How Book Signings And Virtual Book Tours Can Help Market A Book

By Author: Tanisha Williams
Total Articles: 11
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When marketing a book, your primary goal is to make sure that people have knowledge about your book and are encouraged to buy it. Book signings and virtual book tours are excellent ways to accomplish both of these goals. The interaction of speaking directly to your audience allows potential buyers to connect with you, your book, and the message you are trying to convey.

Book Signings
The goal of conducting a book signing is twofold – to draw people to the event and sell books. If you want your book signing to be successful, you have to make it a point to do your research. Seek out the best venue that you feel would attract your target market, and don’t just focus on bookstores. There are many venues that can complement your efforts of marketing a book. Consider retail outlets, book clubs associated with you genre, church halls and city recreational centers. If you know your market it will be that much easier to choose the perfect location.

Your book signing is your time to shine and here a few pointers to make you do so: (1) Make sure your promotional material is polished, eye-catching and error ...
... free; (3) Bring enough material to ensure you don’t run out when distributing to potential readers; (4) Have a positive attitude and let people know you are glad that they are there; and most importantly, (5) If you don’t draw in as large of a crowd as expected, rather than getting discouraged, take the initiative to get up and work the room. By showing people that you are optimistic and have confidence, they are more likely to be naturally drawn to you, ultimately making them more interested in the book you are marketing.

Virtual Book Tours
Aside from book signings, another great way of marketing a book is through virtual book tours (VBTs). Through VBTs, authors now have a new method of ‘touring the world,’ which usually revolves around social media. VBTs can include Twitter chats, organized discussions on Facebook, video chats on Google Plus, guest posts on blogs, and interviews on podcasts or radio shows. The goal of marketing a book via VBTs is to expose it to as many people as possible in an exciting, cost-effective and entertaining way.

The most fool-proof way to draw a crowd for a tour stop is to go where there is a captive audience. By finding potential readers who already have an interest in the type of book you are marketing, you increase your chances of selling books in the future. This can involve something as simple as “touring” various blogs and sites that pertain to a theme in your book or to writing in general. You’ll meet people who can ultimately give you exceptional exposure and may even recommend you and your book to others in the future. By acquiring connections, more people will gain awareness about your book, which will ultimately help drive your sales.

Book signings and virtual book tours are two effective strategies for marketing a book that can ultimately drive sales and promotions. Each strategy will take time, patience and research, but if done correctly they’ll spark reader interest in knowing more about you and your book.

Tanisha Williams is the author of two non-profit e-books “501c3 In 12-Steps” and “Simple Internal Controls That Protect Your Assets”. Her desire for more interaction with readers was the key inspiration behind the development of her latest business venture ChatEbooks. ChatEbooks, launched in October 2014, harnesses the strengths of social media in order to help authors and their readers engage and connect within the context of the selling/reading experience.