Last week, I talked about what a blog tour is. Today, we have a few how-tos of a blog tour. Feel free to ask me questions in the comments below.
How to Create a Sign-up Sheet
The best way I have found for sign-up sheets is to use Google Forms. These can be found here. Note: You might need a google account before you can access Google Drive. Once on Google Drive, click on “New” (currently on the top left). From there, hover over or click on “More” and then click on “Google Forms.” If you want to use one of their templates, hover over the arrow and click on “From a Template.”
On the next screen, you will be able to create the sign-up. Some things you should include are the following (suggested required items have a * after them):
- Name*
- Email Address*
- Blog Name
- Blog address*
- Type of Post* (book spotlight, book review, author interview, character interview, etc.)
- Preferred Date*
- Comments (can be used for interview questions, specifying eBook format preference, and more)
If you still need some assistance on certain aspects of the Google Form, there should be an article in Google’s help section. Or check Youtube. It seems like you can find anything over there.
How to Make a Banner
Canva is a great website! There are so many options and so much fun to have. I could probably spend hours using it. But I digress. The way I make most of my banners is by finding an appropriate picture on Pixabay, download it to my computer, upload it to canva, and use it as the background for the banner.
On Canva, I use the Blog Banner option, but you can use whatever size and shape you would like. If the picture you chose for the background is going to distract too much from the words and/or cover, you can click on “Filter” at the top left, and use the Cali setting to make it the correct amount of contrast.
Here are a couple of examples of banners I have made and used.
They both have simple designs, but the things in common are the book covers, the dates of the tour, and what the banner is of. If you are better at graphic design than I am, feel free to be more creative.
How to do a Tour Schedule
First, gather who has signed up for the tour. Second, organize them by preferred date of posting. Third, try to spread them evenly over the tour if at all possible. I don’t know if there is a “best” way to do this, so find a method that works for you and do it. If you have no idea what a tour schedule looks like, here is an example:
May 26
Bookish Orchestrations-Intro Post
Annie Louise Twitchell-Review
May 27
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima-Book Spotlight
Zerina Blossom’s Books-Review
May 28
God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae-Guest Post: Why Henry?
The Book Corner-Review
May 29
Sarah Allerding-Review
Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections-Character Q&A with Henry
May 30
Frances Hoelsma-Book Spotlight
Purposeful Learning– Review
May 31
Rachel Rossano’s Words-Guest Post: How I Pick Hymns
Written Rest-Review
June 1
Bookish Orchestrations-Giveaway Winner
Conclusion
There are some of the hows of a blog tour. Is there anything that you’d like me to talk about in a future blog post?
Next week, I’ll be talking about the whens of a blog tour. I’d love to hear what you want me to touch on.
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Faith Blum is a 20-something author of multiple books in various genres. She loves to write, read, play piano, knit, crochet, sew, watch movies, and play games with her family. She lives in Wisconsin with her family on a small family farm where they raise a lot of animals.
Offers: blog tour orchestrations (http://faithblum.com/orchestrating-your-blog-tours.html)