💡Instagram ideas for introducing your book (over and over again)
How to say the same thing TWELVE different ways
I’m at least the eleventy-millionth person to say this but… according to research people need between 7-17 (depending on the medium and the product) ‘touch points’ before they buy the thing you want them to buy, so if you’re thinking you’ve ticked ‘introduce my book’ off your to-do list because you’ve posted once to Instagram, no you haven’t (sorry).
It’s important to keep repeating yourself when using Instagram (specifically) to promote your book because:
some people will have missed the post when you introduced your book
some people will have forgotten they saw the post where you introduced your book
most people need more than one nudge before they go and buy the book, even when they have every intention of buying the book (I fall into this camp so I love it when writers post about their book as it reminds me to sort my shit out 😆)
there will be some people who are new to your account who have no idea what your book is about
To make the most of showing up on Instagram, you need to introduce your book over and over again - maybe as often as once a week if you’re close to publication day, but a minimum of once a month even if your book has been out for year. Books have long lives - let them live them!
In theory I’m sure this makes sense to you but the practicality is often where writers come unstuck: how are you supposed to keep introducing your book without boring your audience or yourself?
Well, here are some ideas I’ve pulled together for you and some examples so you can see what is possible.
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1. The Mood Board/ Vibe Check intro
This is one of my faves as it appeals perfectly to the visual nature of Instagram. You can either create a Reel and put the sequence of images to music (this will be more effective at reaching new audiences), OR you can create a carousel post of images if you prefer. Two great examples of using a reel are this by
to promote her novel Costanza (which is out 1st August):
And this gorgeous Reel from
for her middle grade novel, The World Between The Rain (out 24th October 2024):
If you’re not ready for Reels yet, then an alternative format for this kind of ‘mood board’ is this static image by Louise Maskill:
2. The Ask Your Audience intro
In your post state what the themes or genre of your book are and then ask your audience for their favourites that match that description. You might also get a second post out of this as you can type up all of the answers into a ‘Cheat’s Guide To [insert genre or niche]’.
Don’t forget to tag all the authors you can as they will be delighted to be included and might even share it with their own audience.
In this example from Keiran Goddard, he asked for memoir recommendations and then typed up the responses into a single carousel grid post:
3. The Talk To Camera intro
This one is pretty self-explanatory but lots of writers shy away from this simple post idea because it involves appearing in front of camera (cringe) and listening back to your own voice (double cringe). You’re not alone, talking to camera isn’t for everyone, but it does make a difference when readers hear your voice as well as seeing your face. It feels more intimate, and if you’re a little bit awkward it often endears you to people because who the chuff is completely comfortable in front of camera anyway?!
Here is a great example from the excellent
who will be the first to say this is not her comfort zone (she literally says so in her caption 😉):
My top tip for anyone who is super nervous about talking to camera is to write yourself a simple script and record one sentence at a time, then join the clips together into one video. Don’t forget to add captions if you can as the majority of people watch social video with no sound.
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