An Author's Guide to Book Blog Tours
Your book is due out soon… you’ve heard the term ‘blog tour’ being mentioned. But. You’re not quite sure exactly what it is, let alone how to organise one!
It’s ok, you’re in the right place.
As founder of My Book Corner I’ve hosted a huge number of book tours, I can help you.
What IS a Blog Tour?
A blog tour involves making a virtual visit to multiple blog during a set period of time, usually a week to 10 days. Each day (or other day) involves a post relating to you/your book being published, one blog at a time. It’s a great way to connect with your audience, to create a lovely buzz about your new book and to celebrate all that you’ve achieved. With a little bit of help, you can make sure your blog tour achieves all those things…
Psst… you DO know the great blogs out there for your genre, don’t you. Don’t you?
If not, now is the time to get to know them. Connect on social media. Chat books. Be a part of the community.
Create a GREAT Book Blog Tour in SIX Easy Steps
Dates: one week either side of your publication date is perfect. How long depends on the number of blogs involved, consider leaving a day between each visit to give both you and your blogger time to spread the word about each one.
Contact: make a shortlist of the blogs that you love, blogs that are a great fit for your book, then approach each one. Give them a little info about your book, and a link to your title on your publisher’s website if possible. Be friendly, be yourself. Your publicist might be able to help here but do be mindful of the pressures on their time. Lock in dates for each blogger.
Content: decide on the all important content, and ensure it is sent to each blogger. Stuck for ideas? Scroll down for content inspiration.
Communication: check each blogger has everything they need, and in plenty of time. Make it easy for them - include correctly sized images, with clear indications of position if this is crucial to you. Are you creating a blog banner to be used on social media to publicize your tour? Ensure it is circulated a week before - pop it on social media, correctly tagging all.
Do remember to pass on all social media handles, including those for illustrators and book cover designers - bloggers love to include everyone. Will you be using a hashtag for your tour (great idea by the way)? Make sure everyone knows what it is!
On Tour: your wonderful content is rolling out across the wonderful blogs, what now? Engage! You’ve asked each blogger to talk about your book, they’ve kindly agreed – they’ve scheduled the post, they’ve arranged social media posts. Don’t ignore them! RT & like posts on social media. Respond to comments. Visit each blog, leaving a comment on their posts. Thank your bloggers, they’ve given up their time to shout about you and your book because they believe in you. Do continue to support them.
Content Inspiration for a Fabulous Book Blog Tour
Each blogger might have their own suggestions or preferences. At My Book Corner, for example, we’ve launched an incredibly successful series called My Journey to Publication, we also have our infamous questions which capture the style and approach of My Book Corner.
The options are many, this is your chance to really get creative. Here are a few suggestions:
typical writing / illustrating / creating day
share your tips for budding creators
expand on one or more of the themes in your book - this has plenty of potential, think outside the box a little bit here.
interview one of your characters - I’ve seen this done brilliantly in the past.
exclusive content - a sneak peek at a chapter, a colouring page to download
a quiz themed around your book’s content / theme.
your book’s journey to publication