Have you been asked to be a part of one of our book tours? Or are you just curious as to what a book tour is and what the inside info? We’re going to be breaking down what a book tour is and what that means for the content creators who take part and the audience who views the content.
Glossary:
You may be unfamiliar with some of the terms we're about to use so we've provided a helpful glossary to break everything down for you.
Publisher:
Someone, or a business, who makes books.
Content Creator/Influencer
Someone who uses their social media platforms to make money. They receive sponsorships and free products in return for endorsing a brand or providing a review
Bookstagrammer
A content creator whose main platform is Instagram. Specifically, they post about books and review books.
Booktoker
Similar to a bookstagrammer, but they post video reviews on TikTok.
What is a book tour?
A book tour, also sometimes known as a blog tour, is a pr campaign usually run by a publishing company. Publishers and their teams will reach out to relevant creators and send a free copy of the book to them in exchange for an honest review. The content creator will post the review to their page and audience.
Who benefits?
We all benefit from a book tour. The publisher gets publicity (hopefully good but not always guaranteed), the creator gets a free book, and the audience gets amazing book recommendations. The creator and publisher usually also gain followers from being shared on each other's social media pages.
What happens if you’re asked to be on one?
We can’t speak as to how other book tours are run, but at SmashBear, it breaks down into a few easy steps:
Make contact
Usually, we contact influencers who have been interacting with our pages and who regularly read the genre of the book we’re promoting. Sometimes we’ll put a call out on our social media for any interested influencers to expand our reach and network.
Send manuscript
Once the influencer has agreed to be a part of our tour, we’ll send them the manuscript along with any other marketing materials e.g., the book cover, blurb etc. We then usually try to give them 2 weeks to read the book and post their review (depending on the length of the book).
Review is posted, time to celebrate
Once the review has been posted, that’s it. The influencer gets to keep their copy of the book, and we get an amazing review for an upcoming release. We’ll repost their review on our platforms and make sure to tag them so our audience knows who to follow.
How does a book tour differ from an arc release?
Book tour = copy of book given in exchange for a review posted on social media
ARC = advance reader copy. The book is sent out with the hopes of a review on social media and/or Goodreads, but no there’s no obligation. ARC’s are also usually given out at random either by social media or apps like Netgalley.
Examples of previous posts from book tours:
Interested in being part of a book tour?
We're always on the lookout for new influencers to add to our book tour lists! Fill out this form and we'll get back to you!
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