DIY Blog Tour: #

I've talked about how great hash tags are on the blog before,so I don't need to sing their praises here. The power of the hashtag is in numbers. You want to trend and you want to make it easy for your readers to find you and engage with other readers.

There are no rules when it comes to creating a hash tag, but I'd suggest two simple tips. First, keep your hash tag relevant to your book, but short enough that your readers have enough characters left to share their thoughts. Second, make sure you don't pick something already being used. If readers click a hash tag and find a jumble of different topics it's unlikely they'll wade through them to find the ones relevant to your book.

Once you've selected a hash tag, you've got to use it to make it work. Ask your tour hosts to use it. Ask people visiting the tour stop to use it (include a tweetable link that makes it easy for them to share). Use it when you thank your tour hosts. Use it to tweet thoughtful comments. Use it to announce giveaways and contest winners. Just use it.

Ideally, you want a hash tag that can be used for more than just your tour. This way you can continue to engage the same readers when you share other news like release dates, awards, great reviews and other information your readers will want to see.