So, you're planning a blog tour? Let's make this as easy as it can be then. 1) Contacts. First things first, get those contacts! There are hundreds of blog sites where bloggers are listed based on what material they are interested in, fiction or non-fiction, and what genre. And if they post teasers or interview authors. Make a thorough list of who you'd like to reach out to and get started. Always be professional, understanding, and personal. (TIP: reach out to the bloggers who have many followers. The whole point of a blog tour is to reach a large audience!) 2) Follow Up. Usually, one or two follow-up emails are expected. Anything more can be considered harrassing. You don't want to give a bad impression. If they don't respond to your follow-up email, I'd let it go and move onto the next blogger. 3) Calendar. Once you have a list of bloggers that will feature teasers from your upcoming release and/or and interview to promote this new novel, get writing dates in a calendar. 4) Stay Organised. Stay on top of things. Be organized and efficient. Send what needs sending. Promote the blog tour effectively. 5) Thank You. Don't forget those thank-you emails. Always. If you don't show your appreciation and their blog really helped, they may not welcome you back and consider you an ungrateful author. So do what your parent/s taught you, be polite!
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I know, we don't all have the time for huge book launches and hectic marketing campaigns. Some authors have day jobs. But worry no more, you can still create a modest marketing campaign and get impressive results. Here is my five-step plan for a quick but effective marketing campaign to give your book a great launch with minimal effort. Which is what we all want, right? 1) Services. So, firstly, promotional and newsletter advertising services. There are so many services out there for authors. They professionally promote your work or advertise it in a newsletter going out to readers in your genre. Personally, I would research this. Decide on a budget. Some only charge $20 - $50 dollars, others are upwards of $100. It's best to experiment and see which services work for you. Once you know what works, it will help with future launches. You can erase services that don't pack a punch! 2) Power of Pre-order. Don't underestimate that pre-order feature. If your book gets plenty of pre-orders, the day it is released, all those sales will hit on the same day, giving it a good chance of getting on those bestseller charts and into the hands of hungry readers! 3) Advance review copies. Before the launch, write a list of people you know you can trust, reviewers / bloggers, or even friends and family. Don't have a list? Get started reaching out now. Send advance review copies and let them know you'd like a review on Amazon, Goodreads etc, in exchange for the free book. Reviews are essential, and as soon as your book goes live, remind those readers to post those reviews. Hence why a list is essential! 4) Banners galore! Put banners everywhere. Website. Blog. Social media accounts. This can be to advertise the pre-order, or actual release. Personally, I create banners to do both. Not sure if you can create a good professional banner? Ask around. Authors always know designers, so get networking. Or comment on this blog if you need help. Our company happens to know many professional banner designers. 5) Publish snippets on your blog. Release teasers on your blog with links to pre-order or order the book. Pick the best sections of the novel. All of it should be great but select a teaser that has strong cliffhangers and great descriptions. Show off your best work. There you go. Good luck. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. Want reviews? Need reviews? You are doing everything right - or so you think - but you just can't get the attention of those pesky review bloggers? Then this blog is for you. You've come to the right place. - First and foremost you must be professional. This means proofread any contact (email, FB messages, social media contact etc). Poor grammar or punctuation will instantly turn bloggers off you. - Besides being professional, you must also be personal. This means don't be a robot. You are a person, you have hobbies and interests. Also, they probably receive hundreds - maybe thousands - of review requests every week. You must stand out with a personal comment. Comment on their website. Comment on a book they reviewed that you happened to read. Maybe they say on their blog they like animals, movies, traveling etc, which you happen to also like. - Your contact must be easy to read. You must have a clear layout. Cut down longer chunks of text. Keep it brief. Don't bore them. Easy-breezy but professional and personal. - Also, this is embarrassing, but it happens all the time with author clients who come to us for marketing or editing services. Make sure all the links to your book or website are correct! Again, this isn't professional. Most bloggers will just ignore the email if you don't even have the correct links. So double-check these. - Thank them! You'd think this is common sense, but again, authors sometimes leave this courtesy out. Be sure to thank them for reading the email, and that you hope to hear back from them soon. - Research them! Do they even read books in your genre? Do they only read print books? Do they have requests or demands when you contact them? Don't give them a bad first impression by showing that you haven't even read the 'terms' on their website. Good luck! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like a subject mattered blogged about. Side Note: keep track of who you've contacted so you can refer to this list later on. It makes things far easier. |
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