FAQ 9: how can I use Instagram to launch my book?
12 months of Instagram activity to take you up to publication day
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.
In May this year one of my clients asked her publisher what marketing and promotion work she should be doing in advance of her book coming out this autumn. They said,
‘Now you’ve posted the cover reveal you don’t really need to do anything else until September.’
Gulp 😳.
I mean, her cover reveal is a super-cute video, but… wait… WHAT...?
There is SO MUCH authors can do in advance of publication to drum up interest and raise awareness that your book is even an option for readers. However, I realise this is at times an unwelcome truth for writers who feel averse to self-promotion, who simply don’t know where to start, or who don’t really know what ‘success’ might look like. It can be hard to take a punt on any kind of promo when you don’t really know what the end goal is beyond ‘get people to read my book’.
In a recent instalment of her excellent newsletter
, wrote that, when it comes to book marketing, success can be defined as…‘name recognition and awareness. People saying “oh, I’ve seen that book! I hear it’s good” is worth almost as much as a direct sale from an ad or post. All those posts and mentions and articles and reposts and whatever eventually add up to someone getting closer to buying your book when they’re just running into B&N last minute before their vacation or adding things to their cart.’
And this is something I stress to writers when they’re considering using Instagram as part of their promotional plans.
In most cases, Instagram posts probably don’t directly convert to book sales where the reader sees your post then clicks out of Instagram to immediately go and order it, BUT that’s not to say some people won’t do that. Others will make a note to come back and order later so the connection between your Instagram posts and their purchase isn’t visible, but is still there. And cover recognition - thanks to your Instagram activity - in a busy bookshop might be enough to seal the deal for people looking for their next read.
Part of the job of your Instagram posts is to increase familiarity with your book. But there’s also a super-power Instagram offers that can make a purchase even more likely: connection with readers.
Developing connection, and building familiarity, starts months before your publication date. And, rather than focusing purely on the sales you can directly influence, you should also consider the ‘ripple’ effect of being active online. It’s not just about who your posts reach. If someone connects with you on Instagram they’re more like to buy your book and then go on to share it with their own networks.
This is how Instagram can work as what I like to call, ‘Word Of Mouth With A Megaphone’.
Contrary to what my client’s publisher suggested, a single post - no matter how pretty the front cover is - six months before launch day, won’t achieve any of that.
Here are 35 ideas and examples for what will…
12 months to go before your book launches
Minimum posting frequency I would recommend - 2 posts per week
Before you post anything, make sure you’ve defined who your ideal reader is. You might like to think your book is for everyone but in reality you’re going to get nowhere with your book promo if you try to convince everyone to read your book. You need to get specific about the people who are most likely to read your book. What are they interested in? What do they want that your book can deliver? What other books have they enjoyed in the past? If your book is the answer to the question ‘What should I read next?’, what kind of book are they looking for? These are the people your posts need to appeal to.
Tidy up your Instagram profile picture and bio. Where possible, your profile picture should feature your face, and your bio should communicate what people can expect from your account. You don’t need to include your publisher’s, or your agent’s, handle (the name of their account). I know this is important to you, but most of your readers probably won’t know what it means.
Start sharing milestone announcements. This might be your publication date (check when you’re allowed to share this), or simply that you’ve got a book deal if you haven’t already announced it. These kinds of celebratory posts will typically receive lots of attention from your audience as people love a good news story.
Share content that will bring your audience behind the scenes of your journey to get to this point. What has it taken to get to this point? How many times have you been rejected? What made you keep going? How does all of this feel? What would 18 year old you think of what you’re doing now? When did you start writing and why? There are many ways of telling personal stories that will connect you *as a person* with your audience. You might find this kind of post will bring you lots of comments as members of your audience want to share their stories in return. This will give you the opportunity to get to know them better too.
Share posts that will position your book for any potential readers. Compare it to books that are well known, write (polite) reviews of recent releases in your genre or niche, feature groups of books relevant to yours e.g book stack reels - 5 books to read if you love [insert topics/ theme/ genre/ trope]; 3 books to read when you’re feeling [insert emotion]
Start making connections with bookstagram-ers, podcasters, other writers, and/ or local book stores. This network will come into its own later but for now think of it as moving into a new neighbourhood and you’re trying to get to know your neighbours. Comment on their posts, engage with their Stories, share their stuff. Do all of it in a spirit of generosity, because you’re genuinely interested in what they’re posting about, not because you’re hoping to ‘get something back’. You might, you might not, but what you are doing is being a good Instagram citizen.
Start identifying people using Instagram who have an overlapping audience with yours, and begin building relationships with them like they are your neighbours too. They might be other writers in your genre or niche, but they could also be people who are experts in a particular field linked to the themes and topics in your book. This list will come in useful after launch when you’re looking for people to collaborate with as you want to keep momentum going (more on this next week - make sure you’re subscribed to receive that post straight to your inbox).
Start playing around with different kinds of posts and develop your technical skills. The great thing about being 12 months away from publication is that the stakes are low - you don’t need anything to work at this stage! I recommend doing some scouting around other authors using Instagram to see what kinds of posts they are sharing - not to copy, but to see if there’s a version you could make for yourself. DM yourself any posts you think you could try making and you’ll have a ready-made bank of post ideas to work through. Getting to know simple design platforms like Canva can also help you create the mix of content you’ll need closer to your launch.
Use your Stories as quicker, informal pieces of content to connect with your existing audience. Don’t just repost content to your Stories. To make them a destination you need to add value - you could give peeks behind the scenes of your life, expand on an idea from your grid, ask your audience to take part in polls or Q&As.
6 months to go
Minimum recommended posting frequency - 2-3 posts per week
Pin two posts to the top of your grid: one that introduces you, and one that introduces your book. Check out Rachel Blackmore’s pinned posts for really great examples of both.
Continue posting about milestone announcements e.g cover reveals, pre-order links, Bookseller (or other trade press) announcements, cover quotes you’ve secured*.
*when
recently came to speak with TMI members, she shared that the cover quotes for her first book, Tender (cover quote from Clover Stroud), and her upcoming book, Home Matters (cover quote from Katherine May), were secured by her, from her network. Her publishers had nothing to do with either 😬Add cover quotes by anyone you think might be familiar to your ideal reader to your bio. For example,
includes a quote from Amy Liptrot in her Instagram bio as the audience for their memoirs is similar, and Amy’s name is likely to be recognised by Caro’s ideal reader. This fosters credibility and trust.
Make the most of announcements by asking your network to share posts. Definitely ask your publisher/ agent/ editor etc to share these posts, plus you could create an Instagram group of willing supporters who you can DM whenever you post something they can share.
Start pitching to podcasters in your Instagram network. Podcasters often plan their series’ months in advance of recording and releasing episodes. Make sure you listen to some episodes before you contact them so you know what kind of thing they might be looking for, and if you’ve been in regular contact with them via Instagram you can mention this in your pitch. Don’t limit yourself to podcasts about writing and books - think about what else your ideal readers might be listening to that aligns with the topics, themes or ideas of your book. For more support with pitching (and more), I recommend
’s Substack, .Continue sharing posts from behind the scenes, as well as more content that will position your book for potential readers.
Use your ‘social proof’ from the last 6 months to help you decide what to post. Look back at posts that have got a good response and see if you can repurpose the idea into a different format (e.g turn a static image + caption, into a reel) or expand further on the same idea. Has anyone left a thoughtful comment on one of your posts that might trigger some further thoughts that you could share with your audience?
Develop a deeper connection with your audience by sharing posts that start conversations about things they (and you!) care about. Depending on who you are, what you’re comfortable with, and what your book is about, your posts might be entertaining (like Abby Jimenez), informative or educational (like Eloise Rickman and Nova Reid), poetic (like Caro Giles), personal (like Clover Stroud), motivational and insightful (like Tamu Thomas) or beautiful (like Huma Qureshi and Laura Pashby).
Be useful by creating posts that share your expertise, opinions or insights that are relevant to your book, and that will interest your ideal reader. This is especially important for non-fiction writers as your audience need to know why they should trust you. Great examples of this from completely different niches are Dr Faye Begeti and Clare Seal.
Continue posting Stories that allow your audience to see a bit more of who you are as a person. Stories are only shown to your existing audience and can be a great way to deepen the connection you have with them in an informal, personal way. A writer who makes excellent use of her Stories in this way is Stacey Heale.
3 months to go
Minimum recommended posting frequency: 3-5 posts per week
Run a giveaway of proofs. Create a post for your grid and ask your audience to tag a fellow book lover in the comments in order to enter the giveaway. Don’t forget to set a closing date (I’d also stipulate where you’re willing to post the book to so you don’t get stung with massive postage costs!) and remember to ask your network to share the post to their Stories (use that DM group you set up 3 months ago 😉). Choose the winner at random and send him/her a proof copy. You might politely say, ‘if you enjoy it, I’d love it if you’d post a review on your account’ or something similar and then keep your fingers crossed that they do 🤞🏼
Collaborate with other authors being published around the same time, by the same publisher, and run a giveaway with ALL of your proofs as the prize. Instagram allows you to invite up to 4 separate accounts as collaborators on a single post. This means one post appears in all four grids at the same time so it can be a way to get in front of new audiences.
Start pitching to bookstagram-ers in your Instagram network. Are there any highly relevant ones you could send a proof to? You shouldn’t stipulate that they have to review or post about your book, but you might gently mention that if they enjoy your book, a review or post would be massively helpful. Rest assured they know how hard it is out there!
Use your Stories to share links to preorder your book. DO THIS AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK and try not to apologise - most people need multiple nudges to get them to take action, even when it’s something they definitely want to do!
Create a post that explains why pre-orders are so important to authors and temporarily pin it to the top of your grid. You can then refer people to this every time you mention pre-orders.
1 month to go
Minimum posting frequency: 3-5 posts per week, daily Stories, keep sharing the pre-order link!
More milestones! e.g signing book plates or going into book shops with early copies to talk to booksellers in person.
posted some great examples of this in the run up to her launch day in June, see these two posts here and here. Notice how, in these posts, she doesn’t log the event like her Instagram account is her diary, instead she combines what she literally did with personal story-telling. Also video yourself opening the first box of books you receive - don’t spend ages editing it, just whack it up as a reel. Bring your audience along with you, rather than creating distance between you and them by over-producing your content.MAKE GENEROUS ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE. You might find all of this cringe-worthy but I promise most people will be thrilled for you!
Promote the details of any events you have lined up e.g book club talks, books shop signings, your book launch party, panel events etc. It’s not so much about packing out every event, but every time you post about them you’re also reminding people you have a book coming out. Tag the venues/ any other people involved in the events and hopefully they will share the posts too.
Post about what is happening behind the scenes. The nerves, the excitement, is it what you thought it would be like, or completely different? BE HUMAN! If you’re doing things like recording podcast episodes in advance, you should also share that in real time. Don’t feel like you have to ‘save’ the announcement until the episode is ready.
Post about early feedback. Sometimes pre-orders start to arrive before official launch day - be ready to share these posts to your Stories. Take screenshots of them and compile carousels to post to your grid - explain in the caption how it makes you feel to see something you have created in other people’s hands. Not every piece of content has to be polished to perfection, it’s ok to be more ‘in the moment’, especially at such an exciting time.
Lean into reels. Reels are the best content placement for getting in front of new audiences and at this point you want to really drum up some momentum. Continue posting content about the things your existing audience cares about but also lean into creating reels that introduce your book to a new audience. Think of them as mini trailers for your book that help people understand what it’s about. Here are a couple of examples of how you can do that: this reel from
is a great way to position a debut novel in a way many readers will understand (in fact, Emma did a great job of her Instagram launch content more broadly so definitely have a look at her grid for inspo); this reel from is also a clever way to position your book; and I LOVE anything that feels like a ‘vibe check’ or mood board like this from Rachel Blackmore.
Launch week
Go crazy, post every day! This is MASSIVE - do not play it down, do not apologise, do not feel like everyone will get sick of you. This is a tiny blip in time that will pass before you know it (and certainly before most of your Instagram audience notices it) - milk every second of joy out of, and don’t be shy - tell everyone!
Post about any exciting events that happen that week - bring your audience along with you!
Create a post about your launch party if you have one - again, this does not have to be super polished. Screen record videos that other people post to their Stories, or if you know them, DM and ask if they’ll send it to you. Put it all together into something you can look back on. I really like this combination of candid video and voiceover from author, Rebecca Anderson.
Don’t forget to ask your network to share far and wide!
If you want to post retrospectively - perhaps the day or two after your launch party, for example - so you can enjoy the event without thinking about Instagram, then do so. Just make sure you do post about it!
I hope this gives you some ideas about what to focus on and when if you’re planning to use Instagram to promote and launch your book. Next week I’m going to publish a post packed full of ideas for how to use Instagram to keep the momentum going after your launch day. Books have long lives, let’s live them!
If you’d like to receive that post directly to your inbox, make sure you’ve subscribed by clicking the pink button below. If you’d like to receive more detailed, tailored advice for writers using Instagram, you might also be interested in my membership, TOO MUCH INSTAGRAM. You can get a taste of what’s on offer inside the membership here.
Wow, that is TERRIBLE advice that publisher gave 😭 - this is such a useful post, Nicola!
I’ll share this link in my upcoming classes! Thanks for such a valuable resource 🤘🏽