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Instagram Tips Every Writer Needs to Know

tips to writers

Maybe you plan on self-publishing so you want to create an audience. Maybe you plan on finding an agent and publishing company so you want to boast an online following in your query letter.

Whatever your situation, Instagram is the place to be for the modern writer.

Fluctuations in your Insta followers are normal—to a certain degree, of course—so if you’re dealing with peaks and valleys in your Insta follower analytics, know that’s normal. That being said, however, there are plenty of ways to retain more Instagram followers.

Artists of all kinds are tapping into Instagram and turning it into an absolute goldmine.

Through Instagram, you can promote your books, articles, or poetry, you can connect to other writers, you can build and maintain an audience, and more, without taking away from your precious writing time.

In this article, we will provide you with a road map for using Instagram to your advantage as a writer.

1. Buy followers from Leoboost

For your first step, you could buy followers on Instagram. Leoboost can make the whole process of buying followers affordable and easy.

Buying followers can be the first step to gaining organic followers. This is for a few reasons.

  • Accounts with more followers get certain features like the “Swipe Up” Feature on Instagram stories
  • Accounts with more followers end up on the Explore page more often
  • People trust accounts that already have a certain number of followers more than they trust new accounts or unknown accounts
  • The more followers you have, the more likely it is that you show up near the top of your followers’ news feed, which leads to more engagement

Buying followers could be a good way to get started, then after that, the organic traffic comes rolling in.

2. Not Just any Hashtags… the Right Hashtags

Studies show that the right number of hashtags so that you can gain an organic following without looking to spammy is between 5 and 10. After that, it takes the attention away from your post and caption.

With that limited number of hashtags, it’s important to pick the right ones. Here are some tips for finding the right hashtags.

  • Don’t copy/paste your hashtags in each post, do the research each time.
  • Only hashtag in your niche. It doesn’t matter if #love gets a lot of traffic if no one following it is interested in your specific niche.
  • Add hashtags in your comments to keep your post looking clean.
  • Use a hashtag research tool
  • Follow other authors in your genre and notice what hashtags they use
  • Use low-density keywords where the competition is lower, especially if you’re a new author trying to build an audience.

2. This isn’t a Commercial

If every single one of your posts is a promo for your book, then your followers will grow disinterested and unfollow.

In marketing, they use the 80/20 rule. That means 20% of your content is promotional, and the other 80% is content that is simply interesting content in your niche.

For an author’s account the possibilities are endless. You could share memes, images, fan art, sketches, a photo of you writing, and more.

Just remember to keep up an aesthetic or theme. Followers should be able to infer what your account is about as soon as they land on your page. People like to know what to expect, and they’re more likely to follow if they can see that you are consistent.

markmason instagram

3. Try a Giveaway

These are always recommended for new Instagram pages trying to get their start, but it’s especially easy for an author because you already have your product: a signed copy of your latest release!

If you still are not well-known, then try pairing with a more popular author in your genre and offering a giveaway of their book and your book.

Tell people to tag their friends in the comments for a chance to win, or request that they follow you and the other author. It’s a small investment with big results in terms of engagement!

tag books giveaway in instagram

4. Build a Community

Follow other authors who are similar to you. Follow them, and engage with their readers!

Not only will you potentially gain new followers, but you might make some friends and connections in the process.

And remember, when you post pictures, the amount of engagement on each post is what the algorithm uses to determine how high to prioritize your photo in your followers’ news feeds. So, bump up that engagement!

Include a call to action in your caption, such as, “Comment your favorite character,” or “Where are you reading from?” This spurs people to leave comments and start conversations with one another.

Along with that, always reply to your followers. Perhaps the day will come when you have so many followers it’s hard to reply to all of them, but make it a priority. If your followers feel seen and appreciated, then those followers are more likely to become clients.

5. Plan your Posts in Advance

Sometimes writers are asked to act not just as writers, but also marketers, salesmen, managers and more. If you want to save time on the business aspect and thus spend more time writing, then planning your posts might be the first step.

Use a software that allows you to plan out your posts on a desktop. Schedule them, and forget about them.

Plan out your posts once a week, then the software will upload for you every day. This makes your posts consistent (which the algorithm loves), and it also allows you to post exactly when you’re followers are online.

In a business account or creators account, you can study the demographics of your followers, which includes the time of day they use Instagram. With that information, you can post right when your followers are online and ensure that your image comes up at the top of their feed.

many libraries

Conclusion

With some consistency and focus, Instagram can be a great tool for any budding business. Whether you post images related to your niche, memes, sketches, or poetry, use these steps to build your author’s page and you will be a lot more enticing to publishers, and rack up those book sales!



via LeoBoost www.leoboost.com/blog/insta...
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