Blog Tours: Are they reputable?
As a reviewer who has been on the book blog scene for a while, I always try to background the businesses I promote. After all, this is a site geared towards the indie writer and publisher, and finding cost effective ways to get books noticed is the name of the game.
Determining the reputability of a book blog tour company is not black and white. A lot of it comes down to expectations vs. reality. There are questions consumers of these companies should ask before signing up:
Determining the reputability of a book blog tour company is not black and white. A lot of it comes down to expectations vs. reality. There are questions consumers of these companies should ask before signing up:
- Does this company do the kind of promoting that I want?
- What is their reach? Is this reasonable?
- How long is the tour and how does that time relate to the number of site "stops"
- What is the average cost per site stop?
This is obviously not an all inclusive list -- but it is some of the more important questions that can be missed in the selection process.
- Does this company do the kind of promoting that I want?
First, make sure your genre of book is covered by that tour company. It's a waste of time for everyone to send out a request that will not be looked at because of genre.
A tour company may be able to find reviewers for your book, but the number of reviewers isn't guaranteed. They may find 10-20 blogs that indicate they are willing to review or showcase a book, however, it is not guaranteed that all of the bloggers will follow through. This is out of the blog tour company's hands for the most part (unless they blacklist those blogs that continuously fall through). The lack of follow through can be for many reasons -- too short of time frame, lack of interest, forgetfulness. That is a risk you take. You hope for the best and prepare for the worst in these situations. Asking questions about the tour company's relationship with its bloggers is important. 50% follow through with book reviews and 75% follow through with promotions (interviews/showcase/promo) would be a good aim.
- What is their reach? Is this reasonable?
Every stop on a tour adds potential readers. Reeling those readers in is what separates the good tours from the mediocre tours. The more that can be offered by the company and the author, the better. Stops with book reviews will only get you so far. Giveaways, Rafflecopters, swag, signings, etc. are what really draw in the readers. It is important that the tour company has a solid social media following to help promote these activities and that they are willing to put the time in to utilizing those followers. Don't expect your book to shoot to the best sellers list because of a tour. There are some companies that are great at the "Olympics" sell ("You're kid is one in a million and we can guarantee it becomes an elite contender"). Careful with the starry eyes.
- How long is the tour and how does that time relate to the number of site "stops"
Many tour companies will strategically plan out book blog stops so that there is a new theme to the tour every day. One will be a review, followed by an author interview, book giveaway, review, swag giveaway, author free-write, review, etc. Sometimes there are multiple posts in one day. The most traffic comes when readers see the same author or title pop-up day after day. The number of days/stops is highly variable and is usually dependent on how much you want to spend. Be sure to ask how these stops are planned out and the material is switched up. Is this planned by the tour company (hopefully) or left up to the bloggers to choose their material? The latter isn't necessarily a bad idea, but the material may get stagnant for readers if everyone chooses to post the same author interview.
- What is the average cost per site stop?
The "worth" of the tour is completely dependent on the author/publisher. Tour costs greatly vary by number of stops and how many bloggers are involved. The bloggers don't (usually) get the money from the tour. That goes solely to the company for all of the wrangling work involved. The important thing is that the company plans the days and material with the blogs as mentioned above, and they can give you a number of reviewers and participant blogs that you're happy with (remember to keep in mind 50% and 75% actual participation). There are cheaper costs per stop with media kit being the sacrifice. Find the balance that's right for your book.
All of that said, here are some blog tour sites that have a good following, solid reputation, and have been around for a while.
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