Ask any author what they want to happen with their book and they will likely say, “Get it in the hands of readers.” In other words, they want to sell books.
Market reach is essential to selling books. It’s about critical mass. What this simply means is this; the more eyeballs who see the messaging about your book(s), the better.
One of the best ways to reach lots of potential readers is with a blog tour.
What is a blog tour?
A blog tour is much like a traditional book tour, except the stops are all virtual. Instead of going from bookstore to bookstore, the author goes from blog to blog.
Blog tours became popular by authors who were seeking a more cost-effective way to get the word out about a book.
In days past, a book tour consisted of going from location to location to do readings, signings and hopefully sell a few books.
This has always been a very expensive way to promote books. For many authors, it has also been extremely ineffective.
Enter blogs. Somewhere along the line someone got the idea that rather than simply writing for his or her own blog, why not do guest appearances?
What was a very mysterious activity as recently as only a few short years ago is now a very common practice. Rrather than simply promoting books, a tour is now used for promoting a number of different things, such as live events, teleseminars, information products and services.
A simple definition of a blog tour is a virtual tour where you visit several blogs and post relevant information.
Participating in a blog tour has replaced the need to make “personal” appearances for many experts.
In the purest sense, a blog tour is done over a specific period where the expert “visits” several blogs.
A blog owner hosts one stop of the tour unless, of course, the owner has several blogs on which you are posting. The best part of all is you can do a tour from literally anywhere in the world, as long as you have Internet access.
Some people prefer to do sporadic guest blogging rather than a structured blog tour. Guest blogging is exactly as it sounds. You post on a blog as a guest. But, you must get the blog owner’s permission to do this type of posting.
Being a guest blogger is different from simply posting comments about other people’s posts. In essence, you are the “star” blogger.
Access Blog Book Tours on Kindle right now. Click here. 
Benefits to blog tours and guest blogging
There are many fabulous benefits to either. You increase your visibility and credibility. Both allow you to create a buzz about your book, event, or teleseminar, to name just a few things.
Without a doubt, your writings will be viewed by new eyeballs. This is exactly what you want.
When done right, you can reach more of your target market. The reason you want to be clear on who your market is and who is reading the blog you are going to post on is for increased reach with the best market.
There’s no point in writing for blogs that are not viewed by those who are interested in what you have to say and offer.
Guest blogging opens opportunities for potential joint venture relationships with the blog owner. What better way to get your foot in the door than to do a stellar job with your guest blog appearance?
Search engines love blogs, and, when you use the right keywords, you are creating incredible opportunities for better SEO.
In addition, you can increase your own opt-in subscribers, if you do have a link in your bio at the end of your post.
With a blog tour, you can drive potential buyers to your own blog, your book sales page or to Amazon. When doing a book launch, you likely want to send them to Amazon. This increases the likelihood of an immediate sale of your book.
The more sales, the better your rankings on Amazon. So much in fact, you could even hit #1 on Amazon.
Want to find out how to increase your chances of hitting #1? Check out my FREE webinar – Insider Secrets to Hit #1. Click here.
This is awesome advice. I just wrote a book -The Real Estate Investor Goddess Handbook: Everything You Need To Know To Invest In Real Estate Like A Goddess. I’ve been trying to figure out how to promote it and this is one of the greatest ideas I’ve seen. Thank you!
Kathleen, this is a great idea. I am familiar with the concept of guest blogging, but I never thought of it in this way. What a great way to gain more exposure to your book.
If you put time and effort into finding the best blogs, and write highly valuable content, they are amazing avenues for book visibility
Great information on what a blog tour is. Would love to see a post about how to do a blog post. I did a blog tour, and was part of one for another author. Neither did especially well. I’m thinking because neither of us knew what we were doing. Maybe you can help?
My book on Amazon (99 cents currently) goes into much more detail. Blog Book Tours on Kindle.
Great advice for writers.
Wonderful advice that many people (myself included) may not have thought of!
Glad you enjoyed it and got value from the information.
Thank you, Kathleen, for sharing this valuable information as a lot of new authors wonder how they can get the word out about their book so that more people know about it.
When would be the best time to do the blog tour: Before the book launch so as to create a buzz on launch day (assuming one has a set launch date), or after the book has been released to attract a more steady flow of buyers? Thank you.
Yes, yes, and yes. You can do one ahead of time, but for the purpose of lots of book buzz during a specific campaign and launch, if I had my choice, I would choose during.
Actually, blog tours help with a lot of things, not just book sales (as I am sure you know, Kathleen!)
I have been on a few in the past. While it takes some effort, the payoff is certainly there!
Thanks for sharing!
Most definitely Paul. They are great for just about any market and focus. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing this very important insight on how to market our books. The world of social media is here to stay and we authors need to learn how to use every outlet to our advantage. It is rather serendipitous that I saw your post on Linkedin as I am in the process of preparing my book, Murder at Tulip House, for a chapter by chapter publication on my blog site. I am a first time self-publisher and first-time book writer. Have learned a lot in the process and look forward to making this second launch of my book a bit more successful than the first.
I am going to watch your video in a moment, with pen in hand, and look forward to sharing my results in mastering a blog tour with everyone. Happy writing everyone and don’t give up the ship. We can all make this work and have a great time doing it.
Thank you again and happy 4th to all.
Thanks for your comments Linda. One of the best ways to find blogs to fit your genre is to search out authors who have written similar books. Then search on any blogs they may have been featured on. It’s a great start for your “dream” list. Happy blogging.
What great advice, I’ve never heard of something like this. The blog tour sounds like an awesome idea
It’s one of my “secret” weapons. Works great when planned out.
I enjoyed your article very much! I’m going to read your Kindle book and put what I learn into action. I have 16 print titles so far (two of them are print and eBook) and am very aware that “If you build it, they will come” is a total myth. My problem is that I don’t have any kind of following yet and I’m not even sure where to begin. Anyway, thank you for posting this article. I’m sure it will be a great help to new authors.
Thanks for your comments Tracy. It takes time to build a following and a huge part of the process is consistent effort. Blog tours put your efforts on steroids.
I did a blog tour back in 2013 when I revised my book. I was a guest on 15 blogs over a 15-week period. It was a great experience and I still get traffic from those posts.
Key takeaway – choose blogs from your target market.
My blog tour was the target market of the book. In fact, the book was made for them in mind.
Went ahead and bought your book. ^_^
Key point you emphasized is to make sure the blogs are a fit for your market. Great insight. Thanks
Just bought your book on blog tours. I have some new books coming out later this year that I need to start marketing now. Blog tours are part of this plan. Your timing is perfect!
Perfect!!!