There are tons of ideas
floating around on the internet that can help to make your blog tour special
and with so many tours being hosted, it’s easy to see how others are doing it.
If you are creative, brainstorming will yield the seeds of good ideas. If
you’re like me, you’ll have to turn things over in your mind for a few days
before anything sticks. Let’s talk about a sampling of things you can do in
this area.
Decide
on a theme for your tour. In touring the book Distraction, I
centred most of my posts around friendship. This went well with the theme of my
book, which is a story about the lives of three close female friends and how
they work through their individual challenges. Think about the central themes
in your book and see what ideas you can come up with that will add a unique flair
to your tour.
Devise
a manageable format. Since
I had sixteen (16) stops scheduled every other day, I knew I couldn’t manage
anything complicated like having people hop through the blogs and connect
sentences into paragraphs, etc. I did a giveaway of a notebook and a matching
pen (the notebook’s cover was a replica of the novel). I also did an Amazon
gift card and copies of the book. This made sense for me as I was working
alone.
Create
special features.
While wracking my brain about what I could do differently, I came up with the
idea of writing a prequel to Distraction. Most people do it the other way
around, but we all have our quirks, right?
It was easy to write A Baker’s
Dozen: Thirteen Steps to Distraction and throw it in because I knew the
characters from writing Distraction. I used their back story to craft a lead up
to their current story. I gave away that book to everybody who cared to have
it. I’m not suggesting you go to the trouble of doing anything like that, but
for me, that novella did triple-time duty. It allowed people to see that I had
a clue about writing, introduced Distraction
and it was a way of thanking people for their time. The sky is the limit, do
what works for you.
Mix
and match according to your taste. The most common formats are
blurb+cover+bio, author and character interviews, author posts or reviews. Most
tours feature some kind of giveaway. I made a choice not to include my book
blurb in order to avoid lengthy posts. A few hosts did include it, which is
standard practise.
You can do a combination of the
activities listed above, as well as something radical to make your tour stand
out.
Use
timesaving tools. I’ve
found Rafflecopter to be a godsend.
Gone are the days when I had to count up all the entries through comments or
import a Google spreadsheet into Excel and copy/paste to duplicate those who
had tweeted promotional messages for extra entries. If you plan to do any kind
of giveaway, get Rafflecopter. It’s
free and even chooses the winners at the click of a button and all you have to
do is send an email to notify your winners.
For sign ups, apart from using
personalized emails, you can use Linky
tools. This is the easiest way to have people sign on to help you promote your
book, if you have a wide, supportive network. Among the most popular apps. are Linky Tools (not free beyond the trial period), InLinkz and Simply Linked. You can also use these tools
if you’re doing a writing challenge as part of your promotional activity.
If you’re using a blog tour
organizer, he/she might also have innovative ideas that can be included. Your
BTO will guide you based on the services they provide and the package you opt
to buy.

In
a Nutshell
Decide on a theme for your
tour.
Devise a manageable format.
Create special features.
Mix and match according to your
taste.
Use time-saving tools.
I've never had a theme. Other than short posts!
ReplyDeleteI do use Linky Tools. Not as crazy about the Rafflecopter though. It seems to take up a lot of space and slows the loading of the page.
This is a good series. I know Diane Wolfe ran a good one on blog tours last year as well. Everyone needs reminders and fresh ideas!
I think this is very helpful
ReplyDeleteJO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
A Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Steps to Distraction was a great way to give readers a back story to your novel. Theme or no theme you do an excellent job with your blog tours J.L.
ReplyDeleteNicely done, J.L. I loved your idea of a prequel.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a good idea to have some kind of theme, even if it's just that you write short entries :D
ReplyDeleteTaking notes for my future blog tour. Have a great weekend!
True, Alex. Always helpful to be reminded.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Jo.
Sheena, thanks for your kind words. It was fun and easy writing ABD. Having slogged through Distraction so many time to edit, I came to know each woman intimately.
Thanks, Lee. It's still helping things along. People who've read it, do go on to buy Distraction.
Samantha, a theme makes thing easier.
A wonderful weekend to all!
More wonderful ideas. Loving this theme - it's great.
ReplyDeleteSee you tomorrow,
Donna
Thanks for the links. I try to use as many blog tools as possible to make my life easier.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna & Clarissa.
ReplyDeleteThis is great stuff. I'm relatively new to online promotion, so I appreciate the tips!
ReplyDeleteHappy A to Z!
Glad to be of help, lillian. Thanks for dropping in.
DeleteThanks for the links. I use some, Rafflecopter is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteConnie
A to Z buddy
Peanut Butter and Whine
Connie, thanks for coming by. Rafflecopter is my convenience tool of choice too.
DeleteAll great advice, Joy. I can only add about keeping the posts on smallish side as you don't want readers to skim through but actually read.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Nas. Thanks. You do want people to absorb what the writer has to say.
DeleteAn informative and enjoyable post. Nicely done and quite engaging. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Joy... you are really clued up about these things...
ReplyDeleteWriter In Transit
Thanks. We learn so much from each other by being on the 'net and starting out on new adventures.
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