FAQ: Blog Tours

 *Updated 1/17/12*

Hi Inklings!

Recently I’ve been doing some research on blog tours and I thought that it would make for a great feature on the blog! All questions below are my own, however if you think of a question you would like me to research, please let me know! Also, if you have any information to add to this post, please comment!

what is a “blog tour”?

A blog tour is basically when an author goes from blog to blog (usually 10-20 blogs) and provides original and interesting content to promote their book. This content could be a guest post, giveaway, interview, book review etc. Bloggers who host the tour content are typically called “tour hosts.”  The person coordinating the book tour is considered the “blog tour coordinator.”

As a tour host your most important role is usually reading and reviewing the book (which you were already going to do anyway, right?). You are asked to post the review and the original content provided on the assigned blog tour date. In most cases, your participation may be as involved or uninvolved as you’d like. Some blog coordinators and hosts come up with some extremely creative and original posts!

You have my attention. what’s in it for me?

If you are a blogger, there are many awesome benefits to hosting a blog tour:

• More blog exposure! Your reach is expanded with the incoming traffic from the tour site.
• You may get an opportunity to pick the brains of a great author.
• Interesting and original content is essentially provided for you, with little work on your part!
• Generally you receive the touring book free of charge.

As an author, there are the following benefits:

“You can reach at least a few hundred people on a blog, and save time, money and the fear of being a loser when no one shows up to your reading.” –  Felicia Sullivan, the senior online marketing manager of Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins (2007)

• Global exposure!
• You don’t have to travel like you would for a bookstore tour.
• Fairly Inexpensive and you can be as involved as you want to.
• You have control over how many blog stops and how long the tour runs.

are blog hosts paid or required to write positive reviews?

We most definitely do NOT get paid!! Talk about unethical… The only person in the process who may get paid is the blog tour coordinator or touring company. The blog tour takes extreme effort on their part!

It would also be unethical to require bloggers to write positive reviews of the touring book… I believe that many tour coordinators allow the host to back out if they feel uncomfortable promoting a book they are not fond of. Many, if not all, of the touring sites specifically target hosts that they feel would have a genuine interest in the touring book to prevent that from happening.

I’m interested! how do i get involved?

In most cases, book blog tours are coordinated by the publisher or a touring site like the ones below, however it is possible for an author or blog to promote a book by coordinating their own book tour.  The more well known touring sites can be found below. Each site has different requirements for tour hosts, so please refer to the individual site for the details.

Around The World ARC Tours
AToMR Book Blog Touring
Bewitching Book Tours
Enchanted Book Tours
Goddess Fish Promotions
Kismet Book Touring
The {Teen} Book Scene
Pump Up Your Book
TLC Book Tours


If I’m missing any great tour sites, please comment below so that I can add them!

Further resources

These are some links that I used for research. You may find them helpful if you are looking for more information on blog tours.

Book Publicity Blog: What’s A Blog Tour
NY Times: The Author Will Take Q's Now
Touring In A Virtual World