10 Instagram Tips for Authors

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I am sure you are already on Pinterest, Google+, YouTube and Flickr to show your book’s cover and scenes from your novel.  The question is: are you also on Instagram?  Why another Social Media site you might ask?  Well, it is one of the easiest platforms to add to your social media mix, it is fast, and it integrates easily into other sites, such as Twitter, so you can show your photos at the major social media sites at once. 

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Instagram is one of the Top Ten most popular smartphone apps with exceptional growth, nearly doubling the numbers of every competitor ahead of it on the list. Instagram has now way over 300 million users!

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More Than Only Your Book’s Cover…
Many possibilities for subtle book promotion, which is a lot less time consuming than other social networking sites. So, what could you post on Instagram?

  1. Post teaser images from your upcoming books.
  2. Reveal some of your scribblings from your Work in Progress.
  3. If you’re giving away an eBook, share a screenshot of the cover.
  4. Reveal “behind the scenes” images of your book signings or talks.
  5. Brag about your book using someone else’s words from a review, a comment, or an email.
  6. Create images with quotes from the book, or share images directly from the book
  7. Share a screenshot of any special sales or discounts for your book as they happen.
  8. Screenshot your five-star reviews and share a snippet of them with a link to your book.
  9. Post photos of some of your to-be-read pile of books giving other authors some promo too.
  10. Create a video from your book signings to boost credibility and authority for yourself as an author
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Be Creative, Start a Photo Contest
Why not ask your readers to shoot nice photo scenes of five or even ten of their friends are reading your book and to send you each single photo?  It means involvement of your book’s audience, engaging friends of your readers, and for sure, spreading the word about your book.  Even more when it includes an attractive first prize… You could for example offer a prize for the photographer and the “model”,  such as an eReader or a small tablet, or a book gift card.  Upload all the images you receive – winner or not – on Instagram and other “image-heavy” Social Media sites.
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Not as Time-Consuming as Other Sites
More and more people are leaving Facebook and Twitter and choose instead Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram. Loading up an image on Instagram takes only seconds, and it is not as time-consuming as other social media sites with similar audience numbers.

As more often you show your books’ cover or short videos on several sites, as more people with recognize your author brand.  There’s a lot to like about Instagram and the potential it has for authors.  It’s another neat way to share your books and to engage further with your followers and readers without spending precious time writing posts.
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Get Practical Tips for Using Instagram:

https://blog.bufferapp.com/instagram-for-business#most

http://brandongaille.com/instagram-profile-optimization-guide-and-cheat-sheet/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/instagram-for-business-tips/

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If you would like to get a mentor and support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer for three months all this and more for only $179 – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,160 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? There is also the “SHARE” button for easy sharing at Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.

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