Many blogs have readership that exceeds that of newspaper or even broadcast outlets. In recent years, many authors have taken advantage of this fact to use blogs as a way to market their work. Using blog search tools, authors can quickly find readers of other blogs with interests congruent with the content of their book. Instead of going on a physical book tour, authors now create a “virtual” book tour on these blogs.
It is useful to compare blog tours with conventional book tours. A typical book might take an author to a number of cities where he or she will make presentations, do book readings, participate in book signings and conduct interviews with the local media. Setting up and managing a book tour requires a great amount of planning, scheduling and coordination with involvement by publisher staff, the author, local media, event planners in the local venues and so on. There can also be considerable expense involved to cover travel, lodging and the local venues where an author might present. Who bears this cost depends on the agreement between publisher and author.
Blog touring, on the other hand, is much less time and cost intensive. The tasks associated with a blog tour can easily be handled by the author and the rewards, in terms of audience exposure and book sales can be much greater. The table below contrasts book touring and blog touring.
| BLOG TOUR | BOOK TOUR |
|
virtual, no travel |
actual, lots of travel |
|
show on your book site, the blog(s) you will be a guest on |
advertise in the local media of the cities where you will be appearing |
|
light coordination |
intensive coordination |
|
exposure not limited by geography |
exposure is usually limited by time & geography |
|
sell via links to online booksellers or publisher site |
sell at book signings and by promoting book at retail bookstores |
|
inexpensive |
expensive |
In upcoming posts, we’ll discuss how to set up a blog tour and also talk with book marketers who specialize in setting up and managing book tours for authors.
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