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.