There was an fascinating conversation over at Book Market Ning Social Network regarding virtual book tours. An author was interested in finding out whether or not virtual book tours worked well as marketing tools and whether they really sold books.
I am positive everybody else was wondering the terribly same thing.
We have a tendency to get the same query at Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Authors are very inquisitive about whether or not their promotional dollars can be spent in a very good place and I will definitely perceive that.
If you are like one of those authors, let me explain what I tell them. Virtual book tours are however one vehicle to sell books, but if you decide on this technique to publicize your book, it's cash well spent because it can greatly increase your online presence, therefore making it a lot of out there to individuals who seek for your book on-line using your key search words.
It isn't rocket science, however it's a formula you must use.
Therefore, how will this add up to book sales?
Do not hassle emailing the author because they don't seem to be going to grasp specifically unless they are self-published. If they are not self-revealed, there are five ways they will at least take a stab at it:
1. Amazon Rankings
Amazon is the planet's largest book store and goes by a ranking system. In keeping with the individuals who assume they have solved the mystery of how books are selling there, it operates by putting a ranking range in your book description. The lower the amount, the higher the book is selling.
If your book dips in rankings, it's assumed you have sold a book. If it will not climb quickly during the next few days, you'll be able to safely assume that the book is still selling. If it takes a nosedive below the one hundred,000 mark and continues to stay there or perhaps dip lower, you'll be able to safely assume you are selling a lot of than some books. Stick round the one spot and you are very doing well as far as sales are concerned.
However, there's no real means in telling precisely how many books are being sold and why your rankings are what they're but you'll be able to use that guide as a sensible ball park guess. I've had authors tell me their books moved throughout the tour, but no one will safely assume it was because of the tour or any different kind of promotion they'll be doing at the identical time. However, a ball park guess is healthier than no guess at all.
2. Ingrams
After all, if your book isn't distributed through Ingrams, this won't does one a touch of good, however there's a range you can decision and their automated system will be in a position to inform you how many books were sold on a sure date. The quantity is 615-213-6803.
The problem with this technique, though, is that not all the sales may be reported at the time of your call as a result of it may take additional time for the sale to induce into the Ingram system. This can be a fun factor to use and you could get quite obsessive over it, however it's also not a sure-fireplace method to tell just how many books were sold throughout your tour unless you wait for weeks afterwards and call. And, then, it's still a ballpark guess as to whether or not it had been as a result of of your tour or not.
3. Word of Mouth
Another surefire method of knowing if your books sold throughout your tour is for someone you recognize to tell you they bought one of your books in that time span. If your Amazon rankings have moved concerning now, you'll assume that this might are why, but there's no method of knowing this to be a reality or not. And, once more, word of mouth is simply word of mouth.
4. Royalty Checks
Of all the ways in which of telling if you've got sold books that we have discussed therefore way, your royalty check is your best bet. ONLY, if Amazon or any of the other on-line bookstores have sent their cash to the publisher. I knew I sold books through Amazon (word of mouth) throughout one pay amount, however my sales were not reported on my royalty check. Appears it takes Amazon a whereas to deliver.
5. Publisher
Maybe the simplest methodology of knowing if you've got sold books is to ask your publisher to keep an eye fixed out for sales throughout this time. However, this technique will only work if all sales were reported during now and your publisher has an account with BookScan.
This is often perhaps the ONLY surefire way you are going to grasp if you sold books throughout a bound time frame. It is quite expensive to have an account at BookScan, but some publishers feel it's well value the expense.
Bottom line is, the subsequent time somebody asks if virtual book tours sell books, check together with your publisher to determine if they need an account at BookScan, as a result of any different means of telling isn't going to inform the full story.
Virtual book tours are just like any different promotional opportunity for the author; solely, it's in all probability the best approach to hit your audience on a world scale. Besides, virtual book tours are perpetual. Long after your tour is over, it still keeps going and going as a result of as long because the tour host keeps your appearance in their archives, it will continue to usher in those book sales to those online consumers who use the search engines to find what they need.
Author Resource:
Jeff Patterson has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in E-Book, you can also check out his latest website about
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")