Marketing tip
What's a "Virtual Book
Tour," Anyway?
by Diane Eble
I'm not a
techie, and glitches sometimes drive me nuts. Yet I
firmly believe this: Technology is an author's best
friend!
Technology these days allows an author unprecedented
opportunities to save time and money, sell more books, ignite
word of mouth, connect with readers in ways previously
undreamed of, thereby starting a relationship that allows the
author to actually build a business around his or her book
idea.
One case in point is the “virtual book tour.”
Any time an author gets to talk about his or her book
without being physically present, but doing it via phone or
webcast, can be considered a “virtual book tour.” An author can
be interviewed one or more podcasts, for instance, and that can
be considered a “virtual book tour.” A radio blitz campaign can
be considered a virtual book tour. Some PR companies set these
up for authors, often at launch time, when the book first comes
out. The idea is to hit as many places as possible in a short
period of time to create “buzz.”
The Ask Campaign
VBT
There is another kind of “virtual book tour” that was
created by Alex Mandossian. This is a specific kind of campaign
in which an “ask the author” page is set up on a web site, the
author is interviewed by a host who asks the submitted
questions, the book is offered for sale (sometimes with extra
bonuses). You have to sign up and ask a question to gain access
to the live call and/or recording that is usually made
available afterward.
The beauty of this latter kind of VBT, from an author’s
point of view, is that not only are you selling books–you are
able to gather names so that you can begin a relationship with
your readers. In most other kinds of “virtual book tours,” such
as radio interviews, the author just explains the book, the
listener buys the book (or not), but still there is no way to
start an ongoing relationship with readers.
Of course, if the author is smart, on the podcast or radio
interview he or she will have some kind of free offer so that
the all-important relationship with the reader–or prospective
reader–can begin.
The number one weakness of the way books have traditionally
been marketed is there was no way for readers and authors to
connect. Any marketing tactic, including virtual book tours,
should have as a main goal building a list–i.e. obtaining
contact information of people who are exposed to your message
and want that continuing relationship with you.
There are other great benefits to an “ask”-type VBT, which
I'll be covering in future articles.
Sample a Virtual Book
Tour
If you would like to see the "ask campaign" type of virtual
book tour in action, I invite you to check out one of the VBTs
I did recently.
One, which I hosted, was with best-selling author George
Barna and aod coauthor, Frank Viola, on their controversial
book, Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our
Church Practices, gleaned more than 750
questions, and was attended by people from all over the
world. Check out how this VBT works, and listen to the
replay.
Another was with New York Times best-selling author, Dinesh
D'Souza, for his book,
What's So Great about Christianity. If this
interests you, check it
out.
Another example is the VBT where Suzanne Lieurance was the
host interviewing me about my book, Abundant Gifts. I shared
stories from the book (and "behind the scenes"), and also
answered questions from readers. Questions about Virtual Book
Tours and marketing books, and questions about how a gifts
journal can open your eyes to all the abundant gifts in your
life. Plus a few tough ones, such as "how do you know God even
exists?"
You can listen to the replay to that VBT if you like.
But first, ask your
question, because I'll be answering questions not
answered on the call, either in my Abundant Gifts blog,
my Your
Book Publishing Coach blog, or here via articles
(depending on the type of question). After you ask your
question, you'll be sent to the replay page where you can
listen to or download the replay. (And buy the book, which
is only $10 for the hardback, and I will sign each
copy.)
It Works for You
24/7
The beauty of these Ask-type VBTs is that once it's done,
all you need to do is promote it. Through articles, your blog,
posts in forums and on social network sites, press releases,
business cards, your own personal contacts, you can invite
people to visit your ask page where they can get their
questions answered. This sets up a dialogue between you and
your audience (or potential audience), so you know what's on
their minds.
When you know that, you can be sure what you're writing
speaks to their real needs.
Never before have authors had such an opportunity to get in
touch with their readers and build relationships.
You can even do Ask campaigns before your book is written,
or when the ebook version is completed, to find out what
readers want to know, get feedback on titles/subtitles, or just
about anything you want to ask your readers.
Can you see why I'm so pumped about Virtual Book Tours?
When you make your VBT the center of your
marketing campaign, as Alex Mandossian teaches, it can become
one of the best investments of your marketing dollar you can
make.
Action Steps:
1. Check out a few Virtual Book Tours, as well as more
details of how they work, at www.virtualbooktourexpert.com.
2. Read more about what Virtual Book Tours can do for you,
and how to get excellent training in infrormation marketing,
here: www.virtualbooktoursforauthors.com.
(Includes free tips plus more than $39,000 in bonuses from me
and Alex Mandossian.)
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