Virtual book touring is fast becoming the best and most effective way to promote and market an authors' book. With gas prices and all travel expenses souring to an all-time high, authors can no longer afford to "hit the road" to sell their books. Therefore, new means are needed to compete in our quest for book sales. Virtual touring may just be the simplest answer.
As long as there have been published authors, there have been book tours. Let‘s face it, books don‘t often sell themselves. Strong promotion and marketing is the key to most merchandise sales, and it‘s no different with books. When a customer looks at a product, most often, it‘s very clear what exactly the product is, or does. But with a book, the story is hidden inside. Even with an original and eye-catching outer design, i.e., the cover, rarely would a customer purchase such an item without knowing the contents and what they will get for their dollar. So how does an author present the contents to a potential buyer to garner buyable interest in their book?—they tour.
Author book tours are the best way to sell books, but traditional touring is costly and time consuming. Simply filling the gas tank can use up a days wage for most of us. Then there’s the issue of endurance. Yes, you will sell books at your tour stop, but will those tour visitors who don‘t make the purchase remember you after the tour event is over—not likely. So how does an author make a lasting impression? The answer may be a virtual book tour.
Virtual book touring is all accomplished over the Internet—there’s no travel. Authors can tour numerous locations from the comfort of their own homes, even in their jammies if they choose! No gas, no hotels, and no uncomfortable face-to-face contact with potential customers (that‘s a biggie!). The other great advantage to virtual touring is that you are only attracting an audience that’s right for your book, in other words, hot sales leads.
When you tour, you select genre specific Websites and Blogs which fall right into line with your topic. So your viewers already have an interest. The best thing about virtual touring is that it lasts forever. Every tour stop you make goes out into cyberspace for eternity. Search engine results will continue to show your tour stop post and you could potentially be selling books five years after the finish of your tour. Now that’s a book tour with results! Virtual book touring is hot, it’s new, and it’s here to stay.
How it Works
Authors make contact with topic related Website and Blog editors to schedule a one-day visit. An interview or article of book related subject matter is prepared in advance for posting on an agreed upon date. The tour stop is advertised well in advance of the posting date. The day of the post, the author will usually make themselves available for comment responses and answering viewers posted questions (within the comment link section). Often times, virtual book tours will include radio or video interviews as well. These tour stops require more precise timing, therefore are a little more difficult to schedule. Carol Denbow is the author of 6 books including How to Organize a Virtual Book Tour (e-book). Visit her Website at http://www.AuthorsBox.com.
If you're wondering whether virtual book tours are really worthwhile, read Blog Tours for Authors – Do They Work? by Fiona Ingram.
For a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at a virtual book tour in progress, see Andy Shackcloth's series of articles about Graham Storrs' tour for his sci-fi ebook, TimeSplash.
To learn more about the advantages of doing a virtual book tour, see Why Authors Should Do a Virtual Book Tour by Nikki Leigh.
We're family relationship experts and regularly feature authors whose work focuses on our cohort - boomer women in the sandwich generation. Our Virtual Book Tours are always popular. Readers are exposed to interesting information and, with the interactive component, get answers to their questions. And the authors see an upswing in their book sales - a win/win for everyone!
Posted by: Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. | May 19, 2010 at 02:07 PM