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Three Simple Steps to Getting Your Book Promoted on a Blog
by Cheryl Holloway
Books need a lot of marketing, whether traditionally published or self-published. Bloggers can offer exposure for authors through guest author interviews, guest author posts, or book reviews. The good news is that there are a lot of blogs out there willing to provide this service, whether for free or for a fee. The bad news is that most authors do not know how to make a proper request.
I will provide three simple steps.
What I’ve learned, over the last three years of blogging is that most authors, both Indie and traditionally published, must learn how to ask for a guest author interview, guest post, or a book review properly. What is needed is a “Win/Win Situation” guaranteeing a favorable outcome for everyone involved.
The Author Win: The average author is trying very hard to achieve local and/or national visibility and accessibility to readers and fans of a certain blog.
The Blogger Win: The Bloggers readers and fans deserve to hear about the best authors of today and the up-coming authors of tomorrow. They want to read books that everyone’s talking about and books that no one’s heard about…just yet. I write one of the best blogs on the web for authors (US and International) to promote their books.
Step 1: Connecting: A + B = C
If the author wants the blogger to take the time to look at the book and offer him or her a guest author interview, guest author post, or a book review, at least, tell the blogger that you’ve read the blog or show them that you have taken the time to read more than one post—make a connection.
Author + Blogger = Connection
Do’s and Don’ts of Connecting
- Do connect with a variety of bloggers: top, middle and new. Getting accepted on some of these blogs might be difficult.
- Do comment on blog posts or engage in any discussions on the blog.
- Do continue to cultivate your relationship—you will probably publish other books in the future.
- Do check the blog for a Blog Policy page.
- Do offer your opinion on blog posts or expand on some topic in the blog post.
- Do offer a relevant topic for a future blog post.
- Do leave a specific comment: I enjoyed the post on 7 Sentence Sunday. It helped me to write a short story and expand it.
- Don’t leave a non-specific comment: nice post (add something).
- Do show the blogger that you know who they are—even if it’s only to get the bloggers attention. At least you made an effort to make yourself known.
Once you’ve make the connection, then the next step is asking for what you want.
Step 2: Asking: Send a professional and personable email
If the author learns how to ask the right way, they will receive a lot more positive responses from bloggers.
Do’s and Don’ts of Asking for a Guest Interview or Guest Post
- Don’t address the email to Dear Blogger. The bloggers name is usually all over the blog.
- Do mention something about the blog that you like—perhaps, a post that caught your attention.
- Do tell the blogger if you have spread the word—you sent a post to your friends or you told them about the blog.
- Do spell check—misspelled words and poor grammar in an email do not give the impression that you can write a good blog post or book.
- Don’t send an email that comes across as a form letter—It is a quick way to turn off bloggers and in turn leaves a blogger feeling like if you couldn’t invest the time, why should they?
- Do try to be honest and sincere.
- Do make sure that your comment is useful and contributes to the post.
- Do wait until the blogger replies to your request.
- Don’t keep emailing the blogger, if he/she denies your request.
- Don’t be annoying and email the blogger everyday asking, “What’s the next step?”
Do’s and Don’ts of Asking for a Book Review
- Do offer a (free) review copy of your book (usually in eBook format).
- Do gift the blogger a book on Amazon, if they are willing to publish a free book review.
- Don’t expect the blogger to pay $18.99 for your book and give you a free book review. The math just doesn’t add up.
Step 3: Appreciating: Send a Thank You
Once the interview, post or book review has been posted…
Do Say Thank You!—The blogger has taken time out of their busy schedule to help promote your book, so the least you could do is offer a simple thank you—It can go a long way.
You would be surprised at how many people do not say thank you and ask for a second interview, post or book review!
That’s it—Three simple steps to getting your book promoted on a blog!
I really hope these steps are helpful for some of you. Do you have any steps you would add to the list? I would love to hear from you. A guaranteed Guest Author Interview for anyone responding to this blog post.
Find more writing and publishing tips at Nothing Any Good.
Email: authorCherylHolloway@gmail.com
Blog: www.CherylHolloway.net/blog
Website: www.CherylHolloway.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cheryl.Holloway.940
Twitter: @Author_CherylH
Toll-Free: 1-877-WRITE18
Cheryl Holloway is an amazing contemporary romance author, writer, journalist, award-winning writer-editor, writing instructor, accountability writing coach for debut authors and experienced blogger. She has written several eBooks, including her collection from The Cougar Tales Series, Book 1: Father and Son; Book 2: The Italian Basketball Player; Book 3: Jamaican Lover; and The Bane Bath Salts on teen drug prevention. Her latest release–A Sisterhood of Women Living Life: A Short Story Collection—was published in 2016 and is now available.
Cheryl has worked for the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press and has several forthcoming books. When she’s not writing books, she is either writing her blog or reading. Cheryl Holloway’s passion is to Pay-it-Forward to other authors on her blog.
