Blog Tours: Tips and Things to Consider from Katie Salidas

Let’s Talk About Blog Tours

by Katie Salidas

A relatively new method of marketing an author’s book is to do it via online blogs in what is known as a Blog Tour. An author and his/her book are scheduled at a variety of blogs for interviews, book reviews, guest posts, and chapter excerpts. This avoids the author needing to physically travel around the country, yet still provides the opportunity to reach a wide audience.

The single best way to get the word out about your new book is to get it into the hands of people who read and review books publicly. This is where blog touring has taken off.

It combines all the benefits of touring with the ease of online interaction! But how do you set up one of these blog tours?

There are plenty of blog tour companies out there who will take your book and not only get it into the hands of other book reviewers, they’ll also schedule those reviews up into a nice week-to-month tour through associated blogs and social networking sites.

This is a great service to look into. For this tour I am working with the wonderful bloggers of the Virtual Book Tour Café - http://www.virtualbooktourcafe.com/

Hiring a blog tour service can be extremely expensive or cost effective, depending on who you go with. There are some that offer all kinds of bells and whistles: Book reviews, Author Interviews, Book trailer creation, Ad creation, Press Releases, etc.. The sky is really the limit where touring is concerned.

The choice is yours on who you go with, but you have to factor in how much it will cost vs. how much interest it will gain for you and your book.

Let me give you some some things to consider when choosing a blog tour service:

• What blogs are they affiliated with?

Check out their links. They should provide a listing of blogs they regularly work with.

• Do those blogs have a good following?

Most blogs have a “followers” widget on the side where you can see how many people publically follow them. Also look at the comments section and see if people are participating in the blogger’s posts. This will give you an idea of how active members are.

• Do they offer reviews with your tour?

Reviews are the biggest seller in these tours, because people trust their blogger’s opinion. An interview is great to introduce yourself, but a “thumbs up” from a blogger who has read your book can help people decide to take a chance on you and your book.

• Does the blog tour offer giveaways for your book?

People like to win things. If your tour includes giveaways of your book or Amazon gift cards, etc., it will attract more attention.

So, once you have your book ready to publish, why not consider looking in to taking it on tour?

And if you’d like to read more Self-Publishing tips and tricks, check out Go Publish Yourself!

Go Publish Yourself!

Self-Publishing made simple. Get your polished novel ready for Kindle, Nook, or Print in thirty days or less.

Avoid the common stumbling blocks and get on the road to successful self-publishing. This handy dandy guide, filled with insider’s tips and tricks, will unscramble the world of self-publishing into simple, easy-to-follow steps.

What’s in the book?

Common Misconceptions

The Business of Self-Publishing

Basic Costs & Budgeting

Publishing Formats: Epub, Kindle, Smashwords, & Print

Cover Art

Interior Layout

Pricing

Printing and Distribution

Marketing Basics: Platform Building, Book Signings, Blog Tours, etc.

And much more!

Don’t make rookie mistakes. Learn from an insider!

Katie Salidas is an author with several successful self-published titles. Each of her titles was created in the DIY (Do It Yourself) style, without the aid of author service companies. Through trial and error she has gained the knowhow to successfully publish print and ebooks. Go Publish Yourself! has that knowledge assembled into an easy-to-use format, packed with no-nonsense tips and quick and dirty tricks, so you can take your novel to the next level.

So, what are you waiting for? Go Publish Yourself!

Title: Go Publish Yourself

Genre – Self-Help, Self-Publishing
Format - Ebook
Publisher – Rising Sign Books
Release Date – January 31, 2012

Website – www.katiesalidas.com 

Purchase the Book

JOIN THE TOUR!

 

Schedule:

April 9 - Introduction at VBT Cafe' Blog
April 11 - Guest Blogging at Wise Words
April 13 - Guest Blogging at Behind the Scenes of an Unusual Mind
April 17 - Interviewed at BK Walker Books Etc.
April 19 - Interview & Reviewed at Immortyl Revolutions
April 23 - Reviewed at B'Tween Prose, Faerotic Prose, Loves 2 Read
April 25 - Guest Blogging at Alchemy of Scrawl
April 27 - Interview & Reviewed at AZ Publishing Services
May 1 - Guest Blogging with Cindy Vine
May 4 - Interviewed at Reviews & Interviews
May 5 - Interview, Fun Facts & Review at Books Are Cool
May 7 - Guest Blogging with Louise James
May 9 - Reviewed at Ereading on the Cheap
May 10 - Guest Blogging at Brenda-Steve's Blog
May 11 - Guest Blogging at MK McClintock's Blog
 May 14 - Guest Blogging at For The Love of Reading
May 14 - Reviewed at AZ Publishing Services & Interviewed at KWOD Radio