Permalink Habits

I nag the BBT students about this incessantly - every day of your tour, change the host blog link to the permalink of that unique post. Do it before the day is over and tomorrow's post supercedes it. This is a habit that many authors don't develop early on - but if you don't do it, you'll be sorry when someone asks for the link later, or you want to reference some magnificent quote that fell from your pen in the interview.  Here's what I'm talking about. Today's stop on the Your Fantastic Elastic Brain is here:

http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com

But the direct link to that post is here:

http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com/2011/01/creating-book.html

See how Blogger tacks on the date and post title?

I always go to bit.ly to create a shortened URL like this:

http://bit.ly/fqaloJ

I can use this shortened link more easily when promoting at various social networks where a long URL is a bad thing (like Twitter where you're limited to 140 characters), and often I even customize it, though bit.ly has been a bit cantankerous the past two days. I would have liked http://bit.ly/BBTHel to make the link more memorable, but no luck.

Now here's the complete tour schedule and you can see by clicking all the links over at the blog (not here), that each one goes to it's exact post, not just the blog host's main page. It's a good idea to have a separate tab on your blog that shows your tour schedules like this. Here's a snip from Little Pickle Press.

Make sense?

Don't forget the next blog book tours class starts February 1. Cost is $20 each for up to 50 students with special rates for publishers with more than ten authors. Sign-up is here:

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

You'll learn lots more than this from the resident drill sergeant - for one whole month of book camp. You can do it!

Typing Tip of the Day

I'm promoting the latest Little Pickle Press blog book tour all week, and my hand is so sore from typing Little Pickle Press that I finally *duh* created a shortened URL that can be used from now on.

http://bit.ly/lppblog

Gee, what a brilliant idea straight from MY fantastic elastic brain to yours. See the post below to understand what I'm babbling about. Then go shorten your own blog URL.

The Blog Book Tour Daily Routine

This morning the blog book tour for Your Fantastic Elastic Brain kicked off - beautifully, seamlessly - thanks to the first host at Walking Nature Home. So my job as tour chaperone is to first leave a comment on her lovely blog. Then I test the links on her post, which takes me over to the publisher's blog.

Little Pickle Press has a corresponding blog post that directs people back to the host blog. It also has it's own grand prize drawing and readers have to leave a comment to be eligible. I'll leave a comment, as will other members of the LPP team, as this makes the blog and post more sticky to search engines.

With both of these blogs, I'll go to bit.ly and create shortened URLs that I can use on other social networks.

Next I go to Facebook and post a blurb and link to send my friends to the host blog.

Then I go to Twitter and do the same.

I also share on the Yahoo!Groups I belong to if it's allowed.

I now have the basic social networking for this tour stop in place. I'll promote the above links throughout the day, especially on Facebook and Twitter.

Also important is to ask your friends to promote. The easiest way to do this is have them Like and Share your status on Facebook, and to retweet on Twitter. If you don't know what any of that means, you don't have to do it. :) If you do, try it out by going to my Facebook page and my Twitter account. See how easy and painless that was? If only ten people do this, you have incrementally increased your book and blog exposure by thousands of readers.

You can help all your friends promote their books with this simple and easy method! It takes only a couple of minutes once the routine becomes habit.

In With the New... Class!

Now that we're well into January, let me remind you that there is a new Blog Book Tours class for authors scheduled to start February 1, if we get at least 20 students. Less than that and we cancel. The cost for the class is only $20 but that doesn't mean you won't pay in other ways.

This course runs one month and I'm a drill sergeant. Daily attendance is mandatory simply because experience tells me a strong group participation enhances the experience and learning for everyone. You know how that was in school. What made your classes most interesting? I'll bet lively participation was a big part of it, and so I insist we have it.

Maximum number of students is 50 - about 35 is best. Get over there and sign up now! You MUST have a blog and know how to use it to participate - we do not teach blogging rudiments - we teach how to use your blog and host blogs to organize a good blog book tour.

Blog Book Tours Class Sign-up

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.