Today . . . I am thinking about my amazing Virtual Book Tour.
Over the last two months, I've visited 22 unique and interesting sites, made many new friends, networked like crazy, expanded my business connections, and even managed to tick-off a few blog readers along the way.
Gregory Bell organized the tour for me, as part of the marketing support my POD Publisher, WME Books, offers to their authors, and what a wonderful job he did. Everyone should have a Greg managing their VBT for them!
This Virtual Book Tour was the first one I'd every participated in, and, quite frankly, prior to going on tour I had no idea such a opportunity even existed. I just assumed I would be going out on a traditional bricks-n-mortar book tour after my book was published, however, going virtual was so much better!
Top Five Things I Learned From my First VBT
1. Blogs are a fabulous way to get your book noticed.
Watching news of your book spread from one blog site to another is exciting. Seeing it pop up in different places all over the Internet is exhilarating. Having an entrepreneurial woman's group in Arizona adopt it as their April Book of the Month . . . priceless.
2. Not all promotion is the same.
Some sites will enthusiastically welcome you and your book and promote you to their readers. Other sites won't. Partner with the former and avoid the latter.
3. Bloggers who leave comments, rock!
Reading the comments was the most valuable part of this entire experience for me. Take note, if you are a blogger who doesn't think your voice matters, you couldn't be more wrong. Feedback is the lifeblood of book authors. Comment often.
4. Having your book reviewed is a good thing.
Good review. Bad review. It doesn't matter. What matters is the insight you gain from looking at your book from another reader's perspective. Make sure that at every stop, your book is reviewed by the blog host.
5. Manners count.
Don't forget what your mama taught you . . . say thank you when someone does something nice for you.
On that note, I'd like to thank everyone who helped make my VBT a success. Thank you to Greg, Yvonne, and the folks at WME Books. A special thank you to my hosts. A warm and appreciative thank you to my friends who cheered me on, my colleagues who supported me on my journey, and my clients who faithfully came on tour with me. And my heartfelt thanks to everyone who left comments. Your feedback inspired me; your thoughts intrigued me; and your insights ignited the fires for my next book to come.
In gratitude and appreciation, from my heart to yours,
I am,
Thank you for sharing your "lessons learned" from your Virtual Blog Tour, Susan.
"The 5 Things I Learned About Being A "Host" during your Virtual Book Tour":
1. When I was invited to be a "host" along the way, I didn't really understand the concept or my responsibility, so I made it a lot more complicated than I needed to.
2. The invitation to "host", was a wonderful invitation to read a book I wanted to read, but hadn't taken the time, so I got a book read that contained many rich nuggets of value and support for the entrepreneurial journey. Thank you Susan!
3. I loved having new voices visit my blog and write comments.
4. Susan modeled well how to give value to comments, but visiting and adding her comment.
5. Viritual Book Tours are a great way to launch a new book.
Thank you Susan for participating in a VBT so you can coach us all! Pam
Posted by: Pam Peyron | March 01, 2008 at 08:45 AM
Hi Susan
I just wanted to thank you for including my blog as one of your stops on your virtual book tour. Not only did I get to read your inspiring and thought-provoking book, I also got to network and meet new people who were involved with the tour.
It was interesting getting your perspective of the tour - I hadn't really thought about what it must be like for the author! It will give me more insight for next time.
Take care,
Liz
Posted by: Liz Fuller | March 02, 2008 at 09:49 PM
I think Virtual Book Tours are tremendously beneficial, just for the reasons you gave, Liz. It's all about connecting, building relationships, and promoting the success of others.
Posted by: The Original Accidental Pren-her | March 05, 2008 at 04:58 PM
Pam, I love that you shared your lessons learned from the host's perspective. The one that comes up on both the host's and author's list is the value of connecting with others. That's the way that relationships are formed, discussion entered into, and insights shared -- the heart of women networking.
Posted by: The Original Accidental Pren-her | March 05, 2008 at 05:04 PM