If you’re here to learn about blog tours, then you’ve likely already got a book cooling on the rack and ready for release soon. Congratulations! Many aspiring writers don’t make it this far. Take a moment to bask in your success before you go back to agonizing over details and stressing out about promotional events. If this describes you, you’ve also come to the right place. Blog tours are an excellent way to plug your new novel while avoiding the constant rush and physical stress of an all-out book tour.
What Exactly Is a Blog Tour?
Blog tour refers to a series of promotional posts and other original content across blogs in support of your new novel. It is organized in advance with content and posting dates agreed upon beforehand. The posts are also toggled, meaning they won’t all go up at once. The goal of the blog tour is to generate buzz around the release date of your novel, encouraging interested readers to go out and buy a copy.
Should I Do a Blog Tour?
Are you busy and stressed? Do you want to promote your novel without having to leave your two-year-old and spouse at home for days at a time? Then consider a blog tour. In fact, a blog tour might actually be preferable if you’re a YA writer or work within a genre. These readers are very active in the online community. Of course, these days, most consumers are active online, making blog tours excellent for reaching a wide audience.
How Will It Work?
First, you need to find your bloggers. Research blogs and choose ones with similar audiences as your own. Also, consider blogs that have done this sort of book promotion before. Reach out to them six to eight weeks before your publication date. You’ll need time to get all your ducks in a row.
Next, you’ll need to convince them. Not every blogger is going to be chomping at the bit to promote you. It helps to build a rapport first. Nobody likes to feel like they’re being used. Be friendly and interested in their blog before you ask them to be part of the tour.
You can also entice them with exclusive content and giveaways. Bloggers love this stuff because their readers love it. Exclusive content could come in the form of an interview with you, the author, a guest post written by you, or exclusive excerpts or information. Basically, give them something unique that will set their post apart from the other posts on the blog tour.
When you have your bloggers lined up, be sure to give them everything they need to be a successful part of the tour. Provide them with copies of the work well in advance so that they’ll have time to explore it. Also be sure to give them branded content, links for purchasing the work, and biographical information about you.
Finally, stay vigilant. Keep a schedule of when posts are supposed to go up and share them across your social media accounts to promote visibility. The more active you are in the process, the more people will feel like they are interacting with you.