Tips On Reaching Blog Tourists

Last month I did a blog on reviews and why reviews are important, here!

One of the points I was trying to make is that most bloggers that you will set up your blog tour with requires you to have at least ten reviews.

Now that you have those ten, it's time to set up your blog tour.

As you know, I'm a big believer in word of mouth and that is why I started my STREET TEAM. I love having new readers join my street team, and I have done that by going on blog tours and reaching more and more readers.

I'm not saying blog tours are easy or hard, they are very time consuming. Some authors have blog tours that last for a month or two. Neither is right or wrong. It depends on what the blogger's availability is and sometimes you might be able to recycle a blog post that you wrote for another blogger.

Recycling isn't tacky. It's smart. You can alter a few sentences or add some new points by catering it to the blogger's target audience.

Keeping all of this in mind, I have a few tips that will help you reach your maximum readership with a blog tour.

1) Pick the dates you would like to go on a blog tour.

2) Find a list of blogs that you would like to inquire about being a guest. Be sure to professionally send them a letter, include a press kit along with the dates that you are available.

3) After you get a list of blogs, be sure to promote every single stop you are at! Get your street team to promote the stop too!!!

4) If you are going to recycle a couple different posts, change them up! Add some more jokes, new pictures, different contest...be different than the rest!!

5) Comment back to every single person who comments on your tour! You have to be present and genuine.

6) Think outside the box. Do a skype interview with the blog host or video chat. You can even voice record the interview or your guest blog. Dare to be DIFFERENT!

7) Have fun! Remember, you want the blog audience to like you. There is nothing more fun than connecting with a reader on a personal level.

I'm in the process of organizing a new blog tour with many new tips that aren't listed here. I won't list them until I try them. I'll let you know how they work out!

Now....GO OUT THERE AND FIND NEW READERS!

Do you have any blog tour tips to add?

Tips To Make Your Guest Blog Shine

"I'm going to make this post ROCK!"

"I'm going to be the best guest blogger this blog has ever seen!"

When you guest blog, you want to HIT IT OUT OF THE PARK!

Here are some tips to help reach that AMAZING status:

1) AUDIENCE

Know the blog's audience. I hope that you have been following the blog you want to guest on. If not, see my etiquette blog. 

If the blog is geared toward readers, make sure that you write your post that will interest readers. If you guest blog and your post has NO interest to the reader, you will have an EPIC FAIL. 

2) PERSONALITY

You always want to add a little personality to your blog. There is nothing more boring than going to my favorite blogs and read a guest blog that reads blah, blah, blah to me. A little personality goes a long way. The more personable you are, the more the audience is going to follow you other place. 

...which brings me to...

3) WIIFM (what's in it for me)

We guest blog because we want to connect to readers in one way or another. I do it! When I guest blog on reader centric blogs, I'm aiming for at least ONE new reader to like me, follow me, and eventually by my novels. AND don't just ask what's in it for me, ask what's in it for the reader. They want to walk away from your blog with something....

When guesting, be sure that you answer the WIIFM. 

With time, effort, and a lot of consideration on what you want out of your guest blog posts, you will SHINE!

Do you have some more tips and tricks to share with our fellow writers??

Tips On Getting a Guest Blog Gig

For the next couple of blog days, we are going to talk about guest blogging. It's something we all have to do whether we want to or not. But we need to in order to help connect with our target audience.

There are so many blogs out there, and so many blogs that we follow that have the target audience we'd LOVE to have. The only way we can get the collective audience to notice us is through being a guest blogger.

Here are some tips on how to effectively land that guest post gig!

1) Visit the blog regularly.
I really can't stress this enough. When I say visit the blog regularly, I mean participate too! Bloggers are more than likely to happily host someone who has been supporting their blog and doing so means that you need to comment.

2) Write an email.
You obviously need to contact the blog owner. Be sure to have the email going to the right person. Address the person by their full name.
Include the following items in your email~
* Tell the blog owner why you like their blog.
* Tell them you would love to pitch a guest post along with why you think you would benefit their readers.
* Introduce your blog idea/ideas
* Include a brief bio

3) Attach an example of a guest blog.
* Make sure you check the guest post guidelines.
* In the guest blog be sure it's targeted toward the target audience of the blog you are proposing.
* In your guest post, link to a few of your posts on your blog. This helps the reader find YOUR blog quickly.
* Include a brief bio at the end.
* Include a photo.
* Include links where they can find you.
* YOU do all the work. Don't make the blog owner do anything!

Follow the above guidelines and there is NO way a blog owner can say no. Do you homework and do it right!

What do you do to get a guest spot on your favorite blogs??

Monday we are going to have tips on how to make your blog stand out and shine!