Tips for a Successful Blog Tour: What Authors Need to Know

 

Happy January, dear Seekerville-ians! 

Carrie here.

I wear many hats in the book world. I'm a blogger, book reviewer, author interviewer, influencer, and speaker. I've reviewed for professional magazines, and I've had the privilege of co-founding the first major author-reader event specifically for Christian fiction. But lately most of my time has been spent as the co-owner of JustRead Publicity Tours (the irony of that is that I rarely have time anymore to 'just read'). 

At JustRead (and several other tour companies that I also blog for, including Singing Librarian Book Tours, Prism Book Tours, and Celebrate Lit), we help promote Christian and 'clean read' books through a coordinated network of blogs and social media hosts. We do the footwork and the managing of each tour so that you, the author, can focus less on marketing and more on writing new, yummy books for us to read. 

But while we do most of the heavy lifting, there are some things that authors can do to aid in achieving a successful blog tour from start to finish. 

Let's start by clearing up some common misconceptions: 

** "Blog tours & social media tours should result in more sales." 

While that would certainly be ideal, there are multiple factors that affect and influence book sales. A successful blog or social media tour should result in more attention directed specifically toward your book.

The idea behind these tours is to get your book in front of people over and over and over again, so when they see it online or in a store they'll feel a connection to it and be more likely to buy it. But it won't happen overnight. It's a cumulative process, which I'll address more in a minute. 

** "Blog tours are outdated. Podcasts are where it's at." 

I would almost agree with that statement if it were for anything other than books. But books are for readers, and readers... well... read. Which means, while we might embrace a few podcasts that are relevant to our interests, we won't quit reading blogs or social media. Because reading is at the core of what we do. Therefore, a blog tour or social media tour continues to meet readers where they're at and reach potentially new audiences for your books.

So, what can authors do to help their blog or social tour to be successful? 

I'm so glad you asked :-) 

Plan ahead. 

Most tour companies that I work with - including JustRead Tours - are booked solid at least 4 months out. Chances are, if you wait until January to plan a tour for your book that will release in February (or heaven forbid, in January), you will be out of luck. At least when it comes to the established, reputable tour companies. Ideally, if you have a book releasing anytime this year and you want to book a blog or social media tour, you need to do so now. There's not really any such thing as planning too early when it comes to publicity and marketing, but there is definitely such a thing as planning too late. 

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. 

Ideally, you'll want to do a blog tour and a social media tour of some sort to keep the book popping up everywhere and staying on people's minds. BUT covers are key here. Some covers just don't work well on social media. It might be a great cover but there are some elements that seem to get less engagement on social media. So ask your tour coordinators for their recommendations and respect their expertise. 

You can also do what I call 'stacking' - where you book tours with more than one company. With the companies I mentioned above, we all have an overlap in hosts but we also have hosts that only work with our company (or one of the other tour groups). PLEASE NOTE: If you decide to stack tours, it's best to schedule different tour types with each company (for instance, a blog tour with one group and a social tour with another group, etc.). It's also best to stagger the dates when stacking tours - so each tour is separate from the other. This avoids confusing hosts who blog for more than one company, and it allows for maximum participation and a more focused campaign. It also takes host availability into consideration - even the 'overlap hosts' will have certain dates that work better than others (so maybe they can't participate in one company's tour but their schedule allows them to participate in the other) or maybe they can participate in both tours, especially if the tours are different types (i.e. one is a blog tour & the other is a social tour).

Have all your ducks in a row.

I cannot emphasize enough how important this is: Make sure your book is up on Goodreads. If your book isn't on Goodreads, you are missing a vital free-to-you marketing tool. To take this one step further, make sure your book is on Goodreads at least three weeks before your tour starts. There must be a place for us to send readers who are interested in the book we're promoting. Retail site links are, of course, also vitally important but the timing on those sometimes doesn't match up with a promotional tour (with cover reveals, for instance).

Also, a media kit is hugely helpful for authors to send bloggers in general and especially for tour company hosts who are putting together your tour. It should have your website, social media links, headshot(s) and at least two versions of your bio - a short bio and a regular bio. Related to this, please make sure your bio and website are updated. It's also highly advisable to have an author Facebook page, separate from your personal timeline. 

 

Share and support.

Share the tour posts! Or at least the giveaway info with a link to the tour company's landing page for your book's tour. An engaged author leads to a more engaged tour all around.

 

Just Read. 

Thoroughly read the invoice and all materials that the tour company sends you. Important details and deadlines are often included in the invoice, terms/conditions, and 'next step' emails. If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask! That's what we're here for. But please do make sure you're aware of the terms you're agreeing to and the materials (and deadlines) that have been requested.

Blog tours and social media tours can be overwhelming, but these guidelines should ease some of the stress - for both you and the tour company - and help your promotional campaign be as smooth and productive as possible. 

(You can hear some more tips - and a bit more details on the ones I've mentioned here - on the Writer's Chat episode I recorded in December. Watch it HERE.)  

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Carrie Schmidt is an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot. Co-founder of the Christian Fiction Readers' Retreat and JustRead Publicity Tours, Carrie lives in Kentucky with her husband Eric. 

She can be found lurking at various blogs and websites (because she can't stop talking about books) but her main home is the blog she started in 2015 - ReadingIsMySuperPower.org.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~

I am giving away a FREE 1-Day Blog Blitz (a $65 value) with JustRead Tours to someone who leaves a comment on today's post!!  

(must be scheduled by Dec 31, 2020)

 What scares you the most about booking a blog tour or social media tour?
What questions do you have about the process? 

leave a comment below & be entered to win!