What is a blog tour and how can it help?
The purpose of a blog tour (a virtual book tour) is to generate a buzz for your book. Instead of having to tour several cities – and surrender to the roads and railways – you can do it all from the comfort of your own home. Rather than moving from store to store, you progress through a number of scheduled blog stops. Coverage may consist of a book review, a character interview, a question and answer session, a book giveaway or a guest post.
A successful tour requires a canny coordinator who is strategic in selecting blogs with a relevant readership, and is able to build anticipation with a powerful social media presence, and an engaging schedule full of prizes and fun.
Are bloggers paid to review?
No, payment is made to the tour planner to schedule, coordinate and produce promotional material for the tour. Bloggers do not receive payment for writing reviews. Virtual Writers works as an intermediary between the author/publishing house and the blogger. The relationship is reciprocal; the author gets exposure and the blogger has outstanding material to add to their site, which in turn increases visitor numbers and Google rank. This is known as cross-promotion and works well within the indie world of publishing.
Will the tour increase my sales?
The object of a blog tour is to raise your visibility and get your book in front of fresh eyes, so you can garner new readers. You will likely see an increase in social media followers and reviews, but we cannot guarantee increased sales.
Can I be guaranteed positive review coverage?
No, unfortunately we cannot guarantee a positive review, in fact, there is no guarantee that your book will be accepted by bloggers for review.
We try to match you with bloggers who have a preference for your genre, but it is solely down to the judgement of the blogger in question. Many prefer to do an interview, while others prefer a guest post. Regardless, you can be sure that you will be connected to popular bloggers who love your genre.
What happens if a host unexpectedly pulls out or fails to post?
Every effort is made to adhere to the schedule, however, we may have to find a replacement site for you, if the original is unable to post on time. Rest assured we will find a suitable replacement so your tour stop numbers will be unaffected.
What is expected of the author?
- We ask that you have your finished guest posts and interviews ready 4 weeks before they are due to be published.
- We ask that you make every effort to promote your blog tour and create a buzz via your own social media channels, at news groups and any forums you frequent. You are advised to make an appearance on each of the blogs you are featured, by responding to comments and interacting with blog visitors. You may also want to think about setting up a Facebook and Goodreads event page.
- Please be aware we require 3 months advanced notice before the proposed tour date. The author/publisher agrees to send ARCs/pdf/ebook copies of the book to host bloggers at least 6 weeks prior to the scheduled tour date.
What is expected of the host blog?
- We ask that author interview questions are sent to the author 6 weeks prior to the tour date.
- We ask that all posts are scheduled to appear live at 12:01 am in your time zone.
- If you have agreed to write a book review, please post it on your blog, Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes & Noble etc.
- In addition to interacting with visitors and responding to blog comments, we ask that you make every effort to promote your featured author via your own social media channels. The key is to get people talking about the book and author, and increasing traffic to your site – so, tweet, post messages on Facebook, Goodreads and other social channels you utilize, to help build buzz and excitement.
Virtual Writers’ Tours
We offer a fast-paced virtual trek in which you will be featured by a selection of host bloggers known for their enthusiasm of your genre.
- Coordination of all tour events
- Personalized tour page – includes your personal tour dates, author bio, head shot and links to your author website, book cover, book summary, book excerpt, buying information, book trailer, social media feeds and fan pages. We also reserve a listing space for your book on our online bookstore.
- Media Kit – including a 3d book cover and 2 x banner ads for use on your own site and sites booked for the tour
- Tour publicized daily on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Goodreads, Second Life® & Virtual Writers website – reaches approximately 30,000 people (excluding blog followers)
Please be aware we require 3 months advanced notice before the proposed tour date. The author/publisher agrees to send ARCs/pdf/ebook copies of the book to host bloggers at least 6 weeks prior to the scheduled tour date. We are now limiting our tours to our regular community members only.
