know about your comment. He’s just posted on Virtual Book Tours himself too.
Thanks for taking the time to post such a comprehensive and interesting roundup of your virtual book tour experience.
Cheryl,
I agree two weeks is long enough. My first was eight weeks. By the end, I was exhausted and ended up with bronchitis for a month. Live and learn. This one was more focused on my target market and I’ve had much better results. Just had a book order from Japan! (I’m in Canada.)
I’d love to hear more about how you promote your tours. I’m still learning and testing the strategies.
Thanks, Cheryl and Glenda for sharing about your virtual tour experiences and the fact that a month is almost too long, especially if you’re organizing your own tours. Just a thought…even if you seem to be answering some of the same questions on the different blogs, many of those will be viewed only once by someone visiting a particular blog. Some of your fans may visit a number of blogs. But others will only happen to come upon your day at a blog because they regularly read that one. (Hope this makes sense!)
Thanks, Scot, for mentioning my post at your blog. I’m pleased you thought it had some very useful tips. I hope I’ve been able to help writers on tour or those thinking about touring.
Mary Emma - Thanks for dropping back in and adding your additional thoughts. Thanks also for your wonderful guest post. You’ve certainly sparked interest in VBT’s and helped spread the word about how writers can use them to market themselves and their writing.
Mary,
I’m preping to do a blog tour as my third thriller is just released. Yes, I know I should have preped prior to this but I have an existing blog site and a website. Anyway, thanks for the information on your site on how to set up a tour.
As I go along I’ll let you know how I’m doing.
Ed - Good luck with your tour. Mary Emma certainly shared some very practical tips. I hope you can use them for your virtual book tour. We’d love to hear how it goes.
Thanks, Ed, for letting us know about your tour. As Yvonne says, we’d love to hear how it goes. So keep us posted. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to “ask away.”
Hi again Yvonne:
I just finished writing an article on virtual book tours and how to organize one, and I thought you and your visitors may be interested. It is posted on book marketing expert John Kremer’s blog. Here is a preview…
Authors Tour the World with Virtual Book Tours
Over the years, authors who wanted to promote their books directly to the public had one main option; you had to physically travel across the country conducting book signings and readings in various bookstores and praying that people would show up. This meant spending money on flights, hotels, transportation and meals. This traditional type of book tour is expensive and very few publishing companies are willing to pay for them. But now, authors have a new method of ‘touring the world’?the virtual book tour.
Virtual book tours (also known as virtual author tours, guest blogging, blog tours, or VBTs) are a simple concept. The author tours various blogs and sites that pertain to a theme in the book or to writing in general. This way, you can potentially reach thousands of avid readers each tour day from the privacy of your office or home.
The goal of marketing your book is to expose it to as many people as possible in an exciting, cost-effective and entertaining way. Guest blogging can achieve that goal. Most blogs are archived, so your post becomes permanent and often viral, spreading from site to site. That is leverage. You are in essence leveraging your internet presence and duplicating yourself with every VBT stop. Your blog tour is working for you even while you sleep. Try doing that at a bookstore signing!
Read Cheryl’s article Authors Tour the World with Virtual Book Tours on John Kremer’s Book Marketing site.
What a great post, Mary Emma! I’m currently on a virtual blog tour right now and am having a wonderful time meeting new people, being a guest blogger, and opening dialogue with those interested in my book.
I am new to the concept of virtual( blog )tour. As an author of 2 books in the last 12 months, I am keen to promote my self-published(via www.authorhouse.com) books. Given my newness to this wonderful idea, could someone with experience help me on how it works.What does it cost in money and time terms? I have tried to read on it. Though I am getting some hits at my website http://www.myeexpert.com, As self -publisher, I can do with the experience of other authors.
Thank you.
Joel
This is a good idea — I could use some freelance writers to do a “tour” of my blog and submit some articles at Karlonia.com. Anyone who submits an article that gets published receives a free link back to their site either in an “About the author” section at bottom or within the body text. Articles can be submitted through the Contact page and if accepted, will usually be published within 24 hours.
Karlonia’s last blog post..XBox Red Light Fix: Repair the Ring of Death
I find this information very useful. I have never heard this before. I think this will give a good impression for visitor who wants to know “everything” before joining “real tours”.
Beside this will make your company’s image even better.
Nice share..
iyang’s last blog post..An Introduction To Malaysia
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