Let me go ahead and say now that I am not about to reinvent the wheel. Most of what I’m about to say may seem commonplace or simple to many of you reading this, but that doesn’t mean that some of you haven’t been a bit confused about these terms. So, this article is for those who don’t know or who have been a bit confused.
The term Blog Tour is used loosely among the blog community which may be why some people aren’t quite sure what one is. Today I’m going to breakdown a few terms based solely on my experience and opinion. If you don’t like my terms, make your own…
Previously posted at SheWrites.com, read below to see how I define: Blog Tour, Virtual Book Tour, Blog Hop, and even Reblog.
Blog Tour– When a blogger visits other blogs to promote themselves or share information. These are often collaborative efforts and come with a theme. I participated in a tour once where each blog I visited shared a recipe and I got to pair something of mine with it. Blog Tours are usually set up in the form of a chain, where one blogger directs you to another, similar to the blog hop listed below- I’ll explain the difference when you get down there. Many of these are what we now consider tagging events. A blogger or group comes up with an idea to blog about and then tags others to join in.
Virtual Book Tour– a book tour that happens virtually/online. First, let’s clarify what a book tour is. Happening IRL (in real life) or in the physical world, a book tour consists of an author traveling around to bookstores, libraries, coffee shops, and more to do interviews, read samples, and more all to promote a book, usually a new release, but it doesn’t have to be. As part of the tour, ARC (advance reader copy) books are given out to book reviewers and or critics to help spread the word and build buzz. Now, take all this online and you have a virtual book tour. Hop around from site to site, blog to blog, social media to social media. Digital ARCs will also get sent out to help the book gain reviews and or buzz. The events that occur on the tour, whether IRL or virtually, are only limited to the author’s resources and imagination.
Blog Hop– a blog posting prompt, a sign-up chain, and a schedule of participation. For example, the IWSG (insecure writers support group) hosts a monthly blog hop where each blogger shares their insecurities and or triumphs on the first Wednesday of the month. The 150+ participants visit, or hop around, other participants on the sign-up list to leave comments, ask questions, and offer encouragement. Blog hops are usually themed and can be conducted regularly or be used for limited promotions. Instead of one blogger directing the reader to another blog, the full sign-up list is available for readers to pick and choose which blogs they want to visit, hoping around in whatever order they choose, to visit all stops on the hop or just a few.
Reblog– sharing a blog article you found somewhere else to your own blog and giving appropriate credit. This is not a pass to plagiarize someone else’s content. It is, however, a great way to share someone else’s content to give them a boost. I do this most often if I have a guest appearance on someone else’s blog and want the subscribers to my blog to know about it. Reblogs usually consist of the title, a quote from the content, and a link back to the original article (images are often used as well).
Hope you found this helpful and will be around for the next post.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
