All Aboard for Blog Tours by Stacy Hoff
I’ve recently launched my newest release, DESIRE IN THE ARCTIC. In order to promote it I had to do everything under the sun marketing-wise. Technically, this should have been no big deal for me. After all, ARCTIC is my fifth book to be published. Yet every time I have a release, I learn something new. My newest marketing move consisted of “blog tours.”
I had never done a “blog tour” before. For the longest time, I didn’t even know what one is. But now I have completed a crash course. By the time by my PR trains pulls into its final station, I would have made roughly a dozen blog stops along the way. That a long enough “tour” for me.
For those of you who are new to “blog tours” too, the term refers to lining up as many “guest spots” on other people’s blogs as possible. The hope is to be on blogs that have readers potentially interested in reading your book. The trick is to find bloggers willing to “host” you. It’s not easy. Some authors pay money to hire PR firms/promoters to find good blog spots for them.
I got lucky that I did not need to hire. I’ve published enough books to know a fair amount of good bloggers. One who are nice enough to have me on. But if you are looking to take a blog tour and don’t know anybody to host you (and are reluctant to pay a PR/promotion firm) here are my top three tips. (Besides, of course, the usual Google check.)
Reach out to people in your writing group. Chances are, they blog. If not, they can likely recommend relevant blogs to you.
See if your publisher has an authors’ loop. If so, join it so you can find out who is blogging regularly. Then reach out to those authors. (This worked well for me.)
Search your Facebook, Twitter and even LinkedIn connections. Do those people blog? If not, are they connected with people who do?
Here’s yet another tip for you—check out these prospective sites before asking the host if they will be a stop on your blog tour. If their blog is not suited to your readers, or is controversial, or is poorly done, etc., it may be wise to keep your train moving.
What promotion tricks have worked best for you?
WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR STACY HOFF:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorStacyHoff
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/authorStacyHoff
AMAZON LINK FOR DESIRE IN THE ARCTIC by Stacy Hoff:
AMAZON LINK FOR DESIRE IN THE EVERGLADES by Stacy Hoff:
AMAZON LINK FOR LAWFULLY YOURS by Stacy Hoff:
AMAZON LINK FOR HOT SEDUCTION (box set with Stacy Hoff):
AMAZON LINK FOR SEASON OF LOVE (Box set with Stacy Hoff):
Filed under: Business, Marketing, Promotion, publishing, research, romance, Social Media, Stacy Hoff, What I have Learned so Far: Sharing Secret, Writer's Life, Writing Advice, writing life, writing research


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