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August 8, 2011

Blog Tours: A Primer for Bloggers

Back in March, we tackled the topic of planning blog tours from the perspective of the author. If you have a book to promote (or, if you’ve never heard of a blog tour), you should definitely check out that post for the scoop on the basics of blog touring! This post, on the other hand, is geared toward bloggers who are interested in hosting blog tours. If you have a blog (and, if you’re an author, you should) the following should get you started with hosting your first tour!

Blog Tours for the Blogger

Why should I host a blog tour?

  1. Blog tours bring traffic and add content to your blog. What blog owner can say no to that? Make sure your blog is in tip-top shape, and you’re bound to gain a few new followers!
  2. Blog tours help a fellow indie author. As as all know, self-publishing is a long, hard road. Hosting a touree helps them on their way to success (and, hey, maybe they’ll host you when your book is released)!
  3. Blog tours support self-publishing. We’ve talked a lot recently about getting involved in the online writing community and supporting indie authors, and promoting an indie book on your blog is a great way to do just that.

Continue Reading

Filed Under: Marketing & Promotion Tagged With: ,
July 11, 2011

4 Ways to Get Involved in the Online Writing Community

Times Square on New Year's EveWhen you bring your writer career online, it can feel a lot like standing in the middle of Times Square on New Year’s Eve. You look around and see people everywhere, but none of them give you a second glance. How do you connect with those all around you?

In reality, the size of the online writing community can be a real asset to your development as an author, but you have to know how to most effectively tap into it.  No matter which way you like to communicate online, here are some options for getting started:

LitChat

LitChats occur every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on Twitter from 4-5pm ET. They are a fast-paced, fun way to connect with other writers and discuss current topics and issues around the publishing scene. There may sometimes  be a slight bias toward traditional publishing in LitChat, but it is becoming more and mroe friendly to self-publishers, so join the discussion! Not in the Eastern time zone or busy at 4? Search the #litchat hashtag at any time to chime in on that day’s topic.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Marketing & Promotion, Writing Tagged With: , ,
March 21, 2011

Blog Tours: A Primer for Authors

Also be sure to check out part 2, which focuses on blog tours from the perspective of the blogger.

Photo: Dru Bloomfield | Flickr

As we’ve discussed, book marketing is no longer about lonely book signings and time-consuming schlepps to beg every store in town to carry your book — taking your marketing online (while not appropriate for EVERY book/subject matter) offers you the opportunity to reach a wide audience with only a moderate input of time and effort.

While blog tours have been around for a few years, they are rapidly becoming more and more popular as a marketing strategy — and for good reason. They allow you to gain a large number of followers/potential readers in a relatively short amount of time. There are some tips, tricks and guidelines to follow, however, to make the tour a success, both for the blog host and the author.

Since many authors out there are bloggers as well, we’ll cover this topic both from the perspective of the author and of the blogger.

Blog Tours for Authors

What is a Blog Tour?

A blog tour is when an author visits a blog, providing some source of content for a post. The content itself could take many forms — it could include:

  • Writing a guest post.
  • Participating in an author Q&A/interview.
  • Receiving a book review from the blogger.
  • Offering a contest or giveaway.
  • Guesting on a podcast.

Or, really, anything else that gets your name and project out there on another blog.Continue Reading

Filed Under: Marketing & Promotion Tagged With:
February 21, 2011

Five (Easy) 5-Minute Marketing Ideas for the Unmotivated and/or Lazy Author

For more 5-minute marketing ideas, check out our 5-Minute Marketing Ideas Generator!

Photo: myphotosshare blogspot | Flickr

I know, I know — using the word lazy is bound to make me the recipient of more than a few nasty looks. I mean no offense, though! Honestly, we take ‘lazy’ as having a negative connotation, but I don’t agree. After all, who wouldn’t like to spend less time working on something and still have it yield a positive result? I call that being efficient!

Let’s face it, we’re all time-strapped and/or motivation-strapped every now and again. Even sparing just five minutes on marketing your book, however, can go a long way towards helping you meet your sales goals. Think of it this way: take just 5 or 10 minutes every day and you’ll quickly have something going!

With that in mind, here’s a few tips to turn even a quick five minutes into a productive marketing opportunity!

Five 5-Minute Marketing Ideas

  1. Find 10 fellow authors to follow on Twitter. Enter the #amwriting hash tag into Twitter’s search box for a great, easy way to connect with fellow authors! You can learn an amazing amount from observing them — how they interact with their readers, what they post on their blog, how they market themselves through Twitter. It’s free education!
  2. Post a contest on your blog. Whether the prize is a free autographed copy of your book, or even just a few items you’re looking to get rid of around the house, contests drive traffic (and potential readers) to your blog.
  3. Comment on a favorite topical blog. Choose a post that has inspired you recently and leave a comment. Be sure to include your blog/website address! Just speaking from personal experience, I often click on the websites of commenters who offer an interseting perspective on a topic.
  4. Complete a quick revision of your media kit. Read through each page, updating any information where necessary. Have you been featured in any media or won awards? Add this information to your author bio!
  5. Post a discussion question on your blog, Twitter or Facebook page. Interact with your fans/readers — it proves to them that you’re a real person and can help them feel more connected to you.

I know you’re all short on time, so go out now and put one of these tips into action! Do you have another quick marketing idea? Try out #3 and leave us a comment below!

Marketing Motivation

Shannon and I are always looking for ways to help you guys stay motivated toward your goals. This month, we’re introducing two new mailing lists to do just that. Last week we unveiled our Writing Motivation list and today we’re following suit with one for those of you in the marketing phase of your book’s lifespan by introducing our Marketing Motivation mailing list!

Signing up for the list is totally free, and each month you’ll receive an article like the one above to help you stay on track, links to other helpful resources and opportunities to connect with other authors in the same phase of the publishing process as you — kind of like a support group! Give it a try today and receive your first e-mail on March 1st (right around the corner)!

Filed Under: Marketing & Promotion, Motivation Tagged With:
October 12, 2010

Start Your Media Kit Today: Mini Workbook

Take all your excuses and shove them under your bed with the dust bunnies, mismatched socks and the scale you bought for your last diet but never took out of the box.

Give me fifteen minutes of your time and we’ll knock out five essential pieces of your media kit.

Pre-Reading: Background info and quick tips.

photo by bru76

If you’re unclear on what all should go in a media kit, what it is and where to get one, read Toni’s overview post. It also has a bevy (yeah that’s right, I said bevy) of helpful hints for the design of your media kit.

Quick Tip #1: Prepare a digital and a print version of your media kit. The digital version (preferably a PDF) is perfect for sending on the web (and is especially thrifty since you don’t have to pay to print it out). A printed version is still necessary, however, for some of your local bookstores and events. Keep a few printed copies in your car, purse, briefcase, etc. because you never know when you’ll run into someone and want to share!

Quick Tip #2: Remember who you’re writing to–it’s a different target audience! Unlike most of your marketing materials, your media kit is not geared to potential readers, but to potential interviewers and book retailers. You need to tell them why this book matters to them. Will it bring readers to a blogger in an interview or review? Will people flock to a store to pick up a copy or meet the author? Consider it more like a business presentation for potential investors than a push for new readers. Continue Reading

Filed Under: Marketing & Promotion Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,