How to Plan Your Virtual Book Tour

In today’s guest post, publicity expert Sandra Beckwith shares some terrific tips for planning a virtual book tour. Be sure to take a look at the book tour pitch letter template that Sandra provides, along with a real-world example of a pitch letter.

What is a virtual book tour, why do you want to do one, and how do you make it happen?

A virtual book tour is a promotional tactic that lets you interact with bloggers and online media outlets in ways that help you get the word out about your book. Just like an in-person book tour, you select a timeframe for the tour and work to schedule specific appearances. The possibilities include:

• Live Webinar presentations
• Blog Q&As
• Guest columns on blogs
• Reviews of your book written by key bloggers
• Articles that you write and place in key locations 
• Podcasts
• Video interviews hosted on the blogs or sites of others
• Blogger hosted contests that offer your book as a prize alongside information about your book

Virtual book tours are worthwhile for any author whose target audience is online. They allow you to connect with readers personally, share enough information about your book to help people decide if they want to buy it, and – this is my favorite part – include a link to a site where people can purchase it immediately. Who doesn’t like instant gratification?

The process is pretty simple:

1. Identify the blogs and online media outlets that reach your target audience.

2. Start becoming “known” on the sites by offering helpful, informative comments on blog postings. In an ideal world, you’ve been doing this all along.

3. Compile a database or grid with each site’s contact name, e-mail address, site URL, notes about the site’s format, and specifics about what you like about the blog. These last two items will help you in the pitching process.

4. Select your tour dates.

5. Send your pitches.

Authors seem to be especially intimidated by that last step – sending the “pitch.” “Pitch” is just another word for sales letter. It’s what you say via e-mail that convinces the blogger or online journalist that they should open the door to some book-related content from you. Because so many authors aren’t sure how to approach bloggers and others, I’ve included a virtual book tour e-mail pitch template in Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms & Templates, my fill-in-the-blanks collection of media relations templates and forms (along with corresponding samples) that authors use when generating priceless publicity for their books.

To help you see how easy this is to do, I’m giving you the virtual book tour e-mail pitch template here, and providing you with an annotated sample here. (Note that while we are providing PDF files here as examples, the templates in Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms & Templates are actually in Word format so that you can copy and paste them into new Word files and fill in the forms right on your screen. This also lets you re-use each template or form over and over again.)

You don’t use the template in a vacuum, though. That’s where the database or grid you’ve created comes in. What you pitch to one blog might not work for another, so you use your notes in the grid to help you decide what to offer each individual site. Sometimes it’s real obvious – you wouldn’t offer the host of an online radio program or podcast an article. You’d stress that you’re an interesting and animated guest – the kind of person that people will want to listen to. If you’ve noticed that the blogger or media site uses a lot of guest columns, that’s what you should pitch, and perhaps add a few suggested column topics to your pitch, too. It’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all process, which is why you don’t use a mass e-mail approach for this. Every site contact gets an individually crafted pitch.

You’ll need to add a few more columns or fields to your database or grid for response tracking – both theirs and yours. Note what and when you hear from those you’ve contacted, how and when you responded, and due dates for content or next steps. Then keep your calendar handy so you can log all activity appropriately and deliver what you’ve promised when you’ve promised it.

Virtual book tours truly are fun and easy! I hope you have fun with yours. And do let me know if you have questions – just send me a note!

About the Author

Sandra Beckwith is a former national award-winning publicist who now teaches authors how to be their own book publicists. She publishes the free book publicity e-zine, Build Book Buzz, teaches two book publicity e-courses, and offers other instructional materials for authors who want more exposure for their books. Get her free special report, Beyond the Press Release: 10 Exciting Book Buzz Ideas That Will Take You to the Top, when you subscribe to her free newsletter at www.buildbookbuzz.com. Sandra is also the author of three books, including one about publicity for small businesses and another on publicity for nonprofits. Get more publicity tips at her blog.

Comments

[Erika D.]

Wonderful, helpful advice! I'm about to embark on a virtual book tour myself. If anyone would like to see how I've assembled it, please visit http://www.erikadreifus.com/quiet-americans/blog-tour-winter-2011/.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Thanks Erika, and good luck with your tour!

[Dr. Bobbie Kelley, aka: The Rogue Perfumer]

Thanks for posting Sandra. Can't wait to get started on a virtual tour of my book that I published last year, THE ROGUE PERFUMER. I appreciate your help.
Have a happy and prosperous new year.
Bobbie at Paragon Perfumes, Maui, Hawaii

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Thanks so much Bobbie, and good luck with your tour.

[Amanda]

Thanks for the post, Sandra! I got a little lost and terrified with number 3, but I'm sure this feeling will go away with practice. Appreciate the help!

[Sandra Beckwith]

Amanda, don't let # 3 intimidate you! Use your own system for tracking information -- it can be a pad of paper! -- and you'll be fine. What counts is that you do the research first and have a way of "preserving" what you've uncovered. Lots of people like Excel but personally, I like to create grids in Word.

Good luck!

[J. Aday Kennedy]

Thanks for the tips. I'm choreographing my ext tur.
Blessings,
J. Aday Kennedy
The Differently-Abled Writer & Speaker
Children's Author of Klutzy Kantor & Marta's Gargantuan Wings
www.jadaykennedy.com

[Gail]

Is a virtual book tour the same as a blog book tour?

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Gail, I prefer the term "virtual book tour" because a tour can include more than just visiting blogs. For example, you can also include radio interviews, webinars or other virtual appearances on your tour schedule.
Dana

[Mihku Paul]

This posting could not be more timely. With the economy in a spin, and so many publishers no longer funding book tours for authors, writers must learn how to DIY effectively AND professionally.
In my MFA program we were always being told that we'd have to promote ourselves but seldom did we receive concrete guidance on how to do it. It is clear that on-line publishing, net-working and commerce is growing. Virtual book tours will help build that movement and strengthen what
has become the new frontier for authors of all stripes.

Thank you. I'll be sharing this with my cohorts.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Mihku, thank you for your thoughtful comments. I'm glad you found Sandra's article helpful and you are sharing it with others.

[Nancy Quatrano]

This information is great! I'm an author and solopreneur who recently launched a blog dedicated to supporting writers. I'm excited to invite bloggers, too, so it is great to understand how this works! Thanks for super information.

[Lucinda Clark]

Information that is can be used right away. Will share with my authors! Thanks.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Lucinda, thanks so much for sharing this article with your authors. And Nancy, good luck with your new blog.

[holy land tours]

Thanks Sandra for sharing this innovative concept of Virtual Book tour with us.Its very easy and helpful way to interact wid people online...i think now anyone can prepare his/her own virtual book tour and u make it even more simpler by giving templates also...It saves time also...

[Jacqueline Garwood]

Thank you so much for these detailed instructions, and even a sample pitch. You are so generous with your wisdom. I'm just in the process of publishing a book (Future Pull: Partner with the Universe to Create the Life of Your Dreams) and a companion playbook and journal. I really really need to develop a platform so that I can start to put together proposals to facilitate workshops and retreats based on my book. This gives me a direction to start off.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Jacqueline, I'm glad that you found this helpful. Good luck with your book!

[B.C. Young]

Good info. I haven't tried doing this for my writings, not yet anyway, but my site has become part of a network that manages the blog tours. This is a good way for an author to make his name known.

[lottery book]

i just want to say thank you for the tutorial. it easy, and it work. that is all a good tutorial should be.

[Steffannie Roache]

I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU and God bless you! You've provided valuable/helpful information free of charge. I'm a new author (book that is...) and the kindness of seasoned authors and professionals has help prevent 're-invention of the wheel'.
Thanks Again!
Steffannie.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Thanks so much to Steffannie, B.C. and lottery book for your nice comments. I highly recommend virtual book tours and I'm in the process of planning one for September for my newest book, How to Get Your Book Reviewed.