One Author’s Virtual Book Tour

By LaConnie Taylor-Jones

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Have you ever been on a roller coaster ride? For thrill-seeking adventurers, the experience is nothing short of exhilarating. From ascent to descent, the lung capacity short-circuits and the heart skips a beat or two before lurching back into rhythm again. An indescribable high, too complicated to verbalize but so easily felt, races inside with every loop, twist, and climb. In the end, the challenge is every bit as rewarding as the excitement.

This is exactly what I experienced in February 2008 during my month-long virtual book tour.

There’s not an author on the face of the earth who’s written a book and didn’t promote it in some fashion. Personally, I don’t consider virtual book tours as another craze that will eventually run its course over time. I hail them as a sophisticated marketing tool that authors in the twenty-first century have at their disposal, but with some very distinct and enhanced features, advantages and benefits (FABs).

The concept of a virtual book tour isn’t complicated, but it does require direct and active involvement from an author to yield maximum success. In addition to the basic features of traditional forms of advertising campaigns, a virtual book tour also offers a unique opportunity to include other promotional tools including book trailers, contest announcements and author interviews. These tools are available to any author, of course, but a book tour can make them easier to access and to promote.

What are the FABs of a virtual book tour? Thanks for asking!

• Features—You post interviews and participate in blogs at several high-trafficked websites over an extended period of time.
• Advantages—Exclusivity! You’re the only author being spotlighted on the site that day.
• Benefits—You have the ability to reach hundreds, if not thousands, of potential buyers within your target audience and to maximize your marketing budget.

Virtual book tours may not be of interest to every author and that’s okay. As a new author who also happens to be a wife, mother and working professional and one who’s trying to make a mark in an overly populated literary arena, I’ve found virtual book tours to be an excellent marketing tool that meets the demands of my oftentimes hectic schedule.

You might be wondering if I’ll ever do another virtual book tour. The answer is, yes. I have one scheduled for June 2008.

LaConnie Taylor-Jones’ latest novel, When A Man Loves A Woman, was released earlier this month. The book trailer for that novel can be viewed on her website. The book trailer for her previous novel, When I’m With You, can be viewed here.

www.laconnietaylorjones.com