How to Promote Your Book on Instagram – A Practical Guide for Authors

Promote Book on Instagram

Successful sales businesses are being run on Instagram. With each passing day, Instagram is turning into a product showcasing platform. Essentially being a visual social medium, it allows for effective, market-oriented HD display of a range of products. Apart from being a complementary promotional space for big businesses, Instagram also serves as a virtual shop for home-based small start-ups. As creative as the uses of Instagram can get, we have some good news for all  authors reading this blog. You can use this platform for promoting your book as well. Instagram is very promising that way. Most of the accounts on Instagram are run as blogs. The users do appreciate and show love for the content they like. So, authors, get ready! We have listed down pro ways for you to use Instagram for your book promotion.

  1. Get Started With a Business Account

Most of the blogs on Instagram are made as business accounts. While your purpose is book promotion, it is advisable to create a business account. A business account offers a ‘shop’ feature as well. Using this feature, people interested in buying your book can reach the buying options in one swift click. Consider it a rule that Instagram promotions work best with business accounts. With a clear purpose of boosting book sales in mind, your business account will enable you to avail a range of options. Ready to promote your book through systematic efforts? Create a business account on Instagram and there you go!

  1. Devise a Content Strategy

You have a clear goal in mind; you want to promote your book to boost book sales. But there is a lot of competition out there. There are other authors working towards the same goal and utilizing the Insta space in pretty much similar ways. Here comes the importance of your content. Yes, the obvious content will include your book’s pictures. But imagine for a minute that there are no boundaries and you can let out your creativity in this virtual space at your disposal. Sync your book promotion strategies with an overall content strategy. Do share images of your book placed in versatile settings, but do not forget to complement this with a sneak peek into your lifestyle. Create posts about important literary events and holidays for example World Book Day, National Grammar Day, World Poetry Day, and even months like Library Lovers Month (February) or Read a New Book Month (December). Relate events, whenever you can, with your book and its themes.

  1. Connect With Your Community

Should we tell you a little secret about your book’s Instagram promotion? The secret is called ‘shoutouts’. Show some generosity and appraise the work of other authors. This attitude will help you connect with the writing community and other authors will also return the favour. This way, your book will reach their followers. In the online spaces, ‘reach ’and ‘engagement’ is the key. What happens when some content goes trending in the virtual sphere? It has actually reached the greatest number of people across the globe. Hence, promote your book by allying with fellow authors and work towards maximizing the reach of your book.

  1. Make Use of Influencer Marketing

While you are on Instagram, why not get the maximum benefit! Big following accounts rule the Insta world and are usually known as influencers. Get in touch with some influencers whose interests and posts are related to books and who are avid readers. A collaboration might work out and they might agree to talk about your book as either a post, a story or a small video. Again, this will add to the reach of your book. For a detailed guide, read our blog on book promotions through bloggers and online reviews.

 

If you wish to publish your very own book, submit your writing with us today and make it happen.

If you are confused about how to start your writing journey, have a look at our ‘How to Become An Author’ guide and find all the answers.

 

  1. Make Use of Ads Feature

The best thing about Instagram promotion is that you can run ads about the specific product you are selling. Since this is going to be a paid venture, keep a share in your budget for this particular book promotion strategy. This money will pay you off well, and don’t worry since it is a small amount of money that can easily be managed. Remember how ads pop in while you are scrolling through the stories and posts? You must be very well aware that these ads do catch our eye and we often end up checking the ad runner’s account. Such is the power of ads. So, advertise your book!

  1. Go Live

Insta Live feature is the best that could be introduced to this app. What a pleasure to talk to celebrities and your favourite bloggers! The stay home scenario has pushed a greater need for such live sessions. Make sure that your content schedule also includes a once in a while live session. Not just your followers but you, yourself, will also enjoy this communication. Talk about your book, talk about a bundle of other stuff and even before you know it, this fun session will help promote your book.

 

Austin Macauley Publishers has also made publishing your book easier than ever. Through an online submission form, you can get in touch with us and make a submission of your manuscript.

 

  1. Use Hashtags

To ensure better reach and engagement on your posts, using appropriate hashtags is a must. While looking for a particular thing or idea, people usually search for relevant hashtags to help them land on the right spot. If someone is looking for book suggestions, they might just put that hashtag in the search bar. Instagram will show all the posts with ‘#BookSuggestions.’ So, promote your book using the right hashtags. Compile a basic set of hashtags and then use a mix with additions and subtractions according to a specific post. For example, if you have shared an aesthetic picture of your book, never forget to use the hashtag ‘#BookPhotography.’

  1. Arrange Signed Copy Giveaways

An important pillar in your book promotion strategy is giveaways. Giveaways on Instagram attract a lot of people. You have your book to send as a giveaway gift. You can make it even more attractive by announcing a signed copy with a small note as the giveaway reward. Link your giveaway contests with festive occasions. Whenever you send a copy, ask the winner politely to share feedback once they are done reading your book. This way, you will have one more review to add to your Instagram book reviews. More people will be attracted to your account through the giveaway rules that you will set. For example, tagging friends, asking them to follow the account and the like.

 

All this said, let us conclude by saying that Instagram has a lot of potential in terms of promoting your book. Make use of what this app has to offer for free.

We wish you all the best!

Check our book collection on our website and keep yourself updated by following us on Facebook,  Instagram, and Twitter. If you want to become a published author, send us your manuscript by clicking here.

 

 

10 Smart Book Promotion Strategies for Authors

10 Book Promotion Tips for Authors

Writing and publishing your book is one part, promoting it is another. While the sense of accomplishment that comes with publishing your book is unmatched, you will have to maintain this feeling by investing just an equal amount of time and energy in marketing your book. The good part is you own and love your work and the effort required to promote your book will not feel like a loathsome job. With some simple and easier book promotion tips listed below, you will begin to enjoy the whole process. Have faith and read on!

Invest time in promoting your book

For successful book promotion, you will have to dedicate your time. Now that you have authored a book, you do know that there is no shortcut to success. Invest time every day! Yes, there are smarter ways to go about promoting your book, but even smart work requires time. Whenever you have a chance to meet acknowledged writers, ask them about the strategies they have employed to get their book to a wider audience.

Increase your online presence

Remember, online book marketing is key. You might not be used to social media and other online platforms, but it is essential to promote your book online. So, gradually start building your presence online and try to maintain author profiles on Amazon and Goodreads, alongside your regular social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Build online relationships and engage with your online friends. This will be rewarding in the long run.

Have your own website

Make and maintain your own website, this will give you a feeling of running your very own project. Make your project as interesting as it gets. Publish daily blogs on your website. You may put down your reflections on any current event. This will take you farther along in your writing journey, while also bringing you the satisfaction that you are not out of your writing practice.

Create unique content

Offer free and interesting content on your social media. Share such excerpts from your book which may arouse the reader’s curiosity and pull the reader into reading the complete book. Do not just talk about your book, make your account diverse, so that your audience and fan club is generated. Once you attain a reputation, people will want to read your work.

Keep an eye on the engagement you get. This will help you gauge an idea of your audience and what they like to see and read more.

Hype up your upcoming book

Ideally, book promotion should begin before the release. You can run an online pre-order campaign. Try to create a hype around your upcoming book on social media so that the audience can see that something big is coming. Make your audience look forward to your book’s release date. Also, try to get pre-release book reviews from various online book review services before the release and share them on your social media.

Compile a mailing list

In the process, you will be contacting a lot of people and will find some to be encouraging; showing an inclination towards the theme of your book. Include them in your mailing list. Make sure to update your mailing list club whenever you are undertaking any new project or arranging any event related to your book. This is one of the best tried and tested book marketing strategies. You can start with using an email platform such as Mailchimp to capture your mailing list and promote it across your social media or website.

Make use of both paid and unpaid collaborations/services

If you have published your own book, do not hesitate to contact a specialized company to help you with running a book marketing campaign. Hire professional services whenever needed, for example getting the book cover designed. You will not regret making this financial investment. However, you can also collaborate with your PR list if you have a tight budget. Your blogger friends will love to give a shout-out to you and your masterpiece.

Organize online promotional events

As soon as your book is out, start preparing for one or two promotional events. Given the current scenario, you will have to arrange the events online. You can make maximum use of Facebook and Instagram live. Online promotional events will not hinder the prospects of your book, since such events also do pretty well. The important part is to engage bookstores and private libraries into being a part of your event. You can collaborate with book bloggers to help spread the word about the event or about going live.

Keep pamphlets ready

Get handy pamphlets (related to your book) printed! Keep them in your bag all the time. Being in a gathering is a good chance to let people know about your book through these pamphlets.

Cash your strengths!

Do all it takes to promote yourself and your book but do not let go of your unique self in the process. Keep your uniqueness intact and let it show through all the content you create and all the blogs you write. Just know your exclusive strong points and utilize them to the maximum in all the activities related to book marketing.

We wish you all the best with your book promotions!

Check our book collection on our website and keep yourself updated by following us on Facebook,  Instagram, and Twitter. If you want to become a published author, send us your manuscript by clicking here.