Hi there! As I’m creeping up on 20k on bookstagram (WHAT?!) I thought it would be a great time to share more about my bookstagram growth journey for any of my bookstagrammers who have been discouraged recently or want insight into my journey.
I started my account in March 2022. I hit 1k In April 2022 and 5k in September 2022. And I started 2023 at 6k. As you can tell from that breakdown, growth can appear as if it happened quickly, but it can also (in my case) take time. Many times last year, I was frustrated about not growing. That said, I still had a wonderful bookstagram experience. From my experience, publishers & authors are looking for individuals who are passionate about books and will hype them up. You can be that person regardless of whether you have 100, 1,000, or 10,000 followers.
The main question I’ve gotten this year is, “How did you grow so fast?” Unfortunately, there isn’t a single answer, but here are some things I’ve done this year:
- Created an identifiable brand (colors & a new @ name)
- Started posting consistently
- Consistently poll my followers to see what they’d like to see next.
- Learn from other bookstagrammers (i.e., Tina (@bookedtildawn)
- Experiment with new types of posts
Lastly, you WILL lose followers. It sucks, and it’s not a great feeling. But it is inevitable. None of us are immune to it. As much as I try to create content that my followers enjoy, I can’t make everyone happy. I’ve lost nearly 600 followers in the past month, and you know what? That’s a-okay. That means they weren’t finding value on my page. I want people to get the most out of my feed, and I’m grateful to everyone who wants to hear me talk about books!
I’ve loved watching your bookstagram journey and have garnered so much inspiration from your account! I have also found that the key is to consistently show up (even when it feels hard or like there’s little return on your investment), be willing to try new things and have fun with it! Take breaks when you need to and always remember why you started. I’m excited to continue watching you grow!
You’re so kind! Thank you so much for this thoughtful comment. I completely agree! There were so many months where I asked myself, “why am I even posting?” But I had to remind myself that I post for myself and not for others. Sure, I would love to help people find books that they love, but numbers aren’t everything, and hyper-fixating on them can take the fun out of it. I loved hearing your perspective. Thanks so much for sharing. I love your page 🙂