 Are you going to sell a kazillion books by setting up a blog tour for your new release? No. Not even close. If you sell a handful of books, be happy.
You'd think that blog tours would help you sell books (which we ALL would love to have happen), but it just doesn't work that way. I've accepted that fact. I've booked blog tours and have gone into them realizing that yeah, I probably wouldn't sell enough books to make back the money I spent on the book tour. So why do one then? Why spend that money? For me, it was for the reviews. Garnering reviews can be a daunting process, and yet, reviews are probably the ONE thing a book hinges on in the marketing place (besides a decent cover and professional editing). Readers look at reviews before making a purchase. With SO many books out there, readers want to know they're getting a decent product and reading reviews can help them to make that decision. Yes, reviews can be bought (we've heard the stories) and reviews can be exaggerated. (I'm not going to go into any of that right here. That's another post for another day). I'm just going to stick to the importance of book reviews and what they do for an author. THEY ARE IMPORTANT. That's all there is to it. You've got to have them. Good ones, average ones, even the negative ones to balance the whole thing out. I pay for blog tours simply for those reviews. I need them. I want them. I gotta have them. Getting exposure on a blog is great and getting your name and book in front of readers who otherwise may never hear about you any other way is important too, but that's not why I sign up for blog tours. I'm all about the reviews. But lately, something just isn't clicking for me any more. The process is broken, and I'm not sure why. (Again, not talking about hack reviews or any of that). To be blunt: reviews on a book bloggers blog (say that 10x fast) is nice...but that same review on Amazon is EVERYTHING. Yes, EVERYTHING. Book Bloggers Blog = helpful Barnes and Noble = helpful iTunes = helpful Goodreads = helpful Amazon = SUPER DUPER ULTRA POWERFUL INTENSELY WONDERFUL EVERYTHING!!! (95% of sales come from Amazon for most authors) Here's the problem: Not all book tour reviewers will post their glowing (or even not so glowing) review on Amazon. Some won't even post it anywhere other than their blog. I've booked three tours in the last five months with THREE different book tour companies and roughly 1/3rd of those reviewers (combined) took that awesome review and posted it on Amazon. It's posted on their blog but not where I REALLY need it. Why? I have no idea. Why not ask the blogger to post it on Amazon? I DID. I even had the tour company ask the bloggers as well. Nothing. For an example: I booked a tour for DESERT FLOWER with TWO different tour companies. It started in the middle of February and the tour runs until the end of March. Combined with these two tour companies there would be 30 tour stops with a guaranteed review at every stop. WOW!! Impressive. That would be GREAT!! I'm nearing the end of the tour, but have already had 25 stops to date. Now go click HERE to see how many reviews are up on Amazon. Yep. And FOUR of those didn't even come from my blog tour. Those four came in organically. So why aren't the bloggers placing those well-thought out, beautifully written reviews up on Amazon? I have no freakin' idea. I had a similar experience with my SURVIVOR ROUNDUP tour back in December. Did you know that there are some great and wonderful advertising opportunities for authors to participate in but only if they have a set number of reviews on their book? It's true. If you don't have the reviews, then say bye-bye to those opportunities. This is why I fork out money for a blog tour, so I can make sure I have those reviews in place so that I can participate in those events. The putting myself in front of potential readers is great. Having a wonderful review out there on someone's blog is great, but having that review placed on Amazon is ULTIMATE. BUT... if I'm not selling enough books to cover my book tour costs (which I understand) AND those reviews are not ending up on sites like Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, etc... then why in the world would I want to spend a couple hundred dollars anymore? The value, for me, is gone. I also know that I'm not the only author who has experienced this too. So, what to do, what to do? Honestly, I'm not sure. I'll have to come up with another idea to get those much needed reviews. Fortunately, I have some time to figure it out before my next book release :) * I LOVE book bloggers! I do. That's not what this blog is about. I'm just trying to understand what is happening, why those reviews never end up on retail sites where they are needed, and if paying a good chunk of change on a book tour is worth it anymore. What do you think of blog tours in general? What has your experience been like? Do have any guesses as to why book reviewers/bloggers don't post their reviews to retail sites where authors need them? Leave a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
12 Comments
3/23/2013 05:45:15 pm
Wow, Angela. I didn't know you had to pay for some blog tours. Holy crow. And you're right. These reviewers should KNOW the importance of leaving reviews on Amazon. I've thought of doing an Indie Author Co-Op thing to help with stuff like this, but my launch has kept me so busy, I can't focus on anything else right now. Soon, I hope. 3/24/2013 02:19:20 am
My first blog tour went really well. I received a lot of reviews, some posted on Amazon and B&N. When I asked others to post to those sites they did as well. Then I did my second blog tour for my second book. There were a ton reviews and then a bunch back out and just did promos. Their reasons were valid and I had no qualms there, but I was bummed because blog tours were an easy way for me to get those reviews. All the review sites I found where either no accepting new books or I'd hear no response. If I was lucky, I'd receive an answer, but it was usually no. Like the blog tour reasons, I understood, but it was disheartening. 3/25/2013 06:31:30 am
Great article. I don't know why an readers and authors do not post reviews on Amazon and other retail sites. In that regard, those who have taken the time to write on my novel also took the additional step of posting it. As a blogger, I will not write a review unless I can give it at least four stars. I will critique the effort for the author if requested, but 3 star reviews or less do not help anyone. I don't write reviews for popular authors who use traditional publishers. I also will not accept any kind of a favor for writing a review. Ultimately, reviewers and bloggers will need to establish their own credibility, a slow process because it requires steady output of reviews and blog articles. Right now, everything is in transition and getting sorted out. A Norm Golden's "BookPleasures." has established its credibility. A few more like it would be great. 3/26/2013 10:43:49 pm
Sometimes Amazon and Barnes&Noble have not approved reviews that I've done for blog tours. I presume this is something to do with them vetting for possible fraudulent reviews. Maybe this is what happened to some of the reviews for your tours? 3/29/2013 03:08:59 am
I've been connecting with book review bloggers to review my just-released novel without a lot of success. It's sort of like the whole process of getting published all over again. What I get from my contacts with them is that they are a terribly overworked and under appreciated bunch--and so I wonder if it's just an issue of them not having enough time for that extra step of posting the review on Amazon?
@John J. Hohn 4/10/2013 11:47:44 am
HI 4/10/2013 12:09:32 pm
HI 5/14/2013 02:44:21 pm
This is invaluable information. I am working on the final strands of my first mystery and wondered what the ins and outs of a blog tour were. Lucky for me I come from a long time as a financial controller so I know the business end of things very well. But the promo end is not exactly my area (although I do have a good friend who is a pro at it). But experience in this promotional arena is so helpful from other writers.
Susan
4/1/2014 12:16:01 pm
I had no idea how important reviews were to authors on Amazon. I buy from Amazon ALL the time and I'm usually in the mode of -ok, real quick I want to buy this so I'll go to Amazon and do it, right now- The only thing I can think of is that it takes more *time* for a review and these days people just don't have that extra time. I think if more people knew how important it was to the author, the reader may take that extra few minutes. Plus, you have to remember to come back and review it, and when you go back to Amazon you're ready to buy that new book even though you liked what you just read. That may be it-cuz it takes putting it on the to do list after you've already read it. 7/2/2015 11:05:54 am
I know, I'm so incredibly late on this. But I've just started participating in blog tours, and despite my best intentions, this is something I'm finding myself falling behind on. And the reason, for me at least, is that I'm scheduling these posts on my blog, but Amazon doesn't have that same functionality. So the blog tour post sits in line until it's time, and then I'm not remembering to go back and post on amazon. Personally, I'd love a reminder on release day, but I can see that pissing people off. Leave a Reply. |
Now Available!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click for more info about Mallory Rock, Cover Designer
Click for more info about Megan Harris, Editor
POPULAR BLOG POSTS
Write under a pen name? What are you hiding from?
The Jekyll and Hyde Aspect of Editing
What kinds of WEIRD stuff have you researched for your WIP?
Wow. Some book reviewers can be NASTY! Check it out
Do you view other writers as friends or foes? (Conquering the green-eyed monster)
3 reasons most writers give up & 3 reasons why YOU shouldn't
My Twitter Pet Peeves
How can I promote my book without ticking off the masses?
10 Ways to promote your book and get surefire results!
Write under a pen name? What are you hiding from?
The Jekyll and Hyde Aspect of Editing
What kinds of WEIRD stuff have you researched for your WIP?
Wow. Some book reviewers can be NASTY! Check it out
Do you view other writers as friends or foes? (Conquering the green-eyed monster)
3 reasons most writers give up & 3 reasons why YOU shouldn't
My Twitter Pet Peeves
How can I promote my book without ticking off the masses?
10 Ways to promote your book and get surefire results!
Fun Stuff
