Is a Blog Tour Worth It?
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
Over the last twenty years, blogging has become an essential marketing strategy. But is a blog tour a good use of your time and investment when you have a book coming out? Or is this no longer an effective book marketing idea? Theoretically, a blog tour gives authors the opportunity to attract a wider audience and generate interest in their work. First, let’s define what we’re talking about: A blog tour is a series of stops on various blogs or websites where the author can make guest appearances to talk about their book, share excerpts, answer questions, and more. It can be a fantastic way to connect with a new audience and get the word out about your book. But is it worth the work and networking?
Planning a Blog Tour
One of the most important factors in a successful blog tour is planning. You need to start planning early, at least several months ahead of your book's release date. Before you start reaching out to potential blog tour hosts, you need to create a clear plan that outlines what you want to achieve with the tour. You also need to pitch your book to them and make sure their audience and your intended readership overlap. You should have a clear idea of your target audience, goals for the tour, and what you want to communicate to their readership.
Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to reach out to potential hosts for your blog tour. There are many blogs that accept guest posts and book reviews, so start by making a list of target blogs that cater to your target audience. You can search for bloggers by genre, geographic location, social media influence, and more. Reach out to a mix of established and new bloggers. Remember that just like with any outreach, you should respect the bloggers’ time and requests. Be sure to personalize each request and follow each blogger's rules. If you’re finding book reviewers who are working in other mediums more current than a blog—like Bookstagrammers, BookTokers, and book influencers who post reviews on YouTube—you might want to tilt your outreach efforts in that direction.
Blog Tour Support Materials
To keep readers' attention, you need to create engaging material that will capture their interest. What should you offer to the hosts of the blogs you are reaching out to? Here are some ideas:
Guest posts where you write about something related to the book, like a scene or book’s theme, or a topic your readers might find interesting.
Interviews which can focus on the book, the writing process, or anything your potential readers might be interested in knowing about you and your work.
Excerpts like a short chapter or scene from your book.
By providing engaging material that your blog tour hosts can share with their audiences, you’ll be creating a buzz for your book. You can also set up a giveaway and provide free copies to the blog tour host or influencer, though this can get expensive (author copies still cost money, and the books need to be shipped).
Finally, you might want to take the modern approach of a newsletter swap rather than a blog tour. Most book influencers and reviewers will keep their own email newsletters, which are considered the gold standard of author marketing. Any of the above ideas can be leveraged in newsletter rather than blog format. Your case is better if you have an email newsletter that boasts impressive numbers of subscribers. If not, that’s okay—everyone starts somewhere.
Be Clear and Upfront with Expectations
When communicating with your blog tour hosts, be clear and upfront about your expectations, goals, and what you hope to achieve with the tour, newsletter swap, or social media review, giveaway, or feature. Make sure they know what is involved, and be upfront about any promotional requirements they may have. You’ll want to give them plenty of notice and instructions. Be sure to provide a clear timeline of the tour and what you hope to achieve. It’s a good idea to follow up with your hosts regularly to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Say Thank You and Follow-up
Once the blog tour or feature is over, be sure to thank all your hosts and leave comments on their posts. It’s an excellent way to show your appreciation and build long-lasting relationships with fellow bloggers. Remember, the relationships you build with bloggers during your tour will stay with you beyond this specific promotion. You may be back with the release of your next book, hoping to capture their readership again. If you’ve done a newsletter swap, ask their readers to come over and sign up for your newsletter so you can retain some of those potential fans.
In summary, a blog tour is slightly outdated, but best practices for a blog tour can be applied to other platforms and can be an effective way to promote your book successfully. However, to create a successful blog tour or book marketing strategy, you need to plan carefully, reach out to potential hosts, offer engaging materials, be upfront with your expectations, and follow up with your hosts. By following these tips, you’ll be on a path towards a successful and rewarding blog tour, getting your book seen and increasing your audience. Happy touring!
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