How do you promote your book and your authorship on Instagram? Every year around 15,000 books are published in Sweden, so how do you stand out? Thinking that the book will sell itself is naive.
Many authors feel shocked when they realize all the work that needs to be done once they have been published. You have to start a company, make a marketing plan and think about how to get your book to a many readers as possible. Who is the target audience for the book? What channels should you use to market the book?
Whether you’ve been accepted by a traditional publisher, hybrid publisher or am self-publishing, you need to think about how you can help promoting your book. One channel that is popular among authors is Instagram. There are different ways to promote your book on Instagram, depending on whether you are comfortable with being in fram and on videos or if you prefer not to be seen.
Promote your book through a book account for the book
Author Lola Akinmade creates a dedicated Instagram account for each book she publishes. On the book account, she shares quotes from the book, pictures of the book, reposts and other things related to the book. Her books include In Every Mirror She’s Black and Lagom, check out their Instagram pages.
The benefits of you book having its own book account on Instagram are:
- Readers can tag the book and you can repost pictures.
- Curious people get an idea of what the book is about.
- You don’t have to be in the photo/video if you don’t want to be.
- You don’t confuse your “personal” Instagram with the book’s.
Create an author account
If you are comfortable with being in photos and videos, you can get an author account.
Grow your author account by:
- Choosing one to three niches for your account, I chose authorship, books and marketing.
- Write in your bio what your account is about. See examples here.
- Use new features like reels, guides, etc.
- Be inspired by others in the same niche. What reels do they make? Can you create similar ones?
You don’t have to be a published author to start building an audience on Instagram. One important thing if you want to promote your book through an author account is that you don’t just post pictures and videos of your book once it’s published. Keep working on everything from your niches and post content about the book from time to time.
Marketing 101
- Target your ideal reader. If you try to target everyone, you won’t reach anyone.
- Marketing makes readers and potential customers aware that you exist. Sales come later.
- If you want to buy sponsorships or ads, I recommend starting small and testing to see what works for your book and your account. Once you feel comfortable, you can start spending more money. More posts on social media advertising coming soon.
