Digital Nativity

December mini-course for novices

I've gotten requests to do a short training for novices about how to comment on blogs, as well as work Facebook and Twitter for promotion purposes. So I have a three-day course at the classroom later this month. Specifics:

Dec. 28 - Commenting and promoting blogs (this is not about setting up a new blog)
Dec. 29 - Using Facebook
Dec. 30 - Using Twitter

This is very rudimentary, but feel free to share with your aunties who are probably your biggest fans and would help promote you if they knew how!

It's free and sign-up is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogbooktours

Happy holidays!

More Tea and Advice with Pat and Holly

Pat: Thinking about our previous discussions, I wonder who gets the most from the host/guest connection. The touring author probably won’t get his fans to read every post on the tour, especially if the guest post is geared toward a completely different audience than he is accustomed to writing for. However, if the author’s post is appealing to the host's followers, they will read, perhaps hop over to become new followers for the author, and maybe even order his book. What more should the touring author expect from the host, and what does the host get for all her hard work?

Holly: I think the host should make all of the guests feel welcome, first and foremost. Odds are, the blog host will get a number of new visitors – some will be longtime friends or readers of the author’s and may be completely unfamiliar with the blog. That may be a new feeling for some bloggers – in general, it’s a great feeling, if you want to increase traffic to your own blog.

But as a guest, I’m not going to demand much. I will ask that the host post early in the day; make commenting as easy for guests as they’re willing to make it - perhaps foregoing registration requirements or comment moderation, if they can; and drop by as often as possible to greet visitors and help ensure a pleasant experience. I encourage hosts to promote the book and the tour stop, and I remind them to add “buy this book” links – using their own affiliate links, if they have them – to help promote book sales. That’s the purpose in doing a blog book tour, after all. That said, I wouldn’t come to your house for dinner and request a special menu or a particular wine. I wouldn’t insist on your serving it to me with the TV on, and if you asked me to remove my shoes at the door, I would – even if that weren’t my custom at home.

Pat: I do add a lot of links for my guests, and I also include a short introduction and a summary, sometimes even pointing to a specific blog post or bio of interest. Most of my guests have provided the links for me, but there have been a couple of times I had to do extra work searching out links, proofreading and editing copy, resizing photos, and picking up the slack when the guest did not make an appearance to respond to comments. Should the host assume a guest knows the protocol?

Holly: Professionalism would be nice. Presumably, an author knows the proper protocol for submitting a manuscript and dealing with editorial guidelines. It’s not that difficult. I would probably do a light edit and re-size the photos myself, if need be – but if a deadline’s missed or the writing doesn’t do the author credit (and will likely embarrass us both), I’d feel no particular obligation to host the author on the appointed day. Authors need to be respectful of their host’s time.

Fantastic advice, ladies, and thank you for stopping by. Be sure to visit Holly and Patricia at their blogs, too! If you have a question, please leave it in the comments and we'll try to respond.

Pat and Holly talk about blog book tours and other adventures

Pat: Hi, Holly. Maybe you can help me with my newest blogging adventure. I recently began featuring weekly guests as well as hosting virtual tours (blog book tours) for authors. My regular guests write to a theme, but what about authors on tour? The author is there to promote his book, but as the host, I'm interested in entertaining and informing my followers. Should I provide firm guidelines, or give the guest author free rein?

Holly: How about finding a happy medium, Pat? I can’t imagine an author who wouldn’t appreciate your suggestions. You know your blog and your readers best. The author is there to promote a book, but isn’t the first rule of writing to “know your audience”?

When I’m hosting an author, I’d like for them to bring fresh ideas to the table, too – after all, I’d like to believe they didn’t just pick my blog out of a hat, without knowing what it’s about. Do you ever ask an author, “Why do you think my blog would be a good fit for this tour?” How do you pick the blogs you ask to host you, when you take your books on tour?

Pat: I honestly hadn’t thought about screening author requests. Up to now, I took all guests who would write to my “path to publication” theme. You’ve given me something to think about, which will also be helpful if I decide to do a tour of my own in the future.

Pat: Holly, we talked about the tour from the host’s point of view. But what about the guest’s responsibilities on the day her post is published?

Holly: I’d really like for the author to show up and co-host the event in person. It’s not absolutely essential, of course. I had a lot of fun hosting James Patterson’s Daniel X: Watch the Skies. I knew that he wouldn’t drop by and participate in person, though it would have been fun for my son and my readers. But there were no demands or rules, either – I had free rein. I didn’t love the book, but my son had his own opinions. We played it like the Siskel and Ebert of the literary world, and we had a blast writing the post together. What about you, Pat? What do you expect of your authors the day of the tour stop?

Pat: I definitely like the guest to show up and respond to comments, even if she can only drop by a couple of times during the day. I get up early to make sure the post publishes on schedule, send an e-mail to the guest with the permalink and shortened link, and I post to Twitter and Facebook. I also expect the guest to promote the appearance on her own blog and whatever social media outlets she uses. You’ve done a tour, right? What are your thoughts as author?

Holly: When I’m the author on tour, I like to have suggestions from the host. Communication is so important, but it can be a little awkward at first. Some of the best, most fun and creative ideas have come from first-time blog book tour hosts who admitted they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. We’d brainstorm and toss ideas back and forth, and they’d have an “Aha!” moment and go off and do something new and surprising. I even had one blogger who spontaneously hosted a book tour stop! He did such a fantastic job of promoting my book to his readers – how could I not drop by and participate?

It’s a good to plan ahead, though – you don’t want to be totally blindsided by an author or a blog host. Both should know what to expect on the day of the tour stop.

Of course, the bottom line for both the host and the author should be their mutual desire to provide a delightful experience for the blog’s readers. With any luck, that will convince them to read the book, too. To me, it’s all about the readers – we’re the actors and the stagehands, and it’s not about what we want.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More from Patricia and Holly next time!

What makes for a successful blog book tour?

Today, several blog book tour students had a chat about all things related to virtual tours, and I thought I'd share the link with you. Diane, Marvin, and Alex did a great job over at Spunk on a Stick talking about what makes for a great blog book tour.

I would like to comment about one aspect that has been changing the past year or so. How far ahead should you contact your hosts before your scheduled tour dates? Of course, you want to find them and get to know them a good bit before your tour. Six months isn't too far ahead to start scoping out blogs and interacting with them. But I don't actually contact hosts until a month or so before the actual tour stops. Then it's easier to get their attention and hold it for a few weeks while everything, including the nature of the visits, falls into place. People are getting shorter attention spans all the time, and most don't want to tie up their blogs schedules more than 4-6 weeks ahead.

I've also noticed lately that bloggers don't answer their emails anymore, so I'm finding that I have to connect with them on Twitter and Facebook at the same time that I discover their blogs.  Often, I get an answer on those sites long before I get a return email. The added benefit is I don't feel I'm spamming them with repeated contacts. So this is something to consider. Truth is, if they don't have a Facebook and Twitter presence, their blog might no be that hot anyway. Unless, of course, they're Alex J. Cavanaugh, Mr. Popularity himself. He isn't yet on Facebook. Hard to believe, I know!

Blogging Tip #31

So what's in store for November? We'll be talking a bit about Twitter and Facebook and the importance of connecting there. Then we'll take a look at blog book tours from the host perspective because often host bloggers have never participated in a blog book tour and don't know quite what to do. No worries. We'll help you out. This will be good for authors, too, because you'll want to be a host to other authors on occasion to reciprocate, if not tit-for-tat, then in the spirit of literary support. Being on the host side of a blog book tour is a little different. So stay tuned and stop by later in the week.

Oh, and since it's Thanksgiving month in America - thank you for reading and commenting on this blog!

Blogging Tip #30

Blogs are becoming more and more like websites, and authors can use this to good advantage. Here's a great example of a multi-page set-up that's attractive and easy to maneuver. http://bethsorensen.com/ Unless you're selling your books straight off your website, what would be the reason for having one?

And we're getting very close to the end of the blog-a-day challenge. Tomorrow, I'll give a preview of what I'll be covering in November.

Blogging Tip #29

So the month is almost over and it's time to start planning your blog posts for the next month. Oh, no! Does it never end? What to do, what to do? It's time to start brainstorming and the best tool I have for get my thoughts in a row is to create a mind map. I have a bunch going this week:

• One for NaNoWriMo
• One for Little Pickle Press and their next blog book tour
• One for all my blogs and their monthly theme posts
• One for all my holiday preparations

I've written a short post about mind maps over at the Blood-Red Pencil and added links for more information. Go take a look. How about you? Do you have any great tips to keep a spinning brain in its orbit?

Blogging Tip #28

Don't forget to use your blog as a message board when it's important! 

My message for the day: Don't forget to vote next week! If you're a woman, remember that we've only enjoyed the privilege in America since 1920, and in many countries around the world, much later than that. Click here for a real eye-opener.

Blogging Tip #27

Save your blog posts in a Word file. When you have an older blog, you can lose a lot of writing simply by accident. There are other ways to back-up your blog, but we'll cover those later. That gets complicated. Another way might be the Blog2Print option I just noticed on my Blogger dashboard. I have no idea if this works well. Has anyone tried it?

Blogging Tip #26

An important part of blog success goes beyond daily blogging. Someone has to visit your blog and read your posts. Even better, they should comment. The search engines love that. So how do you encourage commenting, beyond asking a question at the end of your post? There are four ways that pop to mind:

• Add a status update to your Facebook page with a link and share button to your blog
• Go to Twitter several times during the day and leave a teaser with a clickable link
• Notify friends in online groups and leave a clickable link and ask them to comment
• Email people on your whitelist who might relate to the post especially if you are writing about them in that post, and then ask them to share with their friends

You could also call in a few markers, but I wouldn't recommend that. Save those for something bigger. ;)

Blogging Tip #25

Today I have a post up at Little Pickle Press about Green Halloween, a program of the EcoMom Alliance. I really wanted to promote this post because the issues therein are important to me. So I first placed a status on my Facebook wall. Then I went to the Green Halloween Facebook page and told them I'd written about them and left a link that they and their friends could read. (They've already commented.) Then I went to Twitter and left a short, pithy comment and a bit.ly permalink to the Little Pickle Press blog post. Later I'll post again to @GreenHalloween so they pick up the tweet direct. If I had a contact name for EcoMom Alliance I'd also email them.  More on that promotion technique tomorrow!

How much do you promote your blog posts? Do you think it makes a difference?

Blogging Tip #24

It's Sunday, and that means I'm writing blog posts. I'll add them to various blogs and pre-schedule them to publish throughout the week. This seems to work well for me, as I sometimes tend to write longer posts that ought to be split into shorter linked posts to form a little series. How about you? When do you write your blog posts? On the same day or in advance so you know it's done and you won't have to scramble... or worse yet, forget.

Blogging Tip #23

Three weeks into this blog-a-day challenge, my visitor traffic has doubled, and on some days, I get three times the daily average. This from very short blogging tips that really take little time. Do you see how consistent blogging can boost your blog popularity? How many of you in this challenge are noticing similar results? Please leave a comment and feel free to cite some statistics.

Blogging Tip #22

Everyone loves quotations so here's my favorite for today:

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook

What's your favorite quotation? Do you regularly use them in your blogging?

Blogging Tip #21

Today's tip is much less controversial than it was a few years ago: should you edit blog posts that have already been published? It used to be akin to cheating. I always corrected though. I'm a writer and an editor, and when I see a typo or mistake in grammar after-the-fact, I change it. Why? Because the public judges you by your work - in this case, the written word. If you have the opportnity opportunity to correct a mistake, why not take it? You don't even have to be this obvious about it. I figure Blogger included an editing feature for us to use, otherwise they wouldn't have added the feature to begin with.

 Who makes up these rules anyway?

Blogging Tip #20

You've missed a day in your daily blogging and don't want to post two times in one day. What to do, what to do? Click down to Post Options in this blogging platform (I'm sure they all have this option) and change today's date to yesterday. Is that cheating? Not in my rule book. Who would really care by this time next month? If you want to call this my cheater-dawg tip for the month, that's okay by me!

Blogging Tip #19

So at this point of a blog-a-day challenge, you might be running out of ideas. What are you going to blog about next? When I hit a wall like this, I go to Google and do a search for "what to blog about". How many hits do you think I got for those keywords? Here's the first return with twelve suggestions:



http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/02/04/starting-a-blog-12-ideas-for-blog-posts/

Just the first of 1.7 billion other hits! That should keep you busy for a while. ;)

Blogging Tip #18

Since I've been blogging, I've paid close attention to what pro-bloggers recommend on their blogs. Even though I don't "monetize" my blogs, there is still plenty of useful information to build a better blog. One of my favorite online writers and advisors is Tiffany Dow. Tiff is a ghost writer, an ebook author, and gives reams of free advice to help other writers improve their online popularity. What I like best about her writing is the casual, chatty tone that makes a post from her sound like a little sit-down and chat with a friend. Get a taste of it at her blog and be sure to sign up for her electronic newsletter. Lots to learn there!

BloggingTip #17

This is a cool promotional idea. Have you had a blog book tour? How about a clever promo handout like this one by Little Pickle Press with your book(s) on one side, and blog book tour stops on the other side, complete with blog testimonials from your hosts. Excellent! I've never seen this done before, but think it's a swell concept.

Blogging Tip #16

It's good to get comments on your blog posts, but getting them is sometimes a challenge. One of the best ways is to end your post with a question. Here's an example:

Once there was a little girl named Bruschetta. She and her best friend, Ravioli and his pet dog, Pesto, lived in a town called Minestrone. What do you think was their favorite meal? Leave your answer in the comments!

Blogging Tip #15

How do you promote your daily blog posts to drive readers over to your blog? I usually use Networked blogs and Twitter and also promote on groups that allow it. But always be sure it's okay with the forum administrators and be sure you balance your blog promoting with regular conversation. Do not email notices about your new blog post unless readers have opted in - that's too intrusive. Many people get hundreds of emails daily and they don't need a notification of everyone's blog updates added to that load!

Blogging Tip #14

Another good way to stick with blogging is to employ theme days. If you've decided to post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you can create a daily format that makes it easy to narrow your focus. It's also a way to create reader expectation and with a theme, you'll find your readers return time and again to read the latest on that topic. For example, you might have a book review on Monday, an update of your own writing for your book fans on Wednesday, and the publishing news of the week on Friday.

Blogging Tip #13

Now let's talk about the most important part of good blogging: relevant and readable blog posts. If you're blog posts don't offer something the reader wants to read, you may as well give up. This can become difficult over time, especially during a blog-a-day challenge. You've just experienced one of the best reasons to blog right here: offering tips that help your reader. You can also see that short posts can be a very good thing. Do this every couple of posts and it will make your blogging life much easier.

Blogging Tip #12

Be sure to do regular housekeeping on your blog. Every few months, check all your sidebar links and make sure they still work, or that they lead to blogs and websites that are being updated. I have to remind myself about this, too, because time does get away from us, doesn't it?

Blogging Tip #11

What about contact information? If you're offering something to the public, it makes sense that you should provide an email for readers to contact you. Many blogs don't, and it's very frustrating to the reader to have to hunt that down. The best place to give contact information is on a separate page with its own tab that says "contact me". If you offer your email in a blog post, be sure to make it a clickable link rather than type out your email address for spammers to harvest.

Blogging Tip #10

What about those cute little blogging awards that people give out? Should you add them to your blog? It's hard to say no when someone gives you a gift, and most professional bloggers won't burden you that way. They might offer a badge that you can grab and add to your blog without any pressures. If you do accept these "gifts" find a way to add them without making your blog look too cluttered. Also keep in mind that these third-party widgets can slow down the loading of your blog if you have too many.

Blogging Tip #9

Keep up with latest blogging tips and advice. I like Problogger and ChrisG. Just discovered today is the Fuel Your Blogging site. You should visit them regularly, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter, too. They all have links at their sites, as any good blogger should!

Blog Tip #8

Be sure you have a hit counter installed. You can use Statcounter, Sitemeter, Google Analytics, and now most blogging platforms have built-in analytics, too. Be sure to use them, if not daily, then at least weekly to see how your promotion efforts impact your traffic. This is particularly vital before, during, and after a blog book tour.

Blogging Tip #7

Pay attention to the tips and links that your own blogging platform places in front of you! For example, I just saw a link to the Blog World Expo with a 20% off coupon code from Blogger. I linked to the site and found a wealth of information about more than just the expo. Tons of great blogging tips you don't want to miss. This is a blog you might want to bookmark for more information. Oh, and BLOGGER20 is the coupon code.

Blogging Tip #6

Have lots of links in your sidebars, and think of them as added content for your reader. These are outside blogs and websites that support your own theme in some way. I thematically categorize my blogs and many are potential hosts for future blog tours. If you're planning a blog book tour, you should also have a separate list of blogs you've pre-vetted for you tour. Those blogs should demonstrate the same blogging tips we're discussing right now!

Blogging Tip #5

If you're on Facebook and Twitter to promote your writing, you should sign up at Networked Blogs so that your posts automatically feed through to both sites when you publish a new blog post. Those are two fewer promotion steps you'll need to take, and this is one convenience tip of which I heartily approve. Just be careful you don't accidentally hit the publish button too soon. It'll appear on Twitter and Facebook almost immediately, but not the second time it's re-scheduled. Try to place your networked blogs widget pretty high in the sidebar, too, but below those in earlier tips.

Blogging Tip #4

I like to include a bookmark/share button like the one at right from Add This, the most popular free bookmarking service today. Even though many blogging platforms include share links in each post, a button like this gives your reader more options to share your posts with others.

Blogging Tip #3

Be sure you add the widget that allows you to have visible followers like the one at right. Not only is it a good way for your fans to know when you've posted, it makes you look popular when you have lots of followers and that will bring you more followers! This widget should be placed below your Facebook and Twitter connects, but quite high in the sidebar where readers can easily find it.

Blogging Tip #2

Everyone is connecting on Facebook and Twitter these days. Be sure to have your links high up in the sidebar. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. It just has to be quick and easy.

Blogging Tip #1

It's easier for your readers if your blog title is the same as your URL. So Blog Book Tours is easy to find at http://blogbooktours.blogspot.com without too much need to memorize anything. Make it easy for your fans!

The Tale of Oat Cake Crag

Have you read any of the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter? The Tale of Oat Cake Crag is the seventh in this series. Susan Wittig Albert kicked off her week-long blog book tour yesterday at Straight From Hel (you can still sign up for the drawing until noon). Today we’ll give you an overview of the rest of the week’s visits as well as some insights about how the tour was planned.

Susan’s fans will be following this tour and signing up for a book drawing each day, and also to be eligible for the grand prize if they sign in at each blog daily.

But they are not the only followers of this blog book tour. When Susan wrote her posts for each blog, she also considered any new readers and what their interests might be. On this blog, a post about the various aspects of a blog book tour would be appropriate. That’s what you’re reading right now. Here are some clues about what to expect on upcoming blogs:

Tomorrow (Wednesday), Susan visits The Blood-Red Pencil where the editors daily discuss all the many aspects of writing. So the post was crafted to explain the unusual Victorian narrative voice that the author employs in these Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. It’s quite an intriguing concept, especially to the many writers who are fans of this blog.

Thursday, Lorna Barrett hosts the tour stop with her regular feature, Pet Peeves Thurday and you can bet Beatrix and her friends have a pet peeve in this seventh book in the series. Find out about it here and be sure to tell us your pet peeve.

On Friday, the Cozy Chicks host the final tour stop and you’ll learn that cozy mysteries (and their protagonists) might be a lot stronger than their cozy reputations lead us to believe. Beatrix Potter enchanted children with her delightful writing and illustrations, but she made history in another way, too. You can find out how by visiting the Cozy Chicks blog.

Do you have questions for Susan about writing a mystery series with a real-life heroine in the starring role? Please leave them here and she’ll be sure to answer them sometime today.

And don’t forget to sign up for the drawing to win an autographed copy of Oat Cake Crag by visiting the drawing page at http://cottagetales.com/blogtour/drawing_0914.php.


Check out the grand prize if you sign up for all five stops.

To buy a copy of the book, click here.

You can visit Susan at her Lifescapes blog for ongoing news about her books and life in the Texas Hill Country. Be sure to visit her often.

Congratulations to Betty S of Seabrook TX, who won Tuesday's BBT blog drawing! And if you haven't entered yet, today's drawing http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com  will be open through Thursday noon.

Next class starts soon

The next blog book tours class starts the day after Labor Day. Cost is $30. Sign up at our Yahoo!Group classroom. Expect to work hard and learn lots!

And They're Off!

It's been fun chaperoning Little Pickle Press through their first blog book tour, especially since owner and author, Rana DiOrio is a student in the current blog book tours class and I get to use her as an example of how to do things the right way. ;) Now the rest of the class is closely following the What Does It Mean To Be Present? tour to see what they can learn for their own book promotions.

We started the tour at the fabulous The Smart Mama blog yesterday where Jennifer Taggart  talks about her phone conversation with Rana. Both are attorneys, have young children, and are deeply, passionately committed to creating a healthy world for their families. Their blogs were a match made in heaven!

On day #2, we take an entirely different slant at the Blood-Red Pencil with an interview between resident book designer Sherry Wachter and Eliza Wheeler who illustrated the book. We have a lively discussion going amongst fellow artists and publishers.

Tomorrow, Gina Raith at Be Well Together shares her experience of the book and the idea of  "being present". It's a concept that adults are also discovering during this book tour so be sure to join us again to learn more.

To get the entire schedule and to sign up for the name-the-next-book contest and prize, jump over to the Little Pickle Press blog. Remember that each of the tour stops also has  coupon codes for a special 2-book/free poster for $29.95 offer. The posters are printed on an environmentally-friendly paper called Terraskin.

I'll add more to this post as the tour progresses. So far, so fun!

A Technique For Finding Blog Hosts

I asked the class to do a little exercise over the weekend - make a list of keywords for your novel, then using as many of those words as you can cram in, write a three-sentence synopsis of your book. Here's what Nancy submitted:

While traveling home, Missie is thrust through a portal where her music plays an important role in defeating a tyrant. Her career must be sacrificed, her life forever changed, to accommodate these Renaissance costumed people of Gil-Lael. Their values are so different from Missie's modern American lifestyle, that she believes she has truly entered a fantasy world.


My list:

music
career
sacrifices
values
costumes
Renaissance festivals
life changes
fantasy
travel

Nancy has nailed her keywords and a description that's clear enough for us to understand the gist of her book. (Polished, this could live on her blog, too.)

Just for yucks, I googled "Renaissance Festival blogs" and the first hit gave me a musical group that ties into that particular book theme:

http://www.cantigamusic.com/blog.html

This blog seems to be relatively active. And she's doing some traveling so that's another keyword connection along with music!

The next step for Nancy is to start a separate blogroll on her blog - either for music or for the festivals that relate to her theme, or both. (She could link to many Ren Fests throughout the country.) Add this blog right into a related blogroll immediately. Then it won't be forgotten or lost forever. Nancy will see the name on her blog, hop over there, and start interacting with this blogger by leaving a comment now and then, or at least staying in tune with what they are doing. (Don't just dump your book info on them though - that's just too tacky.) Always check to make sure a potential host blogger has Twitter and Facebook information and try to connect on those levels, too.
Nancy might also check costume blogs and travel blogs for countries pertinent to her theme. Even if a blog doesn't look particularly good or active, look at their blogroll, because that's where the good hosts often lie... even another layer or two down can yield some real blog gems. One related blog leads to another.

Yes, it's time-consuming, but well worth the effort. You do this a little each day, until you have dozens upon dozens of potential blog book tour hosts in your clickable blogrolls. By the time you're ready to plan your tour, you'll have choices and, even better, relationships established with other bloggers. And that means success for your blog book tour.

Blog Critiques Begin

The class spent most of last week learning about the elements of a good blog - their own, and the ones they will be seeking out as potential hosts for their blog book tours. Today we start with critiques of the member blogs. Alex J. Cavanaugh has agreed to let me post the review that started off his critique this morning. Go to his blog here and then compare it to the comments below. These are all tips that can help improve your own blog.

Basic Design Attractiveness?

Excellent and right in line with the book theme.

Title and URL cohesive?

Yes. Easy for readers to remember.

Consistency and clarity of blog purpose?

Mostly.

Loading speed?

The header hangs up on my dial-up. It takes quite a while to load but presumably slow connects aren't an issue in outer space.

Follow widget in place?

Perfect - all of them up high and right.

Hit counter?

Yes, and well-placed towards the bottom of the page with actual count showing.

Bookmarking in place?

Positioned with the follow widgets, but maybe could add an RSS feed link?

FB and Twitter widgets?

Didn't see Facebook, but Twitter is there.

Blogrolls?

Yes, very good. Could be organized a bit more concisely.

Linking effective? Tags/keywords used?

Good enough. Could have more linking within posts and between posts.

Frequent posting 2-3 x weekly?

Yes, very good, and a nice mix. Could include the occasional shorter post, or split longer posts into two.

Quality of overall posts?

Excellent, and clearly readers love this blog.

Comments section working?

Yes, and Alex gets enviable comment interaction. I suspect his ability to cyber-schmooze and interact with other bloggers (make friends) results in long-term loyalty. All bloggers should try to achieve this. Then you don't have to look for blog hosts - they beg to host you!

Blog components arranged in optimum manner? (see tomorrow's post for more about this)

Yes, except where noted.

Too many/too few third-party gadgets?

The blog award gadgets are a bit much - I know that it's hard not to accept these tokens of friendship, but maybe add older ones to the bottom of the page, and keep only a few of the most recent at the top?
They are both a psychological attractant and a visual repellent, so may take some clever managing.

Pages used effectively? Can the reader easily learn more about this writer and book?

Separate pages with tabs - with author bio, maybe an excerpt under another tab, a list of your favorite books - these could all engage the reader even more.

What's great?

Almost everything!

What can be improved?

Not much.

Is it ready for a blog tour?

Without a doubt.


Nice job, Alex! We'll expect a great blog book tour from you sometime this autumn.

Day #2 Blog Book Tours Class

Yesterday we covered the importance of having a hit counter (which tracks your blog visitors) on your blog and a bookmarking button.

I recommend that new bloggers begin with either Sitemeter.com or Statcounter.com because they are simple to install. If you like statistics, you might be happier using Google Analytics, too. Blogger doesn't have a built-in hit counter, so you'll have to add a third-party counter yourself. WordPress has this function built in to their blogging platform.

I prefer the counter to show the number of visitors as demonstrated at the Blood-Red Pencil blog and at the bottom of the page or bottom-most in the sidebar.

The bookmarking button most people like best is AddThis and that should be placed quite high in the sidebar where it is easily accessible to readers perusing your newest blog post. However, place it below your profile or other built-in sidebar feature, as third-party widgets tend to slow down blog loading. I like the AddThis button to be right where it is now to the right of this post. See it? It's very handy and makes it easy for you to share this post. :)

Next we'll discuss the all-important acts of regularly posting to the blog and building relevant blogrolls. The class is frantically at work getting their blogs in shape for the impending critiques scheduled to begin this weekend. When was the last time you posted something really good and well worth reading?

First Day of Class Review

We jumped right into making our blogs better using our usual list of criteria. Monday's prompts included these points for consideration:

Basic Design Attractiveness?
Title and URL cohesive?
Consistency and clarity of blog purpose?
Loading speed?

Let's discuss the second point. Is the URL consistent with the blog's title? Why does it matter? If you as an author plan to use your name in the http://yourname.blogspot. com then reinforcing this in your blog's title will make it easier for the reader to remember you. So your blog's header might read something like Your Name Talks About Writing. This is a simple form of branding that will serve you well in the long run. You should also try to stick to one name when setting up your accounts on other social networks. It's a lovely thing when a search for Your Name brings up six of your accounts in the first ten hits! So plan carefully early on.
 
Focus often on the blog's purpose. If you, as an author, use your name (and particularly if you have a pen name) in the blog URL and title, then it makes sense that your blogging will relate to your writing career, even though you may add personal notes to engage your readers. Periodically critique your blog to make sure it's sending the message you want to readers. If a major goal is promoting your books, then don't bury them in layers of unrelated material. This happens over time, especially as you add outside widgets and links. Housekeeping is important to keeping your blog crisp and on-task.
 
Everyone loves an attractive blog, but graphic templates can be so image-heavy, they take forever to load. Remember that your readers don't all have high-speed Internet, so don't try to get too fancy with your imagery. The best way to test your blog is to ask a few readers to comment about loading speed. Sometimes your blog header will take eons to load. Also be sure to keep third-party widgets a bit lower down in your sidebars, as they will tend to slow down blog-loading speeds.
 
Take a look at your blog today and assess how you stack up. Tomorrow we'll look at some widgets/gadgets that every blog should have.

Touring in a Virtual World

One of our favorite students, and certainly one of the most successful when it comes to promoting her books with blog book tours, is L. Diane Wolfe. Diane is a successful professional speaker and author of The Circle of Friends young adult fiction books. Here's what we cover in our classes, and what has worked well for Diane, in her own words:

Successful book promotion requires effort on the part of the publisher and even more so from the author. With the rising costs of a physical tour and the increase of Internet users, a virtual tour is an effective and inexpensive marketing tool.

For those not familiar with a virtual tour, it involves visiting a different site on the web every day for a set period of time. The sites range from websites and blogs to social sites and online radio. The author schedules a visit with the site’s host in advance and invites fans and friends to follow the appearances. This increases the author’s exposure online. The posts also add to search engine fodder for the author’s sites.

How difficult is it to set up a virtual tour? It’s not hard, but it will require time and planning. Here’s a step-by-step guideline to follow:

· Check with your publisher. Find out if they are setting up a tour and coordinate with their efforts. Ask if they’re willing to do giveaways. If they’ve no plans for online appearances, consider setting one up on your own. There is also the option of hiring a virtual tour service, but they charge an average of $150-$3000, so weigh your options.

· Determine your assets. Are you an active blogger? To what social sites do you belong? Do you have a website and email list and/or newsletter?

· Build a list of potential hosts. Always consider where your target audience goes online. Look for websites and blogs relevant to your book’s topic. Seek out book bloggers who cover your genre and author blogs that share your audience. Follow these blogs and comment where appropriate. Look for podcasts and online radio shows that reach your target audience. Select sites with large amounts of traffic.

· Grow familiar with these sites. Read their guidelines for articles, guest posts, and reviews. Determine your best approach to each individual site - article or guest post; interview; book review; giveaway; or announcement. Many of these venues book dates months in advance, so plan ahead!

· Send a polite inquiry to the blog owner, webmaster, or podcast show host. Let them know you’ve been following their site and ask if you can make an appearance during your virtual tour. Be prepared to provide suggestions for articles and guest posts. Always include your book information, bio, and links. Let the person know the date range of your virtual tour.

· Respond quickly to replies. Confirm dates and type of appearance or topic of guest post. If they request a review copy or want to do a giveaway, pass along the information to your publisher. Be willing to acquiesce to their requests!

· Keep a calendar handy. Book one stop a day - two at the most. Make a list of all articles and guest posts required.

· Two - four weeks before appearance, touch base with your host. Send them your complete information - book synopsis and details, links to purchase, a short bio, links to your sites, and a couple of reviews. Send your guest post or article as well, or completed interview. (If you’ve not received your interview, let the host know you are excited to see the questions.) Be sure to include a promotional photo and book cover art.

· Let your fan base know about your virtual tour. Post it on your website, blog, and include links in your newsletter.

· Before the tour begins, check with any unconfirmed hosts.

· The day of your appearance, visit the website or blog several times and respond to comments and questions. If it’s a live podcast, be prepared for questions.

· Send your host a thank you email when it’s all over!

A virtual tour is a win-win for guests and hosts, as both gain exposure to a new audience. The host presents the author to his or her readers and the author brings followers and fans to that site. Not only will this gain exposure, new fans, reviews, and sales for an author, it secures options for future tours. If you’ve been pleasant, professional, and punctual, hosts will be happy to invite you to visit again.

It requires a lot of work in advance, but the rewards of a virtual tour are well worth the effort!

The Next Blog Book Tours Class

We're having another one, and this one will include a few of my new blog book tours clients. Yes, I'm finally offering to arrange a few tours for authors. But more on the book genres I'm taking on later.

If you haven't taken a class on how to arrange your own blog book tour, now is the time to sign up. As always, it's without charge, and we start with critiquing and improving your own blogs which is where a good blog book tour begins. Sign up here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogbooktours

You must give your name and book title so I know you're not a spammer - oh, gee, that would never happen in this world, right?

The doors open on July 3rd. Class starts July 5th. Be prepared to work hard!

First read The Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever so you get a sense of what we'll be covering.

The Drill Sergeant is back!

Or maybe I'll just be a cheerleader... we'll see how I feel after the holiday. :)

Blog Tips to Consider

Recently, in a discussion on the BBT Cafe group, I made this comment and felt it was worth sharing here:

I've probably spent more time in the last four years following blog book tours than about anyone else I can think of for the simple reason that I needed to do it in order to teach the classes. I know what a good blog tour is and I know what it takes to complete the ones that are well-crafted and might actually sell some books in the long run.

Two weaknesses in thinking that continue to persist among authors and publishers:

1. That your friends and fellow author blogs are good hosts. Yes, they can be especially if many of your friends are popular authors, but make sure they get at least 100 hits a day. 1,000 would be better. This one issue causes more ire than anything in the entire concept of blog book tours. You have to think in
business terms about this. It is not true that three interested people reading the blog are better than none. When you factor in the time it takes to just craft good blog posts, you might well spend the time doing something else - like writing your next book.

2. That Twitter and Facebook will magically drive readers to your blog for added content about your books and you. Patter on Twitter and Facebook all day long (and if you want people to see you, once a day doesn't cut it), but unless you leave enticements and meaningful links and actually get friends and followers to click, you're not marketing your book well. Simple as that. Your blog is still one of your most powerful marketing tools, but people have to be reading it.

So if you don't have a great blog and your friends blogs are just okay... you might be better off just paying someone who has a collection of good blog hosts to sponsor you on a blog book tour. The tour may not be as personal as if the author crafts it, but it will get more interested readers who might buy your title.

That said, prices for professional tours are all over the map. Before you spend money to have someone else put together a blog book tour for you, follow the tours of at least three services, get their prices for various packages, and by all means, get private referrals from other authors. Shop and compare and ask yourself these questions:

If you're paying $500 for ten blog spots, what are you really getting for that? The same canned book review at each blog? Or are you able to write your own varied blog posts for each host? Will the tour service work with you to design the tour you want for your book? These are just some of the questions to consider and get answers to before you spend any money.

News from BEA and why you should blog

I've long proclaimed that blogs are one of the cheapest and most effective ways for writers to stay in regular contact with their readers. It's one of your best promotion platforms. More and more, book publishing specialists agree with that view. This comment is from a recent Writers Market eletter:

One thing that seemed obvious this year (at BEA) is that publishers don't think it's a big deal if potential authors have a blog, but they do think it's a big deal if potential authors do not have a blog or e-mail list or some other direct reach to their target audience. If you want to publish a book, you need a great hook or idea, but it's becoming increasingly important to also have an audience—before the book deal.

It's important to have a good blog. That means posting several times a week. The more you post relevant information, the more readership you'll build as is demonstrated by another blog I've been spending lots of time building, the Blood-Red Pencil. It's a group blog with daily posts, and the growth of readership has been excellent, thanks to the quality of the information provided by our blogging members.

Stay tuned for some tips and inspiration to keep you blogging over the summer, and by the time you're ready for your next book promotion, you'll have a blog that supports your efforts in a dynamic way.

Blog Critiques

Before you choose blog hosts for your tour, you need a good blog of your own. Do you have one?

Here's the list of criteria that we consider in judging a good blog:

Basic Design Attractiveness?
Title and url cohesive?
Consistency and clarity?
Loading speed?
Blogrolls?
Sitemeter?
Bookmarking in place?
Linking effective?
Quality of overall posts?
Comments section working?
Too many/too few gadgets?
What's great?
What can be improved?
Is it ready for a blog tour?

Look at your own blog with those aspects in mind. Is there anything on your blog that could use improvement?