Plan a successful blog tour while keeping your sanity.
From the publicist who introduced the world to Fifty Shades of Grey, Donna Huber is now revealing her secrets to successful blog tours. She shares tips and tricks learned through organizing over 30 tours, blasts, and promotional events for nearly 50 independently and traditionally published titles.
Secrets revealed in this quick read include:
Planning stage decisions
Different types of tours
Recruiting bloggers and keeping requests organized
Best practice communication tips
Tricks to making a great guest appearance
How to organize a fun (and legal) giveaway
Actions to take during the tour
Next steps once the tour is complete
Virtual tour and other promotional opportunities
When to hire a professional
In this easy to follow manual, Donna does not stop there. She spills even more of her blog tour secrets to help authors get the most out of their events by providing:
Tour checklist
Tour invite tips
Step-by-step guide to creating tour graphics
10 broad guest post topics
25 sample interview questions
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Since Ms. Huber was coming by to tell us about her new book, I invited her to have some fun with my random interview questions. Shall we see which ones she chose to answer?
For the most part, I'm a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. I also like dressing up: wearing cute dresses and frilly tops. I dress professionally for work most days. I work in an academic lab so I could wear jeans every day if I wanted. When I started working there, I didn't look much older than the students and would be mistaken as the student worker if I was in jeans. I tend to wear more slacks and dresses to the office.
Do you like dogs or cats?
I'm a cat person. Growing up I wanted to be a zoo keeper and work with tigers. The subject of my dissertation was the Florida panther. I had a sister pair for almost 20 years, and now I have a mom/daughter pair.
Do you speak with your dog?
Given that I'm a cat person, I never thought I would have a dog of my own. We had large dogs growing up, but they belonged to my mom or sister. Yet, a year after I moved out I became the reluctant parent of a shih tzu/Jack Russell terrier mix. I was just suppose to foster her, but she chose me. I got her a playmate about a year later - a schnauzer rescued from a puppy mill.
I live alone with just my four pets; so yes, I talk to them.
Tell me how many hats you have in your house?
I LOVE hats, and I have a bunch of them - maybe 15 or so. The first stop of the tour featured my hat collection, if you want to take a peak HERE
My favorite is probably the one I bought at the Holiday Bazaar at Grand Central Station a few years while visiting New York City. Sometimes I wish we still in the era when woman wearing hats was customary.
Which is your most favorite book ever?
It is so difficult to come up with my most favorite book. For classics, I love A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I would have to say my most favorite YA series is Harry Potter, but The Gateaway Chronicles by K. B. Hoyle is a real close second (the fifth book comes out this fall so there's still a chance it will become my favorite series). The Hitwoman series by J. B. Lynn is my favorite of new books. I absolutely loved The Hitwoman Gets Lucky (I laugh just thinking about the lizard in the bra scene).
Which is the best vacation you've ever had?
You might think that my trip to Europe would be my best vacation. It was pretty spectacular in that once in a lifetime kind of way (though I hope to see more of Europe in the future).
I LOVE cruises and it is the absolute best way to vacation. Once you are there there's no more thinking about anything. Hungry - there's food always available. Want some entertainment - shows and excursions are provided. There's sun and a lot of lounging about. Yeah, that's my ideal vacation. I've been on two and if I could find a travel partner I would go on many more.
What kind of kid were you, naughty or nice?
I think I was a pretty good kid. I'm the youngest of three girls and I'm much younger than my sisters so I learned what not to do from watching them. But I do remember a conversation about how my name was suppose to be Donna Jean so they could call me mean Donna Jean. So maybe I wasn't as nice as I remember.
If given complete freedom to start afresh, what profession would you choose and why?
I often think about this question. Being on a college campus and seeing all the changes, I ask myself if I could go back to do it over again would I have chosen I different direction. I still think I would have chosen to study biology. I did fulfill my dream of being a zookeeper. And though I only did it for a little more than a year and I didn't get to work with tigers, I wouldn't exchange that experience for anything.
In a lot of ways I am choosing a new profession. In 2010, I started working for a publishing house start up heading up their marketing department. I thought it was just a short term gig where I got to help out some authors achieve their dream. I quickly realized two things: one, I was good at it, and, two, I really enjoyed it. I would have loved to have known 10 years ago that this was a passion, but then again 10 years ago many of the doors now open were not even available.
Are you a morning person or a night person?
Unfortunately, I'm a morning person. It wasn't so bad in college. I would get up a few hours before everyone else on Saturday and get my laundry done - no waiting for washers and dryers. Now, it's not so great. I took my vacation at the beginning of July and it took the entire week for me to sleep until 7:30 am. I so wish I could sleep in.
Which is your most favorite place in this earth?
Last summer I participated in a daily photo challenge and one day the subject was favorite place. My favorite place is home. I would like to be a recluse and never leave my house.
If you were stranded on a lonely beach, what are the five things that you would want to survive?
Being stranded on a lonely beach would be great. I would just need indoor plumbing, access to the internet, my Nook, my pets, and sunscreen.
About the Author:
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the blogger behind Girl Who Reads where, in addition to book reviews and author appearances, she writes the popular blogging advice series, Tips on Thursday. She has worked as a freelance publicist since 2010 assisting publishers and authors with their marketing and publicity needs. Most notably, she was the publicist for The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House edition of Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James.
When she is not doling out blogging advice or promoting the next bestseller, she can be found spending time with family (particularly the four legged, furry members), rewatching Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, or trying to make a dent in her never ending to-be-read pile.
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Follow the blog tour:
Schedule: July 29 Fresh Pot of Tea http://alisondeluca.blogspot.com/ Review & Guest Post July 30 Sarah Aisling www.sarahaisling.com Guest Post July 31 1 Book Lover's Opinion www.1bookloversopinion.com Guest Post Aug. 1 What Shall We Blog About Today? http://kenowinsky.blogspot.com Review & TOp 10 List Aug. 2 Jude Ouvrard Www.judeouvrard.com Interview Aug. 3 Jamie Sheffield Www.jamiesheffield.com Interview Aug. 4 From the desk of . . . R.E. Hargrave www.rehargrave.com Interview Aug. 5 All That's Written ... http://lucypireel.wordpress.com/ Top 10 List Aug. 6 Italian Brat's Obsessions http://itlnbrt.com Review & Guest Post Aug. 7 Author S.A. Jones www.authorsajones.com Review & Book Promo Aug. 8 Karen Pokras Toz http://kptoz.blogspot.com Guest Post Aug. 9 Lisa Bilbrey Www.lisabilbrey.blogspot.com Guest Post Aug. 10 Elizabeth Lawrence, Author & Professional Oddity http://elizabeth-lawrence-author.blogspot.com/ Guest Post Aug. 11 Aria Glazki Writes ariaglazki.blogspot.com Guest Post Aug. 12 Rose & Beps Blog http://rosebeps.blogspot.it/ Guest Post Aug. 13 Cabin Goddess http://cabingoddess.com/ Review Aug. 14 Killer Chicks http://www.killerchicks.org/ Interview Aug. 15 Twitter Party 8 pm eastern #GWRchat Aug. 16 Library Girl Reads & Reviews http://librarygirlreads.blogspot.com Review & Top 10 List
Thanks for hosting me. It was a fun interview.
ReplyDeleteHappy to have you, darlin'!
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