So, I only have 372 followers. Looking at them, lots are spammers and others their accounts are set on private. The remainder are authors, editors, digital marketers and PAs. No readers as far as I can tell. Frankly speaking, I am at a loss. Do I delete this account and start from scratch? I haven’t any views anyway.
I only very rarely recommend people delete accounts - usually when most of their following is bots because they've bought followers. What I would do (if you haven't already done so) is do some house-keeping and remove accounts who are bots and spammers. They're not adding any value to your account so I'd take the hit on your follower count. Authors, editors etc, are important for solidarity and community, I think - people who understand what it's like to write and publish books - but where possible make sure they're worthwhile connections by making sure you're interacting with their content when they post it. When it comes to reaching readers, I recommend starting by lurking around some accounts who're in the same genre as you to see how they're using the platform and get some ideas e.g @hollyjunesmith @emilyhenrywrites @kathleenwhymanauthor
Thanks. I write clean later-in-life romance. My characters are aged 45 to 65. That's very niche. Also because my books are Hallmark style. I am 60 years old and my readers are typically GenX or Boomers. I am lurking since 2 years. Not much to see in my genre except for Tricia O'Malley, Rachel Hanna and a handful of others who have the audience I am looking for. But I already got a few good ideas from an author who is as introverted as I am, so I'll see how I can adopt those.
That's great that you've found someone who's approach to Instagram you can relate to and feel comfortable with. This is a really important step in getting clearer about how you want to show up.
This was helpful! I found my readers!! I spoke to a school in Budapest for my book launch. I think some of the (18-year old) students followed me. Their posts are in Hungarian and are, ahem, about 18-year old antics. Not sure how much engagement I’ll be having with them 😉
Seriously though, I did find people who I *should be engaging with more. And I weeded out a few bots. This whole week has been helpful. I’m learning a lot.
This is so cute - I love the fact that you have Gen Z followers! And so useful to be reminded of people who you should be engaging with. If you want to make it more likely that you see their content when they post, you can add them to a list of Favourites. You can do this by 1. Go to your profile page 2. Tap on the menu icon in the top right hand corner 3. Scroll down to 'What you see' and tap on 'Favourites'. You can then add accounts to the Favourites list and this means their content will be prioritised in your feed and you will be more likely to see their posts so you can engage with them.
Actually, my target audience is women/mothers who like to read about messy family relationships. How different people have different definitions of ‘success.’ The main theme is resilience. I think you’d actually like the book, Nicole.
It’s not likely to appeal to 18-year old Gen Z. But it was sweet they followed me.
So, I only have 372 followers. Looking at them, lots are spammers and others their accounts are set on private. The remainder are authors, editors, digital marketers and PAs. No readers as far as I can tell. Frankly speaking, I am at a loss. Do I delete this account and start from scratch? I haven’t any views anyway.
I only very rarely recommend people delete accounts - usually when most of their following is bots because they've bought followers. What I would do (if you haven't already done so) is do some house-keeping and remove accounts who are bots and spammers. They're not adding any value to your account so I'd take the hit on your follower count. Authors, editors etc, are important for solidarity and community, I think - people who understand what it's like to write and publish books - but where possible make sure they're worthwhile connections by making sure you're interacting with their content when they post it. When it comes to reaching readers, I recommend starting by lurking around some accounts who're in the same genre as you to see how they're using the platform and get some ideas e.g @hollyjunesmith @emilyhenrywrites @kathleenwhymanauthor
Thanks. I write clean later-in-life romance. My characters are aged 45 to 65. That's very niche. Also because my books are Hallmark style. I am 60 years old and my readers are typically GenX or Boomers. I am lurking since 2 years. Not much to see in my genre except for Tricia O'Malley, Rachel Hanna and a handful of others who have the audience I am looking for. But I already got a few good ideas from an author who is as introverted as I am, so I'll see how I can adopt those.
That's great that you've found someone who's approach to Instagram you can relate to and feel comfortable with. This is a really important step in getting clearer about how you want to show up.
This was helpful! I found my readers!! I spoke to a school in Budapest for my book launch. I think some of the (18-year old) students followed me. Their posts are in Hungarian and are, ahem, about 18-year old antics. Not sure how much engagement I’ll be having with them 😉
Seriously though, I did find people who I *should be engaging with more. And I weeded out a few bots. This whole week has been helpful. I’m learning a lot.
This is so cute - I love the fact that you have Gen Z followers! And so useful to be reminded of people who you should be engaging with. If you want to make it more likely that you see their content when they post, you can add them to a list of Favourites. You can do this by 1. Go to your profile page 2. Tap on the menu icon in the top right hand corner 3. Scroll down to 'What you see' and tap on 'Favourites'. You can then add accounts to the Favourites list and this means their content will be prioritised in your feed and you will be more likely to see their posts so you can engage with them.
Actually, my target audience is women/mothers who like to read about messy family relationships. How different people have different definitions of ‘success.’ The main theme is resilience. I think you’d actually like the book, Nicole.
It’s not likely to appeal to 18-year old Gen Z. But it was sweet they followed me.