FAQ 10: how can I keep posting about my book on Instagram after it has launched?
Ways to keep your Instagram content fresh, and maintain momentum, post-publication
This post is part of series where I answer some of the questions I am most frequently asked about social media. To browse or read the rest of the series click here. If you are looking for more tailored, in-depth writer-specific advice about how to use Instagram, please consider joining my Too Much Instagram membership. Have a browse of what’s on offer here.
Books have long lives but soon after the initial launch excitement has died down many writers find themselves in a bit of a slump, unsure what to post about to keep plugging their books. You might feel like everyone is sick of hearing about your book, or you might be wondering how you can keep your posts fresh and appealing.
In many ways, the answer to what should I post after my book has launched? is the same as what you should post when you’re working towards publication date, so you might like to take a step back and read this piece first:
BUT once your book is out in the world there are other tactics you can add into the mix in order to get in front of new audiences and keep the momentum going.
Here are some ideas…
Keep the conversation going
Your ideal reader won’t have changed between pre-launch and your book being available to buy so you should still be using the themes and ideas in your book to guide most of your content.
Keep an eye on the news to see if there are any relevant conversations you can join in with by posting about your reactions and opinions. Two brilliant examples of this are this post by
:
and this post by
:
Both writers have books out in the world and these posts are timely, super-relevant to their books, and, importantly, are genuine expressions of their thoughts and opinions. There is no need to manufacture feeling where there is none, but stay aware of the conversations that are happening and see if there are any you’d like to join in with.
Giveaways
A really simple way to bring fresh eyes onto your book is to host a giveaway. The classic way to do this is to offer a signed copy of your book as the prize, and to invite people to comment under a post, but now your book is out in the world there are other ways of structuring giveaways that can deliver enhanced results:
a giveaway where you combine your book with a service. This is most relevant to writers of non-fiction who also have a service-based business e.g if your book is about marketing for small businesses, you could run a giveaway that includes a 1 hour 1-2-1 with you.
a collaborative giveaway with other authors - the prize is a stack of signed books and you all post the same post to your grid. If there are up to four of you then use the ‘Invite Collaborator’ tool and the post will automatically appear on all of your grids. If there are more than four of you, one of you (usually the person setting it up) will have to co-ordinate which picture is used, what caption you all use, collate all the entries and select the winner. Ask your followers to tag a friend in the comments as the entry mechanism and you might find some new readers. Eloise Rickman has done this in a really interesting way by working with Molly Forbes to bring together their books, and combining them with a 1-2-1 talk with both authors:
a collaborative giveaway with other brands or businesses. For two great examples of how an author might do this, check out this giveaway, hosted by Huma Qureshi:
and another Huma is involved with a brand she has a personal connection with, and who are hosting the giveaway on their account:
Notice that for the really meaty giveaway, with the big bundle of prizes, Huma has used a more involved entry mechanism. Basically, the greater the value of the prize, the more you can ask of your audience in terms of how they enter, i.e. you can ask them to do something that is of more value to you than a simple tag in the comments. Some examples: pre-order the paperback and send a screenshot of the receipt; post a review on a specific platform e.g Amazon, or Goodreads; post a review to their Instagram grid using a particular hashtag (the title of your book is usually appropriate) so you can see all the entries in one place to choose the winner; post a picture of them reading your book to their Stories, tagging you on the Story so you see it (as Stories disappear after 24 hours you need to think of a way to record the entries).
a locally-focused giveaway. If your book is strongly tied to a specific geographical location, you could collaborate with local shops, cafes, book sellers, or service providers in order to get in front of new audiences. Post the giveaway to your Instagram, geotag your post with your location so it shows up in searches for that place, and again use the Invite Collaborator tool so your collaborators can share it to their account and you can keep all of the entries in one place.
Play games with your audience
Now your book is out in the world, you can get playful with your audience! This kind of content is super effective as it works on several levels:
It drives engagement, and engagement acts as a signal to the algorithms to show your posts to more people. To maximise this, consider using a reel as the post format as reels are already the best placement to be shown to ‘cold’ audiences, that is, people who have never heard of you. Usually I say reels are an awareness tool and don’t often effectively drive engagement but these kinds of games are an exception to that rule.
It encourages readers of your book to stay engaged with you which might mean they’re more likely to share your book with their audience.
It gives people who have not yet bought your book a way to feel involved. This helps your books stay ‘front of mind’ so the next time they’re looking for a book to read, yours will be the one they think of.
It allows you to give people who have not yet read your book a flavour of what they can expect when they open your book.
Three suggestions for games you can play with your audience:
Page roulette: ask your audience to comment with a page number between 1 and [insert the number of pages in your book] and then reply with the first full sentence from the top of the page. Here’s an example I created last year using my manuscript, but the principle is the same:
Lucky dip: give your audience a theme that is linked to your writing, and ask them to comment with a word to do with that theme. Reply with a quotation from your book that contains that word.
Play Snog, Marry, Avoid using your characters as the options to choose from. This is a fun one for fiction writers and will work for people who’ve already read your book, but also give other audience members a taste of what to expect. Explain the options your audience can choose from and ask them to comment with their decisions, and even their justifications.
Use reviews
Reviews are a crucial part of encouraging people to take a risk on reading your book. There are so many books out in the world, why should they read yours? Unbiased opinions from readers and reviewers (if you’re lucky enough to secure these) can help people take the plunge.
Brief reviews will often arrive via your Stories. Be sure to thank the people who have taken the time to post about your book, and make sure you re-share these to your own Stories so you can create a dedicated highlight. You might also screenshot them and create a carousel of kind words that you post to your grid - not all of your content needs to be polished. You could also pin this carousel post to the top of your account in place of the post that explains what your book is about.
A word to the wise: reposting reviews is not going to drive engagement so don’t worry if these posts are tumbleweed. The job of these posts is not to start a conversation, they are there to nudge your audience to take action. ‘Silent engagement’ is when people see a review, don’t like or comment, but do go and order your book. You might never know if it is your Instagram post that motivates them to do so, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. These posts sitting on your grid will also act as signals to people who visit your account for the first time.
Collaborate with relevant people
Giveaways are not the only way in which you can use Instagram to collaborate with other people, sharing audiences, and hopefully getting in front of more people who might become readers.
You might also:
arrange to interview another writer on Instagram live - ideally this would be a writer whose readership shares certain characteristics with yours e.g if you’ve written a romance novel it makes most sense to collaborate with another romance writer. Caro Giles was able to collaborate with Joanna Wolfarth in this way to mark the publication of their paperbacks
arrange to interview someone who is an expert in the topics you have written about. They do not have to be a writer too, but if your book is set in Georgian England, could you interview a historian who specialises in that time period? Or if your book is a memoir about ADHD, could you interview a coach or therapist who specialises in working with neurodivergent people?
if the thought of talking on camera fills you with horror, you could run a series of interview posts. Email the interviewee with your questions, and then turn their answers into a carousel post. When you post it to your grid, be sure to invite them as collaborator so the post can be seen by your audience and theirs.
pitch to bookstagram-ers or book clubs to see if they will host you for an online reading and Q&A event. Even if you have a relatively small audience, if you approach them with two or three other writers lined up (you can have up to 4 accounts on an Instagram Live) then they will be able to see how the event will be mutually beneficial. These kinds of pitches are always easier if you are already an active member of the community of that account.
Mark milestones and events
From hitting certain sales figures, to appearances on podcasts, in person, on their airwaves, or in print or online media, make sure you’re posting about these moments. You might feel like you’re ‘going on’ about yourself but remember that most people don’t see every one of your posts, and consider that one day these events will dry up ☹️ When you look back do you want to feel like you didn’t pay them enough attention?
Host a challenge or join in with a campaign
This won’t be relevant to all writers but I’ve seen challenges and campaigns used to great effect as part of an author’s post-publication promotions. The nature of the challenge or campaign will vary depending on the subject matter of your book, but some good examples of challenges hosted by authors are:
this writing prompt challenge by
Gemma Phillips-Ogston is a chef and author of two cook books who is also an ambassador for the charity, Fareshare. Gemma has collaborated with the charity on a number of occasions by creating content for them, sharing her audience with them (and vice versa). This is an example of a video she recorded for Fareshare as part of the #stopfoodwaste campaign:
Finally, members of Too Much Instagram may remember
talking about getting involved in Carers Week as part of her 2020 promotion of Tender, and her plans to repeat the experience with another charity for the publication of her next book Home Matters (out at the end of August 2024). Members of TMI can hear more about that by watching here:
If you are looking for tailored, in-depth, writer-specific advice about how to use Instagram to build an audience, engage people in the things you care and write about, and welcome them as your readers, please consider joining my Too Much Instagram membership. Have a browse of what’s on offer here.
The page roulette idea is my favourite! 😍 So easy and such a good idea!
Ahh thanks for including #meetthewriter! Great ideas here Nicola