A virtual book tour can be used as a powerful tool to promote authors and their works. Book tours are not a new concept. Authors have always used these as a tool to expose their work to the public. But the days of physical book tours are quickly becoming passé now. It is very rare for authors to go out and about promoting their work in public from city to city. Authors rarely do signings in order to encourage shoppers to buy their works in brick-and-mortar bookstores. And it is actually even harder to find a publisher that is actually willing to go through that hard work and invest in this old style of promotion. These days, book tours have gone virtual.
So, what exactly is a virtual book tour, you may ask? Well, it is a book tour that can be done in the comfort of an author’s home. An author can now hop from one blog to another, promoting his or her book without the need to leave his or her own personal sanctuary at home. This means that an author can make more than 30 stops in a month without any other added overhead costs that are usually related to traditional book tours.
A virtual book tour may include any of the following activities:
- Writing blog posts as guests to blogs that are related to the book’s genre
- Getting a blogger to review the book
- Getting featured in a related blog
- An email interview by a blogger
- A podcast, Internet radio, or actual radio interview
There are a lot of famous authors that have increased their exposure through social media.
So, if you are planning to market your book with a virtual book tour, here are a few things to remember:
Always Ask
There are a lot of blogs online. If you find one that is related to the genre of the book you are writing, then it would be a good idea to ask around if your book can be featured in it. Be sure to carefully write an introduction about your book and the possible benefits of featuring your book in their blog. If a blogger says no, don’t take it personally and just move on to a next prospective blog.
Some bloggers may ask for a remuneration to feature your work. Often, this may just include a free copy of the book but more well-known websites may ask for a certain fee, depending on the type of feature you want them to do.
Make Varied Content
It is important to make sure that the content you put up in blogs vary in order to keep your audience engaged. For example, some authors tend to leave some hints about their main character’s possible demise in the book in order to make readers look forward to the book launch.
Be Organized
It is very important to be organized. Always keep track of the bloggers that you have asked to participate in the tour and their schedule. If they don’t respond to your request, then just scratch them off the list. If they do respond, however, make sure to record their information like name, email, the name of the blog, and the blog’s URL. Not everyone will be willing to help you out with your endeavor. But it is important that you personally thank those who are willing to lend out a hand. A simple thank-you note can do a lot of help in building your relationship with anyone, even in a virtual world.
Communicate
Make sure to proofread all your requests and communicate well with your contacts. Always be prepared to inform your target market about your book tour. In fact, it is a good idea to keep your schedule open and let people know where you are. You can easily do this by updating your social media accounts and providing your followers with a link of your current virtual location.
If you are still hesitant about virtual book tours, here are a few of its benefits:
More Exposure
With a traditional book tour, you are limited to the number of people in an area. For example, one day in Boston during a traditional book tour will only enable you to interact with the people that are gathered in your book tour location. But a virtual book tour can actually enable you to interact with everyone that has access to the Internet.
Backlinks
A virtual book tour can also help you create more lasting and quality backlinks to your website. This means that you can keep getting regular traffic (from the blogs you had on your tour) back to your website.
Reviews
Getting a virtual book tour can help you generate a lot of reviews and feedback about your book.
Comfort and Convenience
Most importantly, you can enjoy all of these benefits without leaving the comforts of your home!