Blog Directory

More Success for Your Book With Blog Tours

.
Book-Blog-Tour.

Blog tours are a fantastic way to get more exposure and to promote your books – if your target blogs’ audience has avid readers in your genre.  Each blog tour will be completely different in both, style and reach and it offers unique and interesting content.
While you can hire professionals to help set up your book blog tour, you can also do it alone.  But it will take time, planning, research, and a lot of patience, and it is only advisable only if you have connections to many book bloggers!

.
Many book promotion sites require at least a handful of reviews for your book, blog tours usually don’t, which means they are ideal for new authors.  Blog tour organizers require a fee, but it’s worth it as you will usually get your book in front of targeted readers for your genre.  More benefits for you, especially increased online book visibility, more Twitter and Google+ followers, Facebook “likes”, more followers on your own website or blog, more book reviews, and eventually in the future more book sales.
.

Carefully Choose the Blog Tour Organizer
You may already follow the most influential bloggers in your genre.  If not, research those focused on your genre with professionally presented websites/blogs, recent blog tours, blog posts, and an active social media presence.  Check how well these book bloggers promote participating authors.  Find out where fellow authors in your genre have participated in blog tours.  Ask your writer buddies and your writing communities for recommendations or readers for book bloggers they follow.  Study not only the blog tour web site, but also each of their social media presence and find out how popular the blog really is: use Alexa.com to learn about their ranking worldwide and national.   Carefully read submission guidelines and follow them.

.

What You Can Expect
Blog tour packages can include a variety of content types ranging from guest posts, author interviews to contests, spotlights, book excerpts, or a high-traffic email newsletter to readers.  The tour organizer will pair you with blogs they know would work best for your books.
It’s always a bonus when the book blogger and participating blogs review your book as well.  Offer free book review copies, and maybe a couple more as prizes during the blog tour.  Book bloggers often place reviews on both, Amazon and Goodreads, and certainly on their own website or blog.  Popular prizes during a blog tour are also gift cards from online retailers, such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Traditional book blogs, can also be excellent places to contact regarding their participation – if they post articles, relating to the content of your title. For example, if you wrote a thriller that takes place in New York City, find blogs that are related to travel and tourism, ethnic restaurants, gun shops, fashion boutiques, aviation… and so forth.  If you write non-fiction, you will even find more blogs to pitch to.
.

What You Should Offer
During your blog tour you exclusively “stop by” at one blog per day and you want to prepare and offer unique content to each blogger (kind of guest blog about your book and yourself as a writer).  Offer different content on each blog a week in advance of the publication date.  You may have fans following you to each blog tour location and you need to share something different at each stop.
Plan your tour at least eight to ten weeks! ahead of the actual tour dates, which should ideally be soon after the launch of your book so readers can easily buy it after hearing about it on the tour.  Avoid any time short before or during holidays.  Each book blog tour length is different, ranging from one to four weeks.

Offer each blogger exclusive content, that their readers will not find anywhere else.  Send them unique interview and blog ideas, based on their audience.  Research their tours in the past – and which authors/books have been the most popular.  Ideas for book blog content include author interviews, Questions & Answers, observations, backstories, personal observations, character interviews, related recipes, and book excerpts tailored to the book blogger’s demographics, maybe advice, expert opinion or how-to’s for non-fiction.

.
How to Contact Book Bloggers
After reading carefully their submission policy, write them a friendly email, commenting on their blog, or a favorite author in common.  Describe your book title, the genre, a brief summary, a short bio, your social media presences, and links to your sales pages and Goodreads page as well as your own website or blog.  Describe your ideas for blogs and how you will promote the blog tour, including any freebies.  Offer a free review copy of your book and don’t forget your contact information besides your idea how long you would like the tour to last.

.
Create Valuable Original Content
Each stop on your blog tour is a great opportunity to win new readers and reviewers.  Each of your articles can be later used on your own site, so, preparing the content for your blog tour is not an additional work.  Edit each of your posts for perfect content.  Include photos of your book cover and an author photo for use on their site.  Every part of your blog tour should be promoted through your newsletter, blog, website, social media – including the free event announcements on Google+ and Goodreads.
Write a separate event invitation for every day where you appear on a book blog site.  Don’t forget to do the same on LinkedIn, where each of your followers will receive an email notification.  Include also the blogger’s social media and blog links in your promotion.  After the event, respond friendly and quickly to encourage additional interaction.

.

Part of the Success is up to YOU
As better you plan your the timing and the right content mix and as more you promote the blog tour – as better the book promotion works.  Give readers and bloggers value!  Don’t forget to thank the blogger personally and publicly.  You will likely be contacting them again for your next book. Once you have a relationship started with bloggers, continue with commenting on their other posts, retweeting or sharing Google+ posts, etc.

.

Examples of High Rated Blog Tour Offers:

Suspense, Romance, YA, Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Science Fiction
http://xpressobooktours.com/services/

Mainly Romance and Fantasy
http://www.enchantedbookpromotions.com/

Romance, Fantasy, Suspense, Paranormal, Historical
http://www.goddessfish.com/services/virtual-book-tours/

Young Adult FREE Blog Tours
http://www.rockstarbooktours.com/p/what-we-do.html

.
Find more Book Blog Tours in author Greg Stranberg’s article for The Book Designer.
He even wrote a very detailed, helpful book about this topic, where he describes in detail 50 ebook blog tours.
.

Including blog tours into your book marketing mix, is great for boosting your book’s visibility as well as for getting reviews, and to introduce your writing to new audiences.  For even more success, it is important to promote the blog tour before and after the date.
Blog tours are all about exposure, to become introduced to new readers, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see an immediate spike in sales.  It all takes time until you have a solid platform, and blog tours are a great tool to achieve this.

.
<><><><><>

.

 

5 Reasons Why Blogging is Joy – and a Must

. Blogging . “At the very least, new authors should be blogging” – that’s what publishers and agents expect.  Blogs are an essential tool of any writer.  Not only does it get you writing on a regular schedule, it lubricates your writer’s brain, eases that fear of putting yourself out there in the world.  . 1. Top Authors are Blogging Top author blogs include those of fantasy authors Neil Gaiman or J.A. Konrath, spirituals Paulo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra, and business authors Tim Ferriss and Malcolm Gladwell. They all have sold millions of copies, yet they still blog for fun and… Read more

.

<><><><><>

.

If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer this and more for only $179 for 3 months – or less than $2/day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,130 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? There is also the “SHARE” button for easy sharing at Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook etc. Thanks a lot for following: @111publishing http://www.111publishing.com http://www.e-Book-PR.com/ http://www.international-ebooks.com/ http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+   . Hyper Smash Tagged: Blog Directory, blog have lots of influence, blog posting, blog videos, Blogging, blogging creates trust, blogging is content writing, blogosphere, Blogs of famous writers

5 Reasons Why Blogging is Joy – and a Must

.
Words-for-Blogging
.

“At the very least, new authors should be blogging” – that’s what publishers and agents expect.  Blogs are an essential tool of any writer.  Not only does it get you writing on a regular schedule, it lubricates your writer’s brain, eases that fear of putting yourself out there in the world. 
.

1. Top Authors are Blogging
Top author blogs include those of fantasy authors Neil Gaiman or J.A. Konrath, spirituals Paulo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra, and business authors Tim Ferriss and Malcolm Gladwell. They all have sold millions of copies, yet they still blog for fun and in order to sell their books, then we should definitely do the same!
.

2. Blogging is Your Exercise in Writing
Every artist needs to practice, practice, practice… Musicians need to play hundreds – if not thousands – of pieces, before they can even think about playing in front of an audience. Same is true for any other kind of art, and also sport. Athletes who want to attend a competition, let alone the Olympics, need to exercise 40 to 80 hours a week (often beside their work or studies). Blogging is an authors “training”, actually an easy one, as the books content or experiences of their writing or new things they learned can go into their articles.

 

 

.
3. A Blog is Not Only Pure Writing
New blog posts do not necessarily be a written articles, as explained in: Why Blogging Sells Your Book.

  • Photos, Videos, Podcasts,
  • Snippets from your book
  • Slide-Shares, Info-Graphics, Lists
  • Polls / Surveys
  • Re-blogging, Curating other blog articles
  • Guest posts
    .

4. Your Blog: A Marketing Essential
Your blog, along with a newsletter and website, are the best ways to build a list of online followers, you can introduce your work to an ever-widening circle of readers. Not only is blogging great for updating contacts about new events and what you are currently writing, but they are also perfect for helping your website rank higher.
.

5. More Visitors With New Content
With constantly updated content, you will for sure receive more visitors to your blog than a website. These visitors can easily be lead to visit your actual website with a link at the top left “Visit my Author Site”. Blogging increases excitement about your forthcoming books, and enlists “raving fans” to help spread the word.

Last, but not least: Blogging is a huge part of what your posts and tweets on Social Media are. Your blog facilitates networking with your peers and readers, and makes you focus on your author brand and how you want your work to be known.

.
<><><><><>

.

 

.

 

2 Great Tools to Get More Readers

.
SavvyBookWriters.Wordpress.com

.

Submit Your Articles to Blog Directories and e-Zines

.
Blog Directories
Blog Success Journal writes:  A blog directory will help you link your site to other websites, and it also organizes your website by categorizing those link.  Don’t confuse it for a search engine. A directory will list websites by both a category and a subcategory. Unlike a search engine, it is categorized by the content which is contained on the entire website.  Gaining exposure for your blog is critical to building a following.  Check out the directories Alexa-Ranking on this useful Avangate.com website before submitting – as lower the numbers as better the ranking.
.
Why Submit Your Blog to a Directory?

 

  • You can increase traffic to your blog/website.
  • It helps raise your all-important page ranking, which makes it easier for people to find you.
  • It generates links, which also helps your page ranking.
    .

The Difference Between e-Zine and Blog Directory: Submissions to e-Zines are single articles, while submitting to a directory means that your whole blog is listed there.
.

All About e-Zines
If you’re Internet savvy, you’re probably familiar with a number of websites that promote e-Zines. However, many writers haven’t yet explored the potential of e-Zines and Blog Directories, or have even heard about the great opportunities to get more exposures to their writing, their books and get their names out.  Now you are probably asking yourself, “What is an e-Zine?” An e-Zine is an online blog or newsletter about a specific topic, with a targeted group of subscribers.
.

Tips for e-Zine Submissions
If you’re submitting to e-Zines for the first time, read carefully through the following tips:

  • When using an online submission form, read the directions carefully before you fill out the form so you know what files and information they want.
  • Don’t rely on fancy layout or unnatural words to tell your story if it’s headed for a podcast. Indents, italics, and symbols will not translate easily into the audio medium.
  • Many online forms have anti-virus security programs that won’t allow certain file types. Don’t hit the “send” button too soon or accidentally cancel when working in an online form.
  • Pay close attention to the e-Zine’s intended audience.
  • Put links on your own webpage to every story you publish in an e-Zine. This is a great way to share your work with your fans without having to self-publish the story on your own site.

Important: Learn to Write for the Web 
Writing for blogs is totally differently from writing a novel. Learn how to write the “inverted pyramide” from most important on top to less further on. Is your text easy to read? Eye-tracking studies have shown that readers SCAN text (in an F-shaped pattern), rather than to READ it. And: website visitors read more slowly on the screen than in print. So, how to you use this knowledge for your writing?
.

Use bullet lists, such as this one:

  • Create lots of short paragraphs, and give them all a headline
  • Keep sentences short, they should never be longer than one line
  • Use spell check and a beta reader / software
  • Readers like to interact on the Web, so give them lots of links
  • Illustrate your text, use lots of images
  • Don’t let your readers scroll on the screen, keep it to one page
  • Except prepositions and the words “and” and “the”, all major words in a headline should be capitalized

Online content is not just about words. When you write for the Internet think “presentation”. Print content is formally written and a passively read. Online content is informally written, interactive and dynamic.
.

Most e-Zines are free. Many e-Zine publishers will permit a copy writer to submit a small article on topics that pertain to the publisher’s e-Zine. The writer gives the publisher permission to publish their article, free of charge, in exchange for the publisher including the author’s bylines. Normally, this small 3-line blurb directs traffic to the writer’s website, which in turn, creates more business for the writer. 

.

<><><><><>

.

If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,070 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Hyper Smash

Pingate


Tagged: Blog Directory, Book Marketing, e-Zines, submit to blog directories, Tips for e-Zine submissions