Our extended time in isolation has resulted in people picking up new hobbies and falling back into old ones in an effort to make better use of their time. For many, this means dusting off their bookshelves or using online platforms to find new authors. After all, if you can’t go outside and explore at this time, you might as well immerse yourself in a novel to metaphorically travel to new and imagined places.
For some people, their newfound love for reading has helped them to connect with other like-minded bookworms by way of joining virtual book clubs. New communities are forming online, with real-life book clubs pivoting to virtual meeting rooms to discuss a variety of titles and kick-start healthy debates. Even authors are using this tactic to engage with their readers now that book tours have been postponed.
Joining a book club is a fun way to engage with other people who love the same books as you do. But if that’s not your thing, another way to take your reading up a notch is to create your own bookstagram.
What is a bookstagram?
A bookstagram is exactly what it sounds like — an Instagram for books. On the platform, there’s a growing subset of users with Instagram accounts dedicated to their collection of books. If you foster a love for both photography and reading, a bookstagram is an ideal way of bringing your passions together. Not only can the content of the books be admired, but the book itself can also be flaunted, too.
With that being said, starting a bookstagram is not as easy as it sounds. If you want your bookstagram to thrive, here are some tips that can help:
Tips for starting a bookstagram
Come up with an exciting username
For starters, you need to come up with a compelling name you want to brand your bookstagram with. Ideally, it’s a name that is related to either your favourite book or anything connected with literature. Keep in mind that what you pick is eventually what your moniker will be in the long run, so choose wisely. To inspire you, here are the names of some of the most popular bookstagrams: thegirlhasn0name, bookishmadeleine, thebookwormofnotredame, and abookishbaker.
Plan and write content
Even though running a bookstagram is more of a hobby than it is a job, you will still want to create consistency to draw in an audience, which is why you need to plan and write content ahead of time. You will want to come up with something that will make your content stand out and be easily recognisable. As for captions, you should write copy that would entice your followers to engage and browse your feed further. A good tip would be including a question which they can answer in the comments, allowing you to have more interactions with your posts and cultivate relationships fellow bookworms.
Take high-quality shots
If you’re serious about growing your bookstagram, it’s worth creating an at-home studio to conceptualise and take your quality shots. And when it comes to getting the perfect shot, you will need good lighting and props, depending on your theme, so you can better showcase the book’s cover. This will help you attract people to your platform when they see your photos on their feeds. You don’t even have to make use of fancy equipment — using your smartphone to take your bookstagram pictures makes it much easier to edit and post on the spot. If you want better photos, don’t just rely on filters. You can complement your skills with mobile photography accessories to enhance your at-home studio. Remember that people will see the photos before reading the captions, so it’s necessary to have a professional-like quality to them to draw more bookworms in.
Use hashtags
And lastly, you should never forget about hashtags. As with any Instagram account, hashtags can lead to your bookstagram being discovered by more people. Instagram allows you to add up to 30 hashtags to each post, and you should maximise those tags as you post your content. Try to avoid using generic hashtags like #bookstagram and #books, as doing so will only drown your post in the millions of images using the same tags. Instead, curate book hashtags relevant to the specific photo and account. You’ll have better luck being discovered by other like minded people when you decide to use smaller and more relevant hashtags. Using the hashtag tracking tools can be a bonus to monitor all your hashtags.
