One exciting thing that I do credit for helping my blog to build up an audience was discovering what blog tours are. Since that moment nearly a year ago, I've had over 15 come together on my blog promoting authors, giveaways and stories. Blog tours are free to take part in and often, you need to pick multiple dates which you are free to post on the tour day you get allocated.
I'm a tour host with Xpresso Blog Tours and honestly, it has been a fantastic experience. Always well organised and there is something for everyone. They also do cover reveals, book blitzes and reviewing books alone via NetGalley. I have only done blog tours with them and here is how I sign up for a tour in simple steps:
1, I go onto the tour website and browse open tours (ones you can still sign-up for).
2, I read what each book is about, the genre, the author, how many bloggers they need for the tour and the dates the tour is running on.
3, I then fill out a form with my name, blog name, link to my blog, dates I'm available and what format I would like to receive a copy of the book (ePub, Mobi or PDF).
4, I wait for a few weeks after sign-ups close to see if I'm successful.
5, Get an email to confirm my place on the Tour! (celebrates)
6, A few days after that, a copy of the book will be sent via email.
7, I read the book.
8, Another email arrives with all of the tour kit I need to post on my blog (Header, book cover, info about the book, picture of the author, contact links and giveaway links).
9, I create my post before the tour date I have been allocated.
10, Post goes live! Promote on Twitter/FB/Instagram.
It may look scary but actually, it's a fun experience! Some blog tours I've taken part in have been reviews only which means I had to post a review up. But sometimes, there are options not to do that. You could post an extract on your blog or do an interview with the author. Everyone is different. I've always done reviews because I'm always reading XD
I am a tour host with Xpresso since I decided after doing a few tours to become a permanent host after my blog stats increased. This means I get first refusal on tours I am not interested in. I also get emailed about tours early before they get released onto the website.
I am going to leave some links here, one is about my experiences with Xpresso and the other two are links to blog tours I've done as an example to see what they generally look like.
https://marriedtobooksreviewsandblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/12/how-to-host-a-blog-tour-postmy-experiences-as-an-xpresso-blog-tour-host/
https://marriedtobooksreviewsandblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/09/blog-tour-wear-white-to-your-funeral-by-lisa-acerbo/
https://marriedtobooksreviewsandblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/blog-post-shadow-of-a-girl-by-shannon-greenland/