Are Blog Tours Good for Marketing My Books? Results of my first blog tour
Recently I completed my first blog tour for Shadow of Wrath: two gruelling weeks of interviews, guests posts, and anxiously waiting for bloggers to hack my new mature teen book to pieces, like volatile reading ninjas. So this leaves us with the question, are blog tours good for marketing my books?
[Related: My First Book Blog Tour: Shadow of Wrath]
The cost of a blog tour was approximately $200 with around 20+ blog stops with a mix of reviews, guests blog posts, and interviews. Did I see a spike in sales during and after the blog tour?
Nope.
Does that mean the blog tour wasn’t worth it? Well that depends on what you want to gain from it. Shadow of Wrath was my first novel and I started off with zero fan base. One of the main reasons I decided to participate in a blog tour in the first place was to get my name out there and build some type of credibility in terms of reviews and readers.
It worked.
No, not every review of mine was positive, but I knew that going in. I wrote a book that defies all normal conventions of the teen book genre — creating something more suited for mature teens. Shadow of Wrath is controversial, violent, and drastically different from a typical teen romance read. Whenever someone decides to do something different, you’ll find those that either love it, or hate it.
Thank goodness my new dystopian book fell into the “Love it” category.
Here are some of my favorite reviews from the book tour as well as the links to these wonderful best bloggers that you MUST visit. These folks kick serious ass and their book blogs are my new go-to hang outs — aside from my couch.
Shadow of Wrath Book Tour Reviews
“Shadow of Wrath is by far one of the best books I have read this year…I lost count the number of times this book made me cry.” ★★★★★ – All in One Place Book Reviews
“I don’t usually urge you all to read a book, but I’m urging you now. Please, please, PLEASE pick this book up. I can’t say you won’t regret it, this isn’t for everyone. But one this is for sure, it’ll definitely leave an impression on you.” ★★★★★ – Book Marked for Later Reviews
“One of the most evil villains I have EVER read in a book….This book was addictive. The writing is very 3D in how it will make you feel.” ★★★★★ – Novels on the Run
“Mindblowing, disturbing, and thrilling! Hunger Games fans, beware!…This book shocked me to the core. It was mind-blowing!…It’ll twist your gut and play with your nerves, but I promise you, you’ll enjoy it.” ★★★★★ – Books, DIY’s, and Randomness
“This novel is not for the weak of stomach, nor heart for that matter…brutal and savage…heartbreaking and joyous…it is a story that will stick with you…long after you finished the very last page. ★★★★★ – Bookluvrs Haven
“Shadow of Wrath will haunt my dreams for many years to come. My tears have yet to cease from this dreadful tale of death and remorse…I stepped away from this novel a changed person.” ★★★★★ – Accepted Wisdom Book Reviews
“Like effing poetry! I held my breath, I cried, I almost threw up. That’s the best way I can describe Shadow of Wrath…I was blown away…this book WILL make your cry. Highly recommended.” ★★★★ – Reading & Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Fiction.
“And oh my word, the ending. I just can’t even put into words how it made me feel. It is an ending I never saw coming. It was so well done and I applaud Patricks for being able to make the book end the way it did…the characters and emotions that this book brings out are just wonderful.” ★★★★ – Bibliophile’s Corner
“As disturbing as this story was, I really enjoyed it…alot of twists and turns I didn’t see coming.” ★★★★ – Lady Bug Story Time Reviews
“If you are looking for an absorbing, gritty read, and can handle violence and gore, I strongly suggest for you to read Shadow of Wrath. It is a mind-bending read that defies all conventions of a YA read.” ★★★★ – Oh, Chrys! Book Reviews
“I think this is one of, if not the most violent books I have ever read…this book was definitely a page turner…I encourage others to read this book because it will undoubtedly affect you in some way.” ★★★★ – Sweet Southern Home Book Reviews
“I found myself furiously devouring this book…this novel has a completely unexpected twist at the end” ★★★★ – Rachel Tsoumbakos Book Reviews
***
The reviews itself are worth their weight in gold, providing me some credibility in my work (as well as gratifying validation that I’m not a hack job when it comes to writing). The first thing I did after receiving each of these reviews was to update my Amazon page and include them everywhere.
So at the end of the day, was a book tour worth it? For me it was, because it solidified myself as a credible writer. Will a book tour be worth it for you first-time writers out there? That all depends.
If you’re looking for an instant boost in sales, then no. You’re better off organizing your own blog tour (which is quite a bit of work, and that’s time better spent writing). However if you’re looking to build a fan base from ground up as well as get some honest reviews for your book, then you definitely should.
How many of you have participated in a blog tour before? Was the blog tour good for marketing your books? Did you see some increase in sales? I’d love to hear from you.
-L.
When I did a couple blog tours, I was disappointed, not only in lack of a sales spike, but in lack of comments on the blog sites. Did anyone actually read my guest posts? Did the two companies I paid for my blog tours send me to the correct blogs for a YA Urban Fantasy. I don’t know. This time, I’m doing the leg work and finding my own blogs. Thanks for the great blog post.
Some of the blogs that volunteer for these blog tours don’t generate high traffic, thus that’s the problem. However I’ve received a lot of enthusiasm for my upcoming books and I’m considering using a few of the bloggers I met as part of my ‘street team’, i.e. the ones that will promote my future releases via word of mouth.
And like all blogs, they will grow in the future, so I’ll do my best to keep them engaged. I am more than happy to sacrifice the single sale if it means gaining potential early reviews/free promos down the road.
The mature teen market that I wrote in is not a market that catches lightning in the bottle easily, especially since I wrote something that’s considered ‘out of the norm’ so basically this first books was used to serve as an investment for my ‘brand’ of writing.
Let me know of other marketing tactics that you’ve used that work/didn’t work Mary!
Woohoo. Although you did not get a sales spike, it is great that your fan base is starting to develop. The success of a blog tour really does not hang on the organizer. I mean, all they do is send one tweet/Facebook post about your review and that is it. It really depends on the size of the blog, and how much the blogger personally promotes their own post. Some people sign up for these tours expecting effortless blog exposure, completely muddling the purpose on the author’s side. Though I wish you had better results, I am glad you were reassured that you are not a hack job. Thanks for the mention too, though I have realized I mentioned “read” twice in the same sentence. *brain fart* Best of luck with your other promotional endeavors!
Overall, I’m happy with the results. It’s difficult for a first time offer to start from scratch and gain instant recognition, thus I have to cross my fingers and hope that wonderful bloggers who enjoyed my books spread the word. I probably won’t do a blog tour again, unless I organized it myself and what’s more important, I’ve made some good connections for future releases =)
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