Authors – Have You Heard About Virtual Book Tours?

By Author: Scott Baylor
Total Articles: 2
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Among the many new methods revolutionizing book publishing today is the virtual book tour. Coinciding with the rise of self-publishing, it is something to consider when planning how to market a book. The virtual book tour is becoming an increasingly standard component of a compelling book publicity campaign. When well-planned and promoted correctly in advance, virtual tours can make beneficial contributions to promotion efforts overall. Just as the name implies, they provide ways for authors to promote their work and answer questions online regardless of where anyone is located. In general, virtual tours are products of social media channels that provide ways to hold events and promote them as well. On some platforms, authors and their publicists can post ask pages that are connected to broader fan pages. Often, a video explaining more about the book is available on the ask page. Its purpose is to greet potential readers, give them an overview of the author and book, and perhaps include readings or excerpts. Before online events occur, ask pages also can be places to ask questions that relate to the interests of the target ...
... audience and book itself. Later on, the event can be based in whole or part on the questions gathered.
Blogs also are ideal places to begin building relationships with the virtual book tour's target audience. Authors need to work in advance to reach target audiences and build rapport. Often this can be accomplished with guest posts on blogs that relate to the topic of the book. The posts build credibility for expertise in a given field and begin to draw in the target audience interested in the subject. Social media channels are an effective way to invite people to online events through advance posts and tweets. The prospect of real-time interaction with authors is appealing to many interested people. Also, sign-ups for the even gather email addresses which are helpful later on for list building. Follow-up emails such as newsletters and other announcements solidify the relationship between author and reader, making for a more personal connection. Video chats are also useful vehicles for virtual book publicity events. They bring home the real-time feel and are excellent for question and answer sessions. Podcasts continue to be popular as well, allowing the author to speak online to interested readers. They can include answers to questions collected in advance. In the long run, virtual book publicity tours are ongoing tools used by many successful authors.
The methods are optimal for all target audiences that can be found online. Creating a sense of a personal connection often can be a deciding factor in a potential reader deciding to make a book purchase. Also, any author seriously researching promotional methods for their books understands that virtual tours alone are not sufficient for marketing. First and most importantly, they depend on social media and require much advance work, establishing followers who are loyal and interested. Therefore, social media activities need to be continuous and successful for some time before attempting a virtual tour. Also, blog guest posts, podcasts, and other advance activities will have a significant bearing on producing a successful outcome. They also need to be supported by more conventional book marketing activities such as media outreach, select in-person signings and appearance, and author branding in general. All components of a good book marketing campaign need to be working together for maximum benefit.
Scott Baylor is the author of this article. For further detail about how to market a book please visit the website.