8 Must-Know Bookstagram Tips For Beginners (Read Before Starting A Bookstagram)

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8 Must-Know Bookstagram Tips For Beginners (Read Before Starting A Bookstagram)

I’ve been on bookstagram for over a year now and I do think I have some useful bookstagram tips for beginners.

In this blog post, I not only give you tips but also the harsh truths about bookstagram.

If you’re reading this, I assume you are thinking of starting a bookstagram or you already have one and are looking for tips to grow your bookstagram.

Bookstagram is a great platform to meet like-minded readers (and also writers!). However, there’s a lot to learn about starting a bookstagram and this may overwhelm you.

Don’t worry, almost any content you create will feel intimidating at first.

Disclaimer: This blog post may contain affiliate links. They are of NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. Thank you for supporting my blog and I hope this post helps you 🙂

Popular Bookstagram Resources You Don’t Wanna Miss:

Ultimate Bookstagram Guide: How To Start A Bookstagram (7 Beginner Friendly Steps)

8 Bookstagram Tips For Beginners

Don’t Spend Too Much Time On Deciding A Bookstagram Theme

bookstagram tips for beginners, bookstagram theme ideas

Bookstagram themes are fun to look at. Of course you’d want your bookstagram to look aesthetic.

But in all honesty, your bookstagram aesthetic is not going to be the ONLY reason why people follow you.

The more books you read, the more quality reviews you put out there that adds value to someone’s life, the more your account will grow.

So don’t spend weeks picking the right bookstagram theme! Just go with one and you can change it whenever you like!

Some popular bookstagram themes to help you decide on your theme:

Checkout more bookstagram post ideas and some bookstagram props for inspiration in curating your feed!

Pick The RIGHT Bookstagram Name.

Why is picking the right bookstagram name important?

To have a successful personal brand across all socials and blogs.

I made the mistake of naming my bookstagram differently from my blog (read here on how to avoid the mistake I made).

When picking the right bookstagram name, here are a few things to consider:

Is the username available on all relevant social media accounts?
Is there a domain available with that same name? (in case you want to start a book blog)
Is the name easy to remember?
Is the name easy to spell out?

For more tips on picking the right bookstagram name, checkout this step-by-step guide on picking the right bookstagram name.

Post Consistently On Bookstagram.

Quantity vs Quality, which one works better for bookstagram?

In my opinion, sure your posts have to be of quality but quantity really puts you on the edge when compared to other bookstagrammers.

Instagram values creators that can keep users on the platform for a longer period of time. By creating more content, you’re an “active creator” in Instagram’s eyes and the algorithm will favour you.

So posting often and consistently will boost your post reach and therefore engagement.

How often should you post on bookstagram?

If you’re a beginner, try posting 1-2 a week. Once you’re used to creating content (posts, IGTV, reels), 3-4 times a week will help your bookstagram account grow.

Don’t pressure yourself to post as often. I haven’t posted in the last month due to the hectic work life I have.

Everyone’s life is different, we have different responsibilities, always put yourself and your mental health first. Social media can wait! 🙂

Use 30 Bookstagram Hashtags On Your Posts.

Maximise your reach and use all 30 hashtags.

Instagram allows you to put 30 hashtags in a post or in the comments of the post.

If you don’t use all 30, you’re “wasting” potential reach and engagement.

And don’t just use any hashtags. Have a good mix of different sized hashtags.

This is important because using too many big hashtags means there will be tons of posts and your post will be swamped with the others.

bookstagram hashtags, bookstagram tips for beginners

Use smaller hashtags that are within the range of 100K-500K posts.

If you’re really looking to grow your bookstagram fast, use even smaller sized hashtags (2000-20,000 posts).

bookstagram malaysia, bookstagram tips for beginners

Don’t forget to use localized hashtags. This is very important to get noticed by bookstagrammers within your country/community. Eg: (#malaysianbookstagrammer, #bookstagramindia, #malaysiamembaca)

Optimise Your Bookstagram Bio.

bookstagram tips for beginners, bookstagram bio ideas

People often underestimate how important your bookstagram bio is.

Along with your bookstagram feed, your bio also gives people who land on your profile a first impression of who you are, what you do and where you are from.

Bookstagram bio ideas aren’t that difficult to come by. You can draw inspiration from other bookstagrammers.

Some things to include in your bookstagram bio are:

Your name (real or made up, doesn’t matter)
Your country flag (this helps other bookstagrammers from your country to find you)
Your current read
Your yearly reading goal count
If you’re a rep for any brands (you can include a discount code too)
A link! (I recommend linktree because you can link to your blog or other socials)
CTA (eg: follow for XXX, DM/email for collab)

Monetize Your Bookstagram Instantly.

Keyword – INSTANTLY.

But, do bookstagrammers make money?

Yes they do. Biggest mistake I see most bookstagrammers make – they don’t monetize their bookstagram immediately despite having been on the platform for years.

If you’re a beginner bookstagrammer and have a small following, you can still monetize your few hundred followers.

Your quality of followers are more important than the quantity of followers. Although cliche, it is true.

If the few people who follow you really trust your book recommendations (or even other related product recommendations), they will buy it.

But how do you make money on bookstagram despite being a beginner?

Here are a couple of ways:

Affiliate marketing (join AWIN affiliate network and sign up for Book Depository affiliate program)
Sponsored posts (approach authors, publishers, bookstores or relevant brands)

Instagram has made affiliate marketing WAY easier than ever. With link stickers, you can now insert links into your stories.

Your audience will be able to tap on it and they will be directed to the website to purchase.

With sponsored posts, sometimes authors or brands may not pay you for a review of their book or product, but you’ll be able to get free books and products.

So, if you’re wondering how do you get free books on bookstagram, you can directly approach authors, publishers and book distributors.

Bonus tip: Have a media kit ready for you to attach in your emails when approaching authors and brands you want to work with.

If you don’t have a media kit, checkout Canva – there are a few free ones! If you want an affordable media kit that is proven to work for many influencers and you can easily edit on Canva, checkout this one.

Connect With Bookstagrammers Outside Of Your Country

This is your chance to make friends from different parts of the world!

How cool is it to find friends from different cultural backgrounds that have the same interest as you do?

Pretty cool.

Take advantage of the platform any cultivate genuine relationships with people from all over the world.

If that overwhelms you, start small and make friends with bookstagrammers in the same country.

Recently I had the honour of meeting one of my bookstagram friends, Hanie (@phs.n ). We are from the same country, but different states.

We got the chance to go to a bookstore together and also did a book exchange!

Use Bookstagram As A Tool For Growth

Although you are free to read whatever and post whatever you want on your bookstagram. You can step out of your comfort zone by using bookstagram as a platform to grow (if you allow yourself to do so).

Joining reading challenges, buddy reads or book clubs are just some of the ways to broaden your knowledge.

It’s not always about pretty pictures (but if that’s your bookstagram goal – to create pretty edits then that’s totally ok! Learning how to shoot and edit photos is a form of creative growth).

Think about how you can add value to your life and also to the people who are following you.

I never knew I liked reading asian literature, if I never allowed myself to step out of my reading comfort zone, I would not have discovered my favourite book – The Question of Red by Lakshmi Pamuntjak.

And I bet that you have not heard of this brilliant book either.

That’s because sometimes, we stick to what we know on bookstagram. We don’t give ourselves permission to read the less popular books.

Another book that I picked up thanks to bookstagram – Before The Coffee Gets Cold and Before The Coffee Gets Cold (tales from the cafe).

bookstagram tips for beginners — Read her full review **here**.

Most satisfactory part of it all is being able to add value to someone’s life.

I love seeing people tagging me in book reviews or DM-ing me on Instagram about how they picked up a book because of my review.

So there you have it, 8 bookstagram tips for beginners.

I may not be the most experienced person to give you the best bookstagram tips for account growth, but I do know that bookstagram did contribute to my personal growth and I hope these tips are somewhat helpful to you.

Popular Bookstagram Posts For Extra Tips and Tricks:

8 Must-Know Bookstagram Tips For Beginners (Read Before Starting A Bookstagram)

8 Must-Know Bookstagram Tips For Beginners (Read Before Starting A Bookstagram)

8 Bookstagram Tips For Beginners