by D’vorah Lansky, M.Ed.(@marketingwizard)
Have you taken your book on a tour, around the globe, virtually? If you have, then you’ve participated in a virtual book tour (also known as a blog tour.) If you haven’t, then you’ll want to know about this simple yet powerful way to reach potentially thousands of new readers, while getting endorsed by leaders in your industry.
With a traditional book tour, you typically travel from venue to venue, bookstore to bookstore, via airplane or automobile. With a virtual book tour you travel from blog to blog, or teleseminar to teleseminar, across the Internet. A virtual book tour is an exciting way to reach new audiences across the globe, without leaving home.
When you “travel” to blogs across the Internet, you are doing so as a guest blogger. This means that your articles are being featured on blogs, which are ideally of interest to your target audience. By being featured on blogs, other than your own, you are being endorsed and promoted by blog owners and community leaders. This gives you immediate credibility as being a trustworthy, knowledgeable, expert on your topic area. This also gives you visibility in front of new audiences, who are interested in your topic.
How to Find Virtual Book Tour Stops
To find blogs that attract your target audience, begin by making a list of the blogs, in your niche, that you already know about. Then spend some time exploring those sites, looking for articles by other guest bloggers, as well as clicking outgoing links to other related sites. This will give you access to additional blogs that write on topics of interest to your audience.
Start with the people you know who own blogs that attract your target audience. Let them know that you seem to share a similar target audience, and that you’d love to feature their blog as a destination for your virtual book tour and drive traffic to their site. First of all, who doesn’t want new, targeted readers visiting their site, because if their readers are interested in your topic, then your readers will be interested in theirs! Secondly, if they know you and you have a relationship with the initial blog owners you are reaching out to, it is quite likely that they’d love to feature you and get more traffic to their site, as well as introduce you to other blog owners in your niche.
How to Approach Bloggers You Don’t Know
Before reaching out to people you don’t yet know, spend some time exploring their blog, commenting and answering questions on their blog posts, and connecting with them on the social networks. You may even want to read their book. This way, when you reach out to them, you aren’t some random person asking for a favor, you are a fan and a colleague who has proven to be a caring member of the community, with a worthwhile viewpoint to share.
Get Featured On Blogs that Target Your Audience
The key to harnessing the power of this strategy is not to travel to “any old blog” but rather, to get featured on blogs that attract your target audience.
Guest blogging is one of my favorite ways to reach more readers and sell more books. I’ve personally participated in three virtual book tours (each of them to over 21 blogs,) and the benefits have gone way beyond taking each of my books to bestseller status on Amazon.
Have you participated in blog tours or virtual book tours? What did you enjoy most and what benefits did they provide you with? If you haven’t participated in virtual book tours or blog tours before, feel free to post any questions you might have.
If you are interested in learning more about virtual book tours, or even participating in a virtual book tour for your book, join us for the Virtual Book Tour Boot Camp at:
www.VirtualBookTourBootCamp.com
About the Author
D’vorah Lansky, M.Ed., is the bestselling author of several books including, Book Marketing Made Easy: Simple Strategies for Selling Your Nonfiction Book Online. D’vorah is the creator of the Build a Business with Your Book Success System and the founder of the Annual Book Marketing Conference Online. Through her courses, boot camps, and coaching programs, she supports authors, across the globe, in reaching more readers, and selling more books. To connect with D’vorah and to receive free guide to maximizing your effectiveness with virtual book tours head over to:
www.VirtualBookTourBootCamp.com
Copyright: rennaulka / 123RF Stock Photo
Hi Nina – Hi Everyone, I’m honored to be here. Thank you for having me as a guest blogger. For our readers, what intrigues you most about virtual book tours, and what questions do you have about participating in virtual book tours?
… and if you’ve participated in virtual book tours, what did you enjoy most?
I’m honored to have you post on my blog, D’vorah! Thanks for offering such great information for my readers.