š² The Grid: January's round up
A FREE workshop, Instagram updates, a round up of the best bookish, marketing-ish writerly-ish, advice I've found on the internet this month, and some posts formats you might like to try
š§ First of all, a FREE workshop
Dominant culture on Instagram will have you believing that likes, views and followers are what really counts, and that to succeed you have to feed the algorithm what it wants: what you want has nothing to do with any of it.
Well, itās the year 2025 and Iām BORED of this being the way Instagram is viewed and used because, in my experience, it is far more sustainable and effective to use Instagram in a way that factors in your preferences, and your capacity, and your goals, and your values.
I often dig into this with 1-2-1 clients and, by finding a way to use Instagram that is effective AND suits them, they often they tell me that Iāve ātransformedā the way they view and use Instagram, and that theyāre even āexcitedā to use it!
I want you to experience that same transformation, so Iāve pulled together a whole bunch of questions, reflections and exercises that I use with 1-2-1 clients into a one hour non-linear, explorative workshop. I ask you to really think about what it is that you want from your time on Instagram, and give you some pointers about navigating some of the most common pitfalls:
FREE Workshop: Write Your Own Instagram Manifesto
Despite its many, MANY well-documented failings, Instagram remains one of the best routes for writers and authors to get in front of your potential readers (caveat: IF you know how to use it strategically and effectively, rather than casually, which is an important distinction)
šPinned posts
my feelings about being so deeply enmeshed in Instagram are complex, contradictory and evolving, and my dms would suggest Iām not the only one feeling conflicted. A perspective Iāve found useful this month was this one from emily.explains on (where else) Instagram:
this post is highly reflective of where I currently am (thanks to
for sending it to me). The comments are also worth a look:
if youāre currently struggling with any kind of writing or creativity block,
has just the tonic:and if youāre someone who feels like you have to be doing alllll the things or risk missing out, I recommend having a read of this from
š¬ Need-To-Know Instagram Updates
Instagram has been even more busy than usual with the updates this month š¤Ŗ but as your resident Instagram guide for writers, these are the ones that are most relevant:
Vertical Grid: if the new rectangular layout of the grid has messed with you, there is a fix available. It isnāt perfect but it might help. Hereās a video to walk you through it:
Trial reels: The general idea is that content creators can use the feature to share new styles of content with people who donāt follow them without worrying how existing followers will react. This could be good news for you if youāre pivoting niche or genre, as you can post for new audiences without confusing your existing audience, but I also think it offers some interesting possibilities for repurposing Reels. Iām running a bit of an experiment at the moment about whether reposting (relatively) high-performing Reels to Trial Reels can bring in new followers and Iāll be reporting back to TOO MUCH INSTAGRAM paid subscribers in February as part of the šš»āāļøtraining sessionsšš»āāļø for a šš»āāļøGrowth Sprintšš»āāļø that Iām running for paid subscribers in March.
Three minute reels: this was launched in what felt like a sudden fit of schadenfreude in those seconds between the Tiktok ban starting and ending in the USA. It could be useful for those of you who want to dig into more nuance in your face-to-camera videos (looking at you, non-fiction authors), but proceed with caution. Longer is not necessarily better and there might be times when itās more effective to spread a deep dive into an idea over a series of posts or Reels.
Ranking explainer from Adam Mosserri (Head of Instagram) - this recent explanation from Adam Mosserri goes to show just how complex the algorithms are, and is super-interesting IF you use your insights to inform your posting.
If you want to grow your account, I suggest you pay attention to this, but if nurturing a community in your comments or DMs is what youāre focused on at the moment, you can skip this.
In brief, Instagram currently āranksā content - i.e decide how many accounts to show your post to - based on three key content signals: Watch Time (for Reels), Likes and Sends (per reach - not as a proportion of your audience size).
These are weighted slightly differently depending on whether people are following you (connected reach) OR not (unconnected reach).
Likes matter more when the algorithms are deciding how many of your existing followers (connected reach) will be served your post in their feed i.e. do your existing followers enjoy/ value/ appreciate and engage with your content?
Sends matter slightly more when the algorithms are determining how many new-to-you accounts (unconnected reach) to show your content to.
What this means is that if youāre trying to GROW your platform to launch your book from, creating SHAREABLE content will get the algorithms to show your content to people who are not already following you.
Easier said than done, perhaps, as there is no one-size-fits-all type of content that is shareable. If growth is a priority for you though, consider upgrading your subscription to become a member of TOO MUCH INSTAGRAM. In February Iāll be hosting some šš»āāļøtraining sessionsšš»āāļø for a šš»āāļøGrowth Sprintšš»āāļø that Iām leading in March and Iād love you to join us šÆāāļø
š”Three post formats to try in February:
for those of you brave enough to talk to camera, try flexing that story-telling muscle that youāve already developed elsewhere, on Instagram. I love comedian Cally Beatonās āon the goā story-telling that often starts with a simple hook along the lines of: āIām just on my way toā¦ā or āIāve just finished a call aboutā¦ā or āIāve just read an article thatā¦ā. For a more static vibe, take a look at theoriginalmissthingās masterclasses of story-telling and fabulous headwear while sitting in what looks like Narnia āļøāļø
whiteboards are 2025ās mini-mic š¤ (and are much cheaper!). Iāve ordered mine so expect to see it appearing in some future videos because visual hooks as a way to keep people watching are often over-looked by writers. Have a look at how saffanabanana, and viralvideo.club are using theirs and see if you can think of how you might build one into your content too š©š»āš«
if you havenāt yet shared a reintroduction post, are you even on Instagram in 2025? I like this super-simple option of a carousel of photos from MG author and bookstagramer, Claire Linney
If youāve found this email helpful or interesting, Iād love it if you would share it, either here on Substack, or anywhere else that you hang out with other writers šš¼
Thank you, as always. I found the workshop so helpful and clarifying. Though I have to say, I'm still really wrestling with the do-I-leave question. I took some time off over Christmas - possibly the longest break yet from both posting and consuming - and it's so marked how much better I feel for it. My writing is better. I'm reading more. I'm calmer and less frazzled. Then throw in all the latest developments, and it feels increasingly like an ethical dilemma: how can I participate in encouraging other people to do something I feel is actively bad for me? And also, by posting and using the app, I'm continuing to make money for Meta, which I just don't want to do. (Not looking for you to solve this problem for me, just.... sharing). What I think it boils down to for me is, if I wasn't a writer I would not be on social media any more. xxx
Thank you for this, Nicola. As I seem to be doing better and better on Substack, getting more traction with my Notes and Posts, leaving Instagram is becoming more attractive, especially as it's becoming an increasingly complicated platform to use and I'm always left feeling mentally drained after my daily 20-30 minutes on there. It's a big decision to make though, as I have my Swedish network on there. For now I will stick to quick ins and outs, scheduling a post for the next day, and commenting on five to ten posts. That's all I do to maintain it.