You lean back into the comforting embrace of your desk chair and let out a triumphant sigh. Before you sits a tower of neatly stacked pages that, together, comprise the product of all of your time, tears and creative energy from the past year and a half. It feels as if you’ve just removed some deeply veiled part of yourself and left it pulsing, for all to see, on the table before you. You’ve done it. You’ve done what you, and everybody around you, have been willing you to accomplish as far back as you can recall. You’ve written the book.

The only thing left for you to do now? Sell it. No one is going to know your book exists until it is placed conveniently within their line of sight. And no one is going to know precisely why they should buy your book until you tell them. The good news is that, in 2021, there are a ridiculous number of tools at your disposal that allow you to do both of those things.

One leading way for you to promote your book is by conducting a virtual book tour. Gone are the days when authors had to catch flight after flight in order to wave their book in front of a live audience. Now, you can promote your book through blog posts, podcasts and social media events – and all from the comfort of your own home.

If the thought of publicizing your book while wearing pajamas speaks to you, consider checking out the following five virtual book tour platforms. All of which pose new and interesting ways for you to promote your book in an ever-booming online environment.

1. Storygram Tours

Tried and trusted by authors at Cardinal Rule Press, Storygram Tours offers services including general tours, ARC tours, custom tours and cover reveals. All services involve daily Instagram posts with potential captions including book reviews, character guides, and giveaway details. For more information on Storygram Tours or to sign up to be a host, visit their website here.

2. Xpresso Book Tours

Along with its familiar and energizing name (because what kind of writer doesn’t like coffee?), Xpresso Book Tours boasts 12-15k monthly blog visitors and over 100 successful book tours. Their website, which features the work of primarily romance and young adult authors, promises a “stress free, fully organized” tour experience, where writers post reviews of your book to their blog over the span of a few days. For specific information about services and pricing, visit the Xpresso Book Tours website.

Another great way to promote your book, even before the launch, is to have a Goodreads Author profile, if you don’t already. Ask friends, family, colleagues and fellow authors to review the book on Goodreads and this will help get your book out in front of other readers before it’s even released! We have created a FREE Goodreads Checklist to help get you started.

3. Enchanted Book Promotions

Enchanted Book Promotions is another platform that calls upon high profile bloggers to review and promote your prose. Packages range from the $29 Frog Tour to the $345 Queen Tour. Each service features a combination of blog posts and Twitter and Facebook promotions. They are accepting of all genres. To learn more about Enchanted Book Promotions, step into the kingdom by clicking this link.

4. BookClubz.com

If the prospect of promoting your work by hosting a virtual book club appeals to you, then consider checking out a website like BookClubz.com. Book clubs are a great way to stir up important discussions about topics within your book, while promoting it to a group that is clearly interested in reading it. As well as giving readers the opportunity to meet the author, book clubs allow you, the author, to soak up instant feedback and watch your writing affect people in real time.

5. Podcasts

Podcasts present a wonderful opportunity for you to say exactly what you want to say about your book and how you want to say it. Try looking up local (or nationwide) podcasts, whose themes align with topics in your book. Then, reach out to the podcast hosts and arrange a guest visit, where you promote your work and tell listeners why it’s well worth the read.

No matter what promotion strategy you choose, always be sure to promote your book on your own social media pages as well as in your personal life. Social media plays an invaluable role in the virtual promotion process, making it so that anyone interested in you and your work can easily follow along.

Don’t forget to download your FREE Goodreads Checklist – build your author platform on Goodreads and provide some ARC copies of your book to friends, family, colleagues and even neighbors. Ask them to leave a review on Goodreads and get your book out in front of even more readers.

A senior in the University of Michigan-Flint’s Secondary English Teacher’s Certificate Program, Lauren is an aspiring writer and English educator. Along with interning at Cardinal Rule Press, Lauren works at UM-Flint’s Marian E. Wright Writing Center. She enjoys running, being outside, and (naturally) reading in her spare time.