"I can help you!"

I NO LONGER WORK AS A BOOK MARKETING COACH; I'M THE PUBLISHER AT IMAJIN BOOKS.

I've worked for over 25 years in advertising, promotions and sales, and spent nearly 2 years as a motivational speaker for a major international company. Currently a bestselling novelist and 'shameless' promoter, I've shared my experiences and techniques as a Book Marketing Coach for nearly a decade.

Whether you're published or unpublished, I can help. My last publisher called me a "marketing guru" and "whiz", although I prefer to think of what I do as teaching, or coaching.

"Dare to Dream...and Dream BIG!"

Sunday, October 3, 2010

The biggest mistake most authors make when doing a virtual book tour

There is so much involved in organizing a successful online book tour and it's easy to have some seemingly small thing slip through the cracks, but there is one mistake I've seen many authors do that will cost them sales and branding recognition.

The biggest mistake most authors make when doing a virtual book tour is that they don't update the direct links to their posts.


It's fine to list your blog hosts ahead of time and just use their regular URL. Ex. www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com

But tell me, what's wrong with that link? The answer is very simple. It doesn't link directly to your post.

Why is that a problem? When people come across your blog schedule on your website, they'll be directed to the HOME page and most recent article on that blog--NOT to YOUR post.

So how do you fix this? Easy. On the DAY your post goes live on your blog host's site, copy the direct link to your post. To find that link just right click on the live title of your post and copy the URL. The link will look something like this: http://cherylktardif.blogspot.com/2010/09/cherish-romance-with-cherish-dangelo.html 

Then go to your tour schedule page on your website/blog and change the link from the basic URL to the direct link. Save and voila! When your tour is over, double-check ALL links to ensure they are directing visitors to YOUR post.

Why is this important? Everything on the Internet is basically forever. Months from now someone will stumble across your schedule and will want to visit the blogs you posted on. If you don't have direct links, they'll be reading someone else's posts. Essentially you'll have wasted the viral potential of your virtual book tour as it then becomes stagnant and dead.

Awhile back I saw the schedule of a blog tour for a fairly well-known author who writes thrillers. When I clicked on the links, he hadn't updated to the direct ones. I couldn't be bothered to wade through all the posts after his, so he lost a potential buyer. I can't even remember which book he was promoting.

Don't let that be you.


Lancelot's Lady ~ A Bahamas holiday from dying billionaire JT Lance, a man with a dark secret, leads palliative nurse Rhianna McLeod to Jonathan, a man with his own troubled past, and Rhianna finds herself drawn to the handsome recluse, while unbeknownst to her, someone with a horrific plan is hunting her down.

Lancelot's Lady is available in ebook edition at KoboBooks, Amazon's Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Help me celebrate by picking up a copy today and "Cherish the romance..."

You can learn more about Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at http://www.cherylktardif.com and http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com. Follow Cherish from September 27 to October 10 on her Cherish the Romance Virtual Book Tour and win prizes.

Have you ever had an idea for a story? Did you make notes, write it or forget about it?

Leave a comment here, with email address, to be entered into the prize draws. You're guaranteed to receive at least 1 free ebook just for doing so. Plus you'll be entered to win a Kobo ereader. Winners will be announced after October 10th.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent tour advice! I don't understand why more people who coordinate their own tours don't do this. Unless you specifically request it, plenty of bloggers will put a post over yours mere hours later. No one likes to wade through a heap of posts.

jmfictionscribe@yahoo.com.au

Jessica Subject said...

That is a very good point Cheryl! Thanks for sharing.

jessica_stratford[at]ymail[dot]com

Cheryl Tardif said...

Jaime, I agree. I've even seen many "blog tour coordinators" who charge authors to organize their tours make this same huge mistake.

Hopefully some will read this post. :-)

Cherish/Cheryl

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you pointed that out, because I can see that being something I'd never think of. Thanks for helping me avoid a mistake like that before I would have a chance to make it!! :)

Sarah Coulsey said...

I am running late!!! I am a day behind, but still stalking!!! lol

sarahcoulsey03 at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

email: disabilityadvocate @ shaw.ca

Cheryl Tardif said...

Glad I could help, Lana. And you're now entered in my draws. Good luck!

Sarah, I missed you!!! :-) Happy stalking!

Cherish

Tim said...

I wrote it ... well most of it :-)

duncan.tim49@yahoo.co.uk

P.I. Barrington said...

Thanks for pointing out the importance of keeping links updated!I never realized just how important it really is to monitor that aspect!
I have several novels published and three ideas going on right now! The difficult part is choosing which one to concentrate on even though I love to switch between them!!
P.I. Barrington

Anonymous said...

Great advice. I totally like the direct links versus having to dig. Sometimes they can be quite hard to find.

Pam S
pams00 @ aol.com