So many authors come to us wondering when and how to talk about their book for the first time on social media. Doing something new is nerve wracking and we know not all your current followers are interested in the subject. Despite this, if you’re not talking about your book on social media, all you’re doing is missing out! Here are some things to think about when you’re getting ready to talk about your book for the first time.

Describing Your Book

Learning how to describe your book on social media is crucial. You have to try and think about both your current social media audience as well as your intended reader audience as you craft your first posts. Write about your book in a way that a general audience will understand, not just those who are already familiar with the topic. You want to hook potential readers in, but also provide enough clarity so that they’ll know if they would be interested.

Every post you make should include some basic information about your book. Topics you can try talking about or showing imagery of include the cover art, title, subject matter, general premise of the book, and where they can find it. You can’t assume that potential new readers know this information so you want to make it clear but interesting. These two examples show how you can announce your book for the first time by providing a general overview of the topic while keeping the audience interested in learning more.

Thinking About Your Audience

Not all of your current social media audience will be interested in your book’s subject matter, but that’s okay! LinkedIn and X, formerly Twitter, may have your professional contacts while Instagram and Facebook may be where you connect with friends and family. The target for your book might be a separate audience entirely, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk about your book anyway! Getting the word out about your book to as many people as you can is important. This is how you get those from your book’s intended audience to join your social media audience as well.

The first few posts may not do as well as you hope, but this is to be expected so don’t let this fear hold you back. Social media is a land of experimentation and learning what works best for you, so the best thing you can do as you are first getting started is to keep going until something sticks.

If you want to guarantee that more people will see your posts, you can consider the idea of spending some money to run ads. This will help you beat the algorithms and get more eyes on your content. Check out these helpful guides on running ads on Instagram and Facebook to get started. Don’t forget that having quality content is still of the utmost importance. No matter how much you spend on ads, you need to describe your book well first and foremost. 

Once you make your book announcement, keep talking about it! Talk about your book frequently and with purpose. Show social media users why they should follow along on this journey, while continuing to provide basic book information fit for both your niche audience as well as the more general public.

Last week we gave you some tips to optimize your Instagram bio.  Now, I am going to give you some ideas for getting the most out of your “link in bio”.  Instagram sets limits on when and where you can use links.  However, the bio is one place where you have ultimate control over how effective that link is going to be. 

Many people link to their website, which is fine, but there are tools out there that make it possible for you to link to a page that has a list of content your audience could check out.  Ultimately you want to inform and/or entertain your followers. Giving them the best experience when they click you link is your goal.

Link In Bio to Your Website

You can link directly to your home page on your website from your Instagram bio.  If we did that our link would open here.  Now, we have to hope that users decide to spend some time perusing our site through the menu options.  When we have a new blog, we could link directly to that blog post, but what if we have a variety of content including other blogs in that category, special events and promotions, or video? 

According to WebsiteBuilderExpert, “the general sweet spot for good average time on a page, across industries, is around 53 seconds.”  Do you think that’s enough time to get your message across?  A blog can hold attention for up to five minutes, but where does your reader go after that? You could change your link every time you want to have someone visit a different page on your website or you can use a content aggregator like  Linktree.

Using a Link in Bio Content Aggregator

There is more than one resource out there to help you get more content in front of your audience from Instagram or any other platform.  We have been using Linktree for years. 

If you go to the Linktree site you can sign up for free to start.  Their annual fee is determined by different features, but a free account will give you unlimited links and a chance to give them a little donation from time to time.  On the left is an image of what a Linktree page looks like on your computer

From this page you will be able to add different links.  If you look above on the left you will note a purple  “+Add Link” button.  When you click on it, you will see this:

All you need to do is insert the URL of the content page you want people to reach when they click your Instagram link in bio.  It will automatically be added to your list.

On the right hand side of the first image is what your list could look like on your smartphone.  We have our logo and the purple color because it represents our brand.  You can also use basic design functions within Linktree to create that connection to you and your brand or work.  With a content aggregator you can have as many items on the list as you like so a user could scroll down and check out more of what you have to say and share.

Be a Good Content Marketer

A good content marketer will figure out how to connect their platforms so that their audience will easily navigate their offerings.  It takes time to figure out what is optimal, but using a link in bio and a content aggregator is a more efficient way to highlight you and your products.

Check out last week’s blog on Instagram bios.  You can also our free course on book marketing.