So, you write for a living! And you have no idea that writing careers thrive on Instagram?
Perhaps you’re a blogger, a copywriter, a content creator, or write books. Words are your most effective tool, no matter what you write!
Again, when thinking about social media platforms to network or boost your career, what comes to mind first is Facebook, Twitter, or author communities to sell writing services, gain visibility, publish works, receive feedback, etc.
And Instagram?
Instagram continues to be a mystery to authors, notwithstanding its popularity and marketing power. Since they are more “words than pictures people,” authors do not know if it’s sensible to use Instagram for exposure, awareness, and, most importantly, business profits.
How wrong they’re!
Instagram is a powerful tool that can help boost author careers, especially for remote writers. It allows for brand positioning, a wider audience, professional networking, monetization, and more.
But how?
Well, you’ll find out if you keep reading!
Table of Contents
Essential Tips That Can Help Authors Boost Their Careers on Instagram
Find out some tips to help authors exude professionalism and boost their careers on Instagram:
- Make your author bio appealing to your target audience. Do not please everybody; instead, talk to your ideal reader.
- Include your website’s or blog’s link.
- Engage in other people’s posts. Instagram is more than just broadcasting; you also need to interact. Follow others, like their content, and leave comments on their photos.
- Constantly post for people to follow you. You risk losing followers if you don’t post content frequently. Instagram users love catchy content. So, don’t copy or paraphrase other people’s work; create unique content that will attract your audience.
- Describe each picture and video you post on Instagram. Then add hashtags too. This helps in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and enables users with similar interests to find your content. Three to five relevant hashtags are okay. #instabooks and #bookstagram are the two hashtags that authors mostly use.
6 Ways Instagram Can Boost Your Career as an Author
Independent authors are responsible for marketing themselves and their books alone without the help of a publisher. Although it’s not easy, social media can help lessen the hassle and make it more enjoyable.
Instagram is a powerful platform to advance writing careers because you can post news, book trailers, and posters. Let’s look at how Instagram can boost writing careers for authors.
1. Book Promotion
One advantage of not having a publisher is having complete control of your book alongside its marketing campaign. And to take advantage of this, you should map out a content strategy and share valuable content.
From the shop feature to hashtags to reels, all Instagram features and tools can help boost writing careers for remote authors. Below are examples of how you can explore these Instagram features.
Share promotional photos
To promote upcoming book releases or events, you can make posters using mobile apps like Canva. When you have many reviews/feedback, you can put out the top snippets on an image.
So, these reviews can make up for your marketing content, and you can use them to promote your book on Instagram. This way, everyone will know how well your book is doing.
Again, remember to maintain Instagram’s image and video sizes when making posters and photos.
Share stories, reels, and videos about your book
There are several ways you can liven up your Instagram profile. However, audio-visual contents draw more attention. However, you have to keep a social but professional mindset.
Book trailers are a typical marketing weapon for authors. So, you can share them on Instagram to attract people effectively.
Additionally, you can include animated content. However, try to be creative around it.
On the other hand, stories and reels are great for getting personalized with your marketing strategy. But try not to make them very confusing or casual.
For example, you can share footage of your pet or a fan holding your book. This is more attention-grabbing than just begging your audience to purchase it.
Make Live Broadcasts
A live broadcast will be a perfect fit if you want to do a question-and-answer session. This is one great way remote authors can boost their writing careers on Instagram. However, you need to take out time and plan things right.
It’s also important to know that doing live broadcasts all the time can be tiring. So, reserve it for question & answer sessions or marketing.
2. Talk about your author’s journey.
Author careers on Instagram can thrive remotely if these wordsmiths frequently share their author journeys.
This is a way of connecting with your audience more personally. And this time, you’re promoting yourself as a brand, not your book!
Another advantage of sharing your author journey on Instagram is that it keeps your hungry audience glued to your handle. They always want to read personal stories about your experience, which is an excellent way to feed them.
And beyond that, ensure your content makes sense for your reputation. In addition, you can always carry your followers along in your decision-making process.
For instance, choose between variations of book cover design for your upcoming book(s). It will create more anticipation and make them feel part of your journey.
3. Build a solid fanbase and network
Sharing valuable content on Instagram can help writing careers thrive for many remote authors. The reason is that it allows you to build a solid followership.
Your fellow creatives, authors, or professional publishers could make up this followership base.
Moreover, exploring Instagram’s features and tools gives you various options to attract and connect with like-minded people. But to do this, you should be very active on the platform.
If you’re starting, study how other famous authors, publishers, and bookish people use hashtags instead of using them blindly.
Then emulate them to tag your pictures, videos, and stories for more visibility. At the same time, try to know other authors on Instagram, whether or not they follow you.
Target any of them and support their work if it appeals to you. If you share the same interests, also tag them when necessary.
You can even make plans to collaborate on a project. Doing this can massively boost writing careers for remote authors on Instagram.
4. Share stories about your life
You could share photos and videos about what inspires you to write!
Believe me; your readers want to see everything that inspires you to write, from your workspace to the books you read to your computer screen.
You could even share photos and videos of your recent weekend trip or vacation, your boat ride, or a walk with a pet.
If you blend all these with the points already mentioned, your wall will never be boring. And your readers will always be glued, anticipating more content from you.
There isn’t a better way for writers to boost their writing careers on Instagram than this!
5. Monetize your Instagram account
As an author, knowing how to monetize your Instagram account is essential. The social media platform already has many offerings for famous brands, meaning that your account has to be reliable and popular to qualify for monetization on Instagram.
And while learning about Instagram’s tools, ensure you read Instagram’s Content Monetization Policies.
So, authors who have business accounts on Instagram can monetize it in the following ways:
- Make money from popular Instagram reels.
- Collaborate with brands to create branded content.
- Open a shop on Instagram and sell merchandise, books, etc.
- Set up an affiliate program via your Instagram shop.
- Create Instagram subscriptions for your audience with special bookish perks.
Even though you don’t turn your Instagram account into a business, you can monetize your work in other ways. For instance, you can link to your website where your services, products, and books are available for purchase.
All these are additional ways remote authors can boost their writing careers on Instagram.
6. Play around Instagram as an author
Marketing as an author is something you should constantly do, and Instagram is an excellent platform to do this. Exploring its features and engaging in other people’s work can help authors boost their writing careers on Instagram.
Besides this, ensure you share content regularly and be versatile to stay relevant on the platform. Also, come up with other ways to engage your audience. You could create polls, share tips, guides, etc.
Bottom Line
Author careers can be successful on Instagram only if you maximize the tools and features on the platform. There’s no limit to how you can grow your author career on Instagram.
If you’re starting, check out what other professionals like you are doing, learn from them, and consider what your target audience would like. Then implement all to start building your Instagram profile.
FAQs
Instagram is among the best social media platforms for writers. It allows you to create stunning visuals for book promotion and will enable you to position your brand strategically.
Here’s how authors can use Instagram:
Share meaningful content.
Post frequently.
Share consistent kinds of content.
Create solid aesthetics.
Use top-quality photos on Instagram.
Interact with your audience.
Talk about your life.
Do giveaways.
AmWriting, #WriterWednesday, #FridayReads, #BookGiveaway, #WritersLife, #WordCount, #FollowFriday, #WritingPrompt.
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