Hi Reader,

In my last email I explained why publishers still fund book tours even though they do not sell many books. You should jump back and read that if you missed it.

I hate booking flights, don't you? Going on tour sounds glamorous until you're checking out of your fifth motel, racing to catch the next flight. It's like everything terrible about holiday travel, combined with public speaking, combined with the tedium of the work day. Yikes! And they are so expensive! A single book signing isn't going to sell enough books to make a dent in the cost of the next flight, but off you go to another strange city.

Naturally, many authors would rather not. And many who would rather, can't afford to. So what can you do?

Three ways to get the benefits of a book tour without spending a ton of money

1. Any kind of publicity stunt

I mentioned in the last email that book tours function as a publicity stunt. But as publicity stunts go, they are a bit crap, aren't they? Just a person standing around holding a book. Or sitting at a table, signing a book. It hardly makes for a good photo op.

So why limit yourself to author signings? There are any number of ways you can gain attention for your book. For one example, the San Francisco Writers Conference had an evening wine tasting, wherein each wine was paired with a particular book. That kind of stunt required numerous authors working together, which is definitely something you should consider. Make it about more than just you and your book, but something that will appeal to your audience in particular.

Does this mean you should do a wine pairing? No! The best publicity stunt for your book is going to be particular to your topic, expertise, and resources. There's a lot to unpack here, so I'll let you ponder this idea... but at least you don't need to unpack luggage!

2. Take advantage of travel plans

While a publicity stunt in your home town will make you media worthy, it doesn't give your event the urgency you'd get as an author briefly touching down in a city before being swooped away. For that, you have to be able to pull a scheduled disappearing act.

But just because you're not planning a book tour doesn't mean you don't travel. Any travel you have booked away from home is a great excuse to contact the local media in that city. If you're planning a holiday trip to the in-laws, start contacting the media when you are buying your tickets. Business trip? Vacation? Everywhere you go, there are local media contacts who have never heard of your book. Let them know your brief availability to do an interview.

3. Latch onto a trending topic

If you can't plan a publicity stunt nor do you intend to travel, there is something easy you can do to generate the same media interest as a book tour: link your expertise to a topic that is trending in the media. This is especially useful if your book is non-fiction. Your book makes you an expert on its topic. But pitching your book comes across as self-promotional. Instead, find a news story that journalists are already scrambling to talk about that your book gives you particular knowledge of. And "news story" should be interpreted as broadly as possible. It could be the latest slang, a new hit show, a fitness fad or security scam. Anything trending, so long as you can make a good case why you can speak with authority on the topic.

A non-book example of this I liked to use in my marketing classes was how the camping retail store REI scored a ton of publicity. Journalists have no interest in promoting REI, but they were eager to talk about finale of The Walking Dead. But what can one say about the end of a hit TV show?

REI hopped onto the The Walking Dead bandwagon by creating an infographic on how to survive the Zombie Apocalypse. It was a basic survivalist guide, with subtle links to the REI products you can use to bash in a zombie's skull. I love this example because the connection is subtle, but it worked. It's not like REI is the leading expert on zombies, or even survivalism. It's not even a real news story, just a hit show! The infographic was fun and easy to share and tied the whole thing together brilliantly. This got the attention of journalists looking for a new angle on a topic that many of them had been assigned to cover. That last bit is key with trending topics---they're already writing the story, so how can you make it easier for them?

If you don't understand what the heck any of this has to do with a book tour, definitely hop back to the previous email. It explains everything, I swear!

Sincerely,

Karma Bennett
​WordPressBlogsForWriters.com​
​KarmaBennett.com​

Feel free to respond directly to me. Part of why I do this is to keep in touch! If your response is also useful for others, I may share it on social. I am most active on BlueSky if you want to chat.

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