I started my Bookstagram journey in late October of 2020 on a random Thursday night. I was mostly bored, adjusting to going to college during a pandemic, and craving a community. I was getting used to spending most of my time alone. I had recently rediscovered my love of reading in quarantine and my wallet was hurting from coming across the booktok community and being a lurker on Bookstagram. I realized I wanted a place to share all my bookish opinions as well as my journey toward becoming a writer. So I thought, why not try it? What do you have to lose? Then I hit the create a new account button on Instagram, snapped some bookish photos with my iPhone, and now hear I am four months later with a bunch of new book loving friends.
I never imagined that I would actually make friends or that people would actually care about what I had to say that night. I never thought I would be able to influence people to read my favorite books. I never thought I would have authors in my DMs asking me to review their books. Yet here I am. This is definitely one of those "if I can do it so can you" stories. I won't pretend to be an expert on Bookstagram or the infamous Instagram algorithm. Let's be real, I only have a few hundred followers. But I have learned a lot in these few months that I thought I would share with anyone looking to bust into this community.
So, without further ado, here's what I've learned after my first four months (or year, actually lol) on Bookstagram.
Show Your Face
This one can be scary. The internet is a scary place and putting yourself out there for everyone to see is terrifying. But, take a deep breath and do it. People are more likely to follow and interact with someone they know is a real person. Instagram is so bot heavy. If you spend anytime on the platform, you will find accounts that are obviously not real people. It easy to identify these accounts. They usually have thousands of followers, yet little to no content. This is the eternal battle of Instagram. You have to set yourself apart from these types of accounts. One way you can do this is by showing your face and proving that you are a real person. I know I am more likely to follow an account back if they have pictures of themself. It's actually one of the first things I look for when searching for new accounts to follow.
Even if its just you profile picture, show your face. Personally, I like to post a picture of myself and not just books about once a week or every 4-5 posts. I do this because it reminds my followers that I'm real. I also like the variety it adds to my feed. Whenever I have to dress up for an event or just feel like I look nice, I'll snap a few pictures with some books. This way I don't have to randomly dress up just to take a photo. Now, I'm not saying you should lay your identity out for all to see. You can still be a real person online while still protecting yourself. When I post photos, I make sure I'm not wearing any distinguishable clothing. You won't see me wearing a t-shirt for my college or hometown football team. I also avoid anything that may have a distinguishable location. It's not that people can't find this information about me if they really want it, but I try to make it harder for them. If you just scroll my feed, you won't be able to find too much personal info just from my face. And I still get to be a real person.
{Pro tip: Don't be afraid hit that block button. I know it can be hard at times but it's necessary to keep yourself safe. I check each account that follows me. If the account gives me even the slightest bit of bad vibes, I block them. Just because someone wants to follow you, you aren't obligated to let them. Big sis Nydia is here to tell you that your safety is always more important than someone else's feelings.}
Utilize Instagram Stories
This one kinda goes back to showing your face. Your Instagram stories are where you can show the real you. They don't have to be perfectly edited and fit the flow of your feed. They can just be fun. Snap a pic of your lunch or shoot a video telling a quick story. Jump on your stories and film your immediate reaction to the book you're reading or share one of your favorite recipes. I like to post my word count goals in my stories to keep myself accountable and gather interest in my current work in progress. Sometimes I'll ask questions about books I'm thinking of reading. I also like to post mini book reviews as well.
Stories are also a great way to engage in the Bookstagram community. People will tag you in fun challenges that you can easily participate in. I know for me personally, I feel like people will get annoyed if I keep tagging them in them. But here's the thing, you can do what you want, its your account. So, sometimes I'll participate in things and not tag anyone. Or I'll cheat and say I want to tag anyone that wants to do the challenge. How ever you chose to do it, use your stories. They go a long way in helping you engage with other bookstagramers and cement that you are a real person. Do you sense a theme? Be a real person. And don't be afraid to slide up on people's stories as well. Most of the friends I have made on instagram slide up on my story to chat. Instagram is like everything in life, sometimes you just have to put yourself out there. And here's the thing, even if it doesn't go well, its the internet. You don't have to see these people in your real life, and the people in your real life don't have to know about it. Thinking about it like this helps me keep some perspective. {Pro Tip: If someone tags you in a story that says @soandso asked WID, WBU? they're asking what you're doing. My first few weeks on Bookstagram, I would get tagged in these and have no idea what it meant and it stressed me out. So here's big sis Nydia telling you haha.}
Work On Your Bio
This may seem like a no brainer, but your bio is so important to the success of your account. Seriously. It's one of the first things people will see when they check out your profile. The purpose of your bio is to introduce yourself to potential new followers, and you don't have very much room to do it.
Sum up who you are in a few key words and phrases, including your name. You can out what you do for work in your bio, your favorite color, where you're from, if you in a relationship. Whatever you feel like makes up who you are, put it in there. You can even put your Goodreads goal and current read in your bio as well.
If you're stuck, look through other Bookstagram accounts. See what info they have in their bios and if any of it applies to you. The important thing, again, is that you show you are a real person.
{Pro tip: LinkTree is a great resource for your bio. Instagram only allows you one link in your bio, and if you're like me and have a website or accounts on Goodreads and TikTok that you want to share, that one link isn't enough. Enter LinkTree: it allows you to have links to as many places as you want in a central URL. In mine I have links to my website, my twitter account, my TikTok account, my Goodreads, and my Amazon wishlist.}
Interact
This is another hard one that is super important. For your account to be successful, you have to interact with other content creators in the Bookstagram community. This is one that I sometimes have a heard time doing. While you're scrolling through your feed, take the time to leave a meaningful comment on someones post. By meaningful, I mean something more than "cute photo." Answer their question of the day, add a thought to on ongoing conversation. By doing this, you'll make friends who will return the favor on your posts. Instagrams algorithm is wonky at best. By interacting you will help fellow creators and make friends along the way.
This goes along way with proving you're a real person (I told you I had a theme). And after all, everyone starts a Bookstagram account to talk about *gasp* books. So talk about books with people. Offer book recommendations on post. Comment on someones review of a book you loved. Encourage someone for their beautiful photo. It doesn't really matter how you chose to interact, just that you do. It's a community after all. {Pro tip: start with your own photos. Reply to every person who comments on you post. It goes along way, and it's just the kind thing to do. After that, see if you can return the favor on one of their accounts. Then, start scrolling through your feed. If there's a photo you love, comment on it. If something gets your attention, comment on it. I like to try and comment on photos that don't have a lot of comments on them already to make sure everyone gets at least a bit of engagement with their posts.}
Have Fun
This is the most important tip that I can give you: have fun. Don't focus on how many followers you have or the amount of engagement you are getting. Instead, focus on the conversations you are having, the photos you are creating. I know as well as anyone how draining social media can be. It sometimes feels like an endless cycle of comparison and toxicity. But here's the thing, you can break that cycle. Chose to use Bookstagram as a way to spark joy in your life. Do your thing and have fun doing it. It will reflect in your content and eventually your platform.
Take it from someone who often finds herself dragged down by the numbers, there's no point to it. Social media is fickle at best. Do what you love to do and the rest will follow. Don't allow the things you love become a chore.
Are you apart of any online communities? Let me know in the comments!
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