I generally recommend the do-it-yourself approach for tours rather than hiring a service because as the author, you can add that important personal touch that can make the difference between success and failure. This is especially true if your book serves a niche market — a book on how to build a house with straw bales, for example, rather than a more general market romance novel.

The thought of researching, planning, and executing your own virtual book tour — also known as an author blog tour — can be overwhelming, though, right?

Not anymore.

Step-by-step guide

My friend and colleague Dana Lynn Smith has created an incredibly detailed, step-by-step guide to the process that’s useful for:

• Authors
• Virtual assistants
• Book publicists
• Book publishers

I like — and recommend — Virtual Book Tour Magic: The Secrets to Planning a Successful Book Promotion Tour not only because I’m one of Dana’s affiliates, but because she provides very detailed instructions alongside her practical advice and resources. It’s actually a training package more than an e-book because it includes two bonus reports and a tour planning worksheet that makes it a snap to keep track of all the details for your tour.

Discover different tour options

In Virtual Book Tour Magic, Dana not only explains the different tour options, she also tells you how to do each of them — from start to finish. Want to run a contest as part of your tour? You’ll learn how. Wondering how to research potential tour hosts? Discover how easy it is. Need to find blogs that specialize in reviews? Dana leads you to them – and offers so much more. Screen shots as illustrations and links to examples or resources online makes this book stand out from other resources.

Dana is incredibly thorough — which is why I continue to recommend her book marketing training programs. There’s no fluff — just useful information.

If you’re planning on taking a virtual book tour in the next few months, make sure you check out this e-book on Dana’s website, where you can review the detailed table of contents and learn more about the bonus materials that complete the package. You won’t be disappointed.

What’s keeping you from going on a virtual book tour to promote your book? What’s your biggest obstacle?