March 12, 2019

Tell Me Something Tuesday: To Tour or Not to Tour?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings, where the blog's owner Heidi discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.
Here is what is on deck this week:

TO TOUR OR NOT TO OUR? DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN BOOK TOURS? WHY OR WHY NOT?

I very rarely participate in book tours. I only do if:
  • they're about a book by a favourite author
  • I can select the review option for that particular book (and I'm fairly convinced that I'll like it)
  • I'm positively sure I'll end up buying the book when it comes out (in case the tour only allows options like blurb/cover reveal).
From what I hear, book tours aren't a big hit with blog readers, unless there's a lot of buzz surrounding the book already; but even if they were (or are they? more experienced bloggers than me are better equipped to reply to this question), I would only feature books I'm interested in, whether they're big or small. (And given the nature of my blog, I don't think I'll ever get the chance to spotlight a BIG release LOL).


As for me reading book tour posts or not...well, it depends. If a friend of mine does one and/or the blurb speaks to me somehow, yes. If not...OK, I'm guilty 😳.

Well, that's it for now. And if you're interested in participating, here is the TMST prompt list for the rest of March and the month of April:
  • March 19th: What personality traits do you love/hate in a character? (pssst...I suggested this one! 😉)
  • March 26th: What are things that make you steer clear of a book?
  • April 2nd: How do you feel about authors throwing big, obscure words into their books?
  • April 9th: What are some of your favorite series you would like to see revisited or a spin off of?
  • April 16th: Where do you get your review books? 
  • April 23rd: Do you like getting unsolicited books in the mail?
  • April 30th: Waiting on Wednesday: do you participate? Do you read the books you highlight?
I'll be back for the meme on Mar. 19th (of course LOL), and I'm looking forward to reading your lists!

Now tell me something...do you participate in blog tours? and do you even read blog tour posts on other blogs? do such posts manage to interest you in books you haven't hear about before?

11 comments:

  1. My motivation for doing tours used to be to get a particular book, but now, I tend to sign up for ARCs I already have, because then I am more motivated to read and review the book. It's a little scary though, because you never know if you will like the book or not, and we all know, when there is no review, only canned content, that the blogger didn't like the book.

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    Replies
    1. That's a great strategy! But of course...yep, you never know how you will like the book, so it's always a risk. Not all canned content means the blogger didn't like the book though - usually these tours offer different kind of promo posts, and that's why you don't have a review in the first place...because you haven't gotten the chance to read the book yet. The few times I signed up for a tour (I think the last time was a couple of years ago???!!!), I try to spice up the canned content though - like, saying why I wanted to spotlight the book and whatnot. But I'm not sure how many people do actually stop and read these thing LOL.

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  2. Only reading and selecting books that you think you will like is a smart strategy. I can’t tell you how many tours I was suckered into during the first couple of years that I blogged. It was stressful and I found myself reading a lot of books that I didn’t love. Tours used to be a big deal and everyone liked to follow them to win books, but now they aren’t such a big deal. I think because everyone found out how much work they are, and I am not sure how well they increase sales.

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  3. I've never done a blog tour, and unless it was a book I'd read an ARC for or an author I really loved, I probably wouldn't. I'm a little uncomfortable promoting a book I've never read. I'd happily read blog tour posts from a blog I followed though. 😘

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    Replies
    1. Quote: "I'm a little uncomfortable promoting a book I've never read."
      Totally understandable! I think the only unread book I ever promoted with a blog tour was I Stop Somewhere by T.E. Carter, because I was committed to buying it eventually (which I did - I'm getting to it in a couple of weeks). But unless it's an author one is familiar with, or a book one happens to have beta-read or something, it's usually just something one does for the sake of having a post up. Or it ultimately falls along the lines of a Waiting on Wednesday post...

      Quote: "I'd happily read blog tour posts from a blog I followed though. 😘"
      Was that a hint? 😉😊

      Delete
    2. Haha no, more like a commitment to reading whatever you decide to post. Blog tours sound like a mixed bag.

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    3. Quote: "Haha no, more like a commitment to reading whatever you decide to post".
      That's what I meant...a hint regarding yours truly and your commitment to her posts 😘.

      Delete
  4. I used to participate in A LOT of tours, but over time, I guess I became pickier? I still participate in blog tours now, and only do so for the following reasons:

    1. I already have an ARC of the book - I'm already reviewing it, why the hell not??? (Unless I don't like it, what a bummer.)
    2. My favorite author.
    3. I'm pretty sure I'll like it and read it quickly and will continue with future books from the author.

    But also like you said, blog tour posts, most of which are excerpts or reviews, aren't too popular with blog readers. I find more engagement when I write a post that has a question at the end, and I've actually been considering on trying that with my reviews to see if I actually get more engagement. LOL, I've made blogging my personal playground now (I mean, when has it not?).

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    Replies
    1. Here's an idea...questions at the end of reviews...no, I'm not considering stealing it from you LOL.

      Delete

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