Planning a virtual book tour on a series of blogs can be time consuming, both for you and your hosts. One way you can make the most of your time is to diversify the types of posts included in your blog tour.
Let's look at some of the most common types of virtual blog tour stops for authors. Some will save you time directly. And others save your hosts time, potentially opening more doors to you.
Types of Virtual Blog Tour Stops for Authors
Here are four types of virtual blog tour stops you can combine when promoting your next book.
1. Book Reviews
Contact bloggers to see if they would be interested in reviewing your book and publishing their review during your blog tour schedule. Make sure you reach out to potential reviewers early so they'll have time to read your book before your tour dates.
2. Interviews
Make yourself available for interviews on your host blogs. This can work especially well for nonfiction books where you're building your authority in your book's niche.
3. Excerpts
Not all blog tour hosts will have time to read your book or set up an interview with you around your ideal tour dates. You can always leave those options open to them at a later time, and provide them with an excerpt they can publish during your blog tour.
4. Guest Posts
Another way to save your hosts time (though sinking more in yourself) is to provide guest posts to be published during your virtual book tour. These are posts you'll write for each host's blog, relevant to their audience as much as your book. Guest posts shouldn't be directly self promotional, other than mentioning your book and linking to a sales page in your guest author bio.
Can you think of other types of blog tour stops authors can work into their marketing mix? If you've run virtual blog tours in the past, what type of tour stop was the most effective for you? Share your stories and tips in the comments.