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 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!

Blogging doesn't make you money....SAY WHAT???

Sometimes I come across some really GREAT people that make really IGNORANT comments. It cracks me up because most of the time, these people have no clue what they are talking about...and in that case, they really should keep their mouth closed.

Am I ranting? No. I'm actually chuckling inside, because these comments give me GREAT ideas to blog.

I'm not going to tell you the participants in this story, but I think it's really important for you to know the outcome....

I had suggested to a TRADITIONALLY published author that they should start a blog using their new book as the theme. IT'S A GREAT IDEA!!

I got a sweet smile, laughed at, and then..."blogging doesn't make you money."

I didn't rant, or go off, I simply got a pen out of my purse and wrote GREAT BLOG TOPIC on the palm of my hand. I did NOT want to forget the feeling I was having when those words left the mouth of that author.

I was almost giddy! Excited in fact! Little does that author know....

So this brings me to what I think is going to be a GREAT topic. WHY BLOGGING IS CRITICAL TO MAKING YOU MONEY!

1) Forces you to think about a target audience. Isn't this what helps sell our books??? Selling books=money...right?

If you target your audience (this blog targets writers and how to help them-readers probably AREN'T reading this blog), and promote it as the targeted blog, you will gain readers. The author who prompted me to write this blog, has a VERY targeted theme that would appeal to a VERY targeted audience that will lead to many sells...

For instance, if you write paranormal, you would do some great blogs posts on haunted houses, paranormal activities, talk about paranormal shows....etc....you get the point. You are building that target audience.

2) Forces you to write.
We have to write in order to get a book out. Blogging helps you stay focused and write! It helps you hone your voice. You can experiment with what works best for you and see the results from the traffic you get and  comments you will receive.

Blogging helps you explore topics that forces you to research topics, which in turn makes you more knowledgeable. AND that could spark more ideas for writing. Writing=money!

3) Makes you more visible. (blog forums)
I use my blog to promote my novels. Regardless this is for writers, I post on all forums. When I post a blog, I go to the Kindle forums, Nook forums, writer forums and post the blog topic with the URL. This leads to a lot of page views and believe it or not...usually a couple books sold!

The forums have my books in my tag lines and I hear from the reader how much they liked my blog and book covers so they bought "such and such book." THAT'S MONEY....RIGHT?

4) Creates a following.
A following is what all authors want! WE love to have readers, regardless of where they come from.


5) Leads to appearances.
This blog has given me a great platform to teach workshops. I've been teaching workshops for over three years. During this time, I have met some GREAT people in the writing community. I teach at conventions where I meet readers and writers. The readers want my books, the writers want any advice I can give them.

Blogging has also given me the opportunity to participate in book clubs! The book clubs read one of my books, and they love to bring up how I come up with characters, their development, the process. With out blogging about it here, I'd have a really hard time answering those questions.

Don't listen to ignorant statements. Don't miss out on opportunities to find an audience. Hey...Donald Trump blogs! Do you think he'd waste his time if he wasn't making money???

Blogging is like the NEW BLACK for authors. Well...maybe black doesn't look good on everyone, but it is my favorite color!