My 6 Months On Bookstagram
What I Learned
Hello my lovely readers!!!
Welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet where I talk all things books.
February is here and the weather is finally giving us a break from the cold. About time.
This week marked my 6 months on bookstagram. And I also happened to reach 500 followers on my bookstagram account. 500 is no big number by any means, but it’s the most followers I’ve ever had on an Instagram account but it’s also the first time where I wasn’t actively trying to gain followers so that was almost funny. But it also taught me something.
Prior to this, I’ve had two Instagram accounts. Both dedicated to art and in both, I’ve tried actively to gain followers and in both, I’ve failed. After spending months following Instagram growth hacks and doing everything your Instagram coaches tell you to do, I never reached 300 followers. So, by the time I started my bookstagram, I’d already given up on that.
My goal, in starting my account was sharing my love for books and connecting with people who share my love for books. So, I did exactly that. I went on Instagram and started looking for people who post about books, especially the type of books I enjoy. I’d go to the hashtags of classic literature, Russian literature, Wuthering Heights etc. and I’d interact with those posts. Because those posts actually got me excited. And as I did, it worked in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
The people whose posts I commented on, started to come comment on my posts and in some cases, even follow me. That was truly like an epiphany for me, because I had tried so hard, in my past accounts, to get engagement on my posts, but I hardly got any. But when I had less than 100 followers on my bookstagram account, I still had more likes and comments than I used to have on my 200 followers art accounts. That was really eye-opening because having followers is pointless if those followers don’t even care about what you’re posting.
And the thing is, even on my art account, I’ve tried to comment and engage with other people’s posts but it’s a lot more hard work because honestly, it doesn’t always come from the heart. Art, as much as I love it, I don’t love it as much as books. Books are literally the one thing that makes life tolerable to me, the one constant in my life, talking about books comes naturally to me. I’d start talking about books with literally anyone, just let me talk freely for five minutes.
And being here on the bookish side of Instagram, being part of a small community, it’s nice. I have booksta ‘friends’ that I’m actually interested in, like I genuinely want to see what they’re reading and what they think of those books. As I’ve grown older, it’s become practically impossible for me to make friends. I was never good at making friends to begin with. But now I feel like I have some friends again, and to me, that’s the most rewarding part of bookstagram. It seems that the point of social media is to be social, who could’ve guessed?
But there’s one ‘hack’ I’ve learned after being on bookstagram these six months. That is, posting Tolstoy or Dostoevsky gets you likes. So, do what you will with that information.
What about you? Are you part of any online book community? Don’t forget to let me know.
For more of my bookish ramblings, you can also find me on Instagram
Also, if you’d like me to write for you, you can contact me at joyiewrites@gmail.com
That’s it for today, I'll be back in your inbox next week.
Until then,
Joyie 🌻