Instagram’s booming book scene is no secret; there are over 100 million posts with the hashtag #bookstagram on the social media platform. For many authors, Instagram can be an important place to connect with readers and promote their books, both fiction and nonfiction. For inspiration, we’ve put together a list of 16 creative ways nonfiction authors have used Instagram to promote their titles. Though these are all nonfiction examples, we hope this sparks some book marketing ideas regardless of what genre you write or publish!
1. Sharing stylized quotes
James Clear posts quotes from his books, newsletters, and articles to his Instagram account. These posts follow the same stylistic guidelines, white backgrounds with a serifed font, so readers can easily recognize his content in their feed. James includes a simple link in a black box at the bottom so readers know where to go to learn more.
2. Cross-posting content
Ryan Holiday uses his Instagram not only to showcase his books but also to call attention to his other social media accounts and projects. He’ll share short excerpts from longer interviews on his YouTube or podcast, or screenshots of tweets. That way, if readers want to find more content, they know exactly where to look!
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3. Notifying fans where to buy signed copies
Amidst personal life and career updates, Glennon Doyle shared how readers could purchase a signed, limited edition version of her book, Untamed. By timing the release of this exclusive content for around the holiday, she gave readers extra incentive to check it out, whether it be for themselves or loved ones!
Cheryl Strayed shared a compilation of signed and personalized books readers can buy at her local indie bookstore. She included the link in her bio so readers knew exactly where to purchase!
4. Letting readers know of an ebook discount
Denise Duffield-Thomas shared her ebook discount with an eye-catching graphic. She posted this the same week her BookBub Featured Deal went out for additional exposure.
5. Sharing TV appearances as reels
After appearing on Morning Joe on MSNBC, Ibram X. Kendi shared a snippet of his interview as an Instagram Reel. Instagram Reels are video clips with a maximum length of 60 seconds, which can be found in a user’s normal feed or the Reels explore feed.
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6. Sharing a reading
Clint Smith shared a snippet of his book How the Word Is Passed via a video reading he did on CBS This Morning. He posted the video as an Instagram Reel. To entice audiobook and podcast fans, he also shared a clip of him reading a passage from his book using the IGTV feature, which allows you to post longer videos than Reels.
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7. Creating themed playlists
In addition to sharing cool stylized photos and behind-the-scenes images in his feed, Hanif Abdurraqib has created and shared Spotify playlists for his books. These playlists give readers insight into the connection Hanif has with each of his essay collections.
8. Sharing reader appreciation
Ashley C. Ford uses her Instagram to share her book journey. She writes personal captions that often address her readers directly. Below she expressed excitement and appreciation for the response to her book, Somebody’s Daughter.
9. Posting review excerpts
Between artistic pictures of plants (one of this author’s favorite subjects), Michael Pollan shared excerpts from reviews using fonts, graphics, and styles similar to his latest book cover to draw a visual connection.
10. Connecting with other authors
During Olivia Laing’s book tour for Everybody, she used Instagram to display her work alongside that of her interview companions. Laing wrote a caption that explains the connection to her fellow author’s work.
11. Posting event details
When Cathy Park Hong is participating in an event, she shares event details ahead of time as a post on her Instagram feed. She also links the event in her Instagram bio, so followers know exactly where they can go to sign up.
12. Highlighting a book’s anniversary
As a part of the one-year anniversary of her book Caste, Isabel Wilkerson did an eight-part series on Instagram explaining the pillars of caste she researched and compiled while writing the book. She featured a quote from her work as the image and wrote a caption briefly explaining the quote.
13. Announcing international releases
Yuval Noah Harari announced that his book was available in the UK with this comic-like graphic of the Union Jack.
14. Creating a story highlight for each book
Ijeoma Oluo creates a story highlight for each book she releases. In her story, she reshares posts featuring the book, snippets from interviews, and event details. When the story expires after 24 hours, her followers can revisit them using the story highlight.
15. Announcing a book launch
Clint Pulver excitedly announced the release of his new book, thanking readers for their support. He included retailer information in the image so readers knew where they could purchase.
16. Sharing a book unboxing reel
Esmé Louise James filmed her heartfelt reaction to receiving the first physical copies of her new book. At the end of the video is a quick call to action branded with her book’s bright colors, letting her readers know the book was available to preorder.
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Want to share this post? Here are ready-made tweets!
Click to tweet: Clever ways to promote nonfiction books on Instagram:
🧠 Share a reading
🧠 Post stylized quotes
🧠 Create story highlights
🧠 Announce international releases
More ideas here! https://bit.ly/3sUM0g7
Click to tweet: Looking for creative ways to promote your nonfiction book on Instagram? Check out this article! 📚📸 https://bit.ly/3sUM0g7
This post was last updated on August 8, 2024.
