How often should I post?
On TikTok, your goal should be to post anywhere from 3-5 times per week. This kind of cadence helps keep your book front-of-mind for your reader without overwhelming them.
Incorporate your own visual style
Start by creating your own unique theme, background, or color palette for your posts. Over time, this will help make sure your content is instantly recognizable by your fans. Use your book cover design as inspiration to create a more unified look.
Plan your content around key themes
TikTok users love different content themes and your imagination is the only limit in terms of what you can come up with. Various themes you can try, depending on your book genre, include:
- My writing journey
- Behind-the-scenes
- Character development and inspiration
- Settings worth exploring
Use popular hashtags
Popular hashtags on the BookTok community of TikTok include #BookTok, #BookRecommendations, #BookLover, and #ReadingCommunity. Of course, you can also choose narrower (but still popular) options like #RomanceBooks or #FantasyReads depending on the genre of your book.
Combine broad and niche hashtags
Along with popular hashtags, choose more niche-related options specific to your genre (like #YAThrillers). This lets you reach a more specific audience in addition to the wider-reaching options.
Create your own custom hashtag
Make sure readers never miss a post by creating your own custom hashtag, such as #YourBookTitle or #YourBookTitleAuthorName. This helps ensure that new potential readers can quickly find and follow your posts under a more broad “umbrella” hashtag. Plus it's great for building up your brand as a newly self-published author!
Hook your readers early
When creating a TikTok video, start with a compelling hook to grab attention in the first three seconds. It could be a particularly powerful quote from your book, a character teaser, or a tense situation. By using great storytelling in your videos, you'll captivate readers as they come along with you on an inspiring, uplifting, or chilling journey.
Share updates on your progress
Even if your book isn't self-published yet, you can still bring potential readers along on your journey. Share updates on your writing process or your publishing journey. Share cover reveals or host feedback sessions to gain valuable insights on what your readers are looking for.
Introduce your characters
TikTok is a great way to introduce readers to your characters as if they were real people. Share “a day in the life” of your protagonist or create a video around “5 things (character) would never do.” Fun twists like these keep readers engaged and interested in what might happen next.
Take advantage of trend matching
Trend matching is the use of popular soundtracks, challenges or memes that match the theme or genre of your book. Use these types of matches where it makes sense rather than just tagging along for the sake of a trend. When done right, they can catapult the exposure of your book to a whole new audience.
Create challenges related to your book's theme
Depending on your book's theme, you can create a variety of unique challenges that will engage your readers and encourage them to participate. For example, host a “blind reaction to the last chapter” challenge to get videos that you can then leverage as user-generated content to create your own reaction mashup.
Create “book aesthetic” videos
Aesthetic-style videos are always popular on TikTok, and you can take advantage of this popular trend as an author as well. Create aesthetic-style videos showing images, sounds, or snippets that accurately capture the atmosphere of your book. For example, a mystery thriller might use dark, moody visuals and suspenseful music, while a romance novel would feature softer pastel colors.
You can even create individual character aesthetics by creating visuals for each character. This gives readers a visual “anchor” to imagine the character as they read.
Host a virtual book launch on TikTok
On release day, host a virtual “launch party” on TikTok Live. Include snippets of readings, author insights, and an interactive Q & A to celebrate your book's launch. Announce the launch beforehand and drum up excitement with a series of mysterious posts or images.
A month before the launch, start posting teaser content and consider using a unique hashtag like #Countdownto(BookTitle).
Create POV (point of view) videos for more immersive content
POV videos make the viewer feel like a character in your book's universe. For example: “POV: You're the savvy detective who just blew the case wide open in (Your Book's Title).” Speak directly to the audience in the voice of your protagonist (or antagonist), giving them insights into that character's thoughts or motivations.
Collaborate with BookTok influencers
BookTok influencers can be a valuable source of potential readers. Look for influencers who enjoy reading books in your genre and have a considerable following. Reach out to them with a personalized message and offer them a free copy of your book in exchange for an honest review.
You can also consider giving BookTok influencers special incentives like exclusive interviews or Q & A sessions with you one-on-one when they actively promote your book to their followers.
Share book reviews and reader reactions
Reader reviews and reactions are an excellent way to build up “social proof” that shows just how good your book is. Be sure to take screenshots of reader comments, reviews and reactions. If you have their permission, tag the reader or reviewer and use their review to help build your own community of followers. Make sure to get their permission first!
Create cinematic teasers with “read alouds”
You don't have to be a video editing pro to create a cinematic teaser. Record yourself reading a few powerful, thought-provoking, or intriguing lines from your book. Add in dramatic pauses or emotions to make the excerpt feel cinematic.
Along these same lines, consider sharing a short, powerful cliffhanger scene to generate even more interest and excitement. Add text like “What do you think will happen next?” to keep readers guessing and drive even more interest.
Add a personal touch with video reactions
Nothing gets BookTok readers more excited about connecting with an author than their own personal video reactions. Record the moment you unbox the first copies of your book. Showcase the genuine reaction of you holding a copy of your freshly printed, beautifully designed new book!
This is also the perfect opportunity to show readers reacting to different scenes of your book (with their permission of course)!
Experiment with TikTok ads for targeted exposure
TikTok ads are a great way to increase interest in your book while matching it to readers who enjoy that genre. Boost your highest-performing videos and use TikTok's built-in demographics together with in-feed ads to reach more readers interested in your topic.
Try out an author duet
An author duet is where authors partner together in similar genres and do joint TikTok LIVE sessions together. They often discuss themes that their books have in common or do mutual book recommendations or reactions to reach each other's audiences. BookTok influencers and creators also do these types of duets, so be sure to join the discussion and participate to get more visibility for your own story!
Experience deeper engagement with TikTok LIVE
TikTok LIVE is a great way to let readers engage with you and your book on a deeper level. Regular LIVE events can be an excellent opportunity to discuss your book in more detail, do a “sneak peak” of what's to come, or take questions from your readers.
You can also coordinate live sessions with other influencers or authors where each one talks about their work and shares insights with viewers. Combining TikTok LIVE with polls, questions, or giveaways is a great way to encourage reader interaction, too.
Track metrics with TikTok analytics
To make sure that all of your TikTok marketing initiatives are paying off, pay close attention to TikTok analytics. These metrics will give you insights on how your content is performing, including engagement rates, view counts, and details about your followers.
Focus on the videos that are driving the most engagement. If you notice certain videos, themes, or content (like character introductions or genre discussions) that's generating more interest, lean into those and refine your strategy. Remember, TikTok is always changing and evolving, so don't be afraid to mix up your techniques!
Include fan theories and speculation
Perhaps nothing draws fans and authors closer together than theories and speculation. Invite readers to guess what might happen in the next chapter or ask thought-provoking questions about different characters' motivations or actions.
Invite fans to share their own theories and film your reaction to their theories. Drop subtle hints along the way ... are they on the right track with their guesses?
Generate more fan interaction with “what if” moments
What if this character had made a different choice? What if that character had taken a different path? How much would that have shaped the story? “What if” moments are a great way to get readers invested in your story and interacting with you, as well as presenting fresh new perspectives.
Encourage fans to come up with their own “what if” scenarios and feature some of the best in a future video.
Use TikTok's effects and transitions creatively
TikTok features a variety of unique transitions and effects with every video you create, but be sure not to overdo it. Use effects that match your book's genre, such as black and white filters for a noir-themed book, or fantasy-themed effects for magic-heavy stories.
You can also incorporate unique TikTok transitions like “flashbacks” or “chapter changes” to make your story feel more immersive and dynamic. Play around with them and you'll be surprised by what you can create, even if you don't have any prior video editing or content creation experience!
Host writing tips and author journey segments
Apart from deep dives into your book and its characters or other details, readers also want to know about the person behind the book. Share videos about your writing process, such as what you do to overcome writer's block or how you develop a character from scratch.
Not only does this help readers get to know you better, but it also helps inspire aspiring writers as well, and you never know who could be looking up to you as a mentor or role model!
Record a “first lines” challenge
Record a video of yourself reading the first line (or lines) of your book dramatically. Caption it “First line challenge: Will you keep reading?” to invite even more intrigue. Encourage readers to share their reaction or record their own video response to the challenge.
Do a character AMA (ask me anything)
Host an AMA (“ask me anything”) as your character, where you take follower questions and answer them from the perspective of one of your characters. If a character is particularly interesting or inspiring, you can use that as a springboard to share the inspiration behind the character, or set the stage for possible future plans involving them.
Sharing your book on TikTok and making it look great
Now that you have several solid ideas of ways to promote your book on TikTok by yourself, with your readers, and with BookTok influencers, the next question is — how do you make sure your book looks absolutely stunning in the process?
TikTok readers are all about quality, which means your book has to tick all the boxes when it comes to looking its best. You've already done the hard work of creating the characters, coming up with a fascinating plot, and writing a memorable storyline. But what if you don't know the first thing about book design and layout, editing, or even book marketing?
The good news is, you don't have to. That's where BookBaby comes in. Our dedicated team of professionals can help take your vision and story and transform it into a polished, finished piece you'll be proud to call your own.
Why publish with BookBaby?
At BookBaby, we don't just throw a bunch of resources at you and leave it to you to figure it all out yourself. From cover design to layout, to printing and formatting, we're committed to exceeding your expectations at every step. That's why we stand behind our work with a 100% guarantee.
Our 100% satisfaction guarantee
We want you to be absolutely delighted with your finished book. If by any chance you're not exceedingly happy with the quality and design of your book, we'll work with you until you are. That's our commitment and our guarantee to your satisfaction.
Premium print quality
Thanks to our innovative, modern printing facility, our printing quality is comparable to (or even better) than what you can expect from popular publishing companies such as Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and others. We invest in top-grade paper, premium-quality printing processes, and an unsurpassed attention to detail, and the results show through from the first page to the last.
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We're more than just a book printing company. We're here for you every step of the way, supporting your book (and you as an author) for a lifetime. We'll make sure you get dedicated guidance at every stage of the book publishing process, including:
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Our seasoned editors can help refine your book to its absolute best, while our interior formatting designers can create a professional look for the interior of your book that rivals that of large-scale publishing houses. Want to publish digitally? We can format and prepare your eBook for sale as well, helping you reach a whole new audience through Amazon Kindle, Nook, and other eReaders.
Translation and audiobooks
We can even translate your book to other languages (59 to be exact!) and record your book using a professional voiceover specialist so that you can reach an even larger audience with audiobook recording. How much more could you sell your book if you suddenly tapped into a global audience or an audience of readers who prefer to listen as part of their workout routine or their morning commute?
Support for indie authors through Bookshop
Bookshop is BookBaby's own book portal for the indie author community. It's where we share the latest new releases, too. You can see a variety of books from many different genres as well as browse the many outstanding covers we've created for self-published authors just like you!
Plus, as a published author with BookBaby, you'll get your own Bookshop page as well, where you earn the highest royalty rates in the industry. Add your Bookshop link to your TikTok and encourage people to buy your book directly without paying added royalties! You don't need any web design or development experience to set up your Bookshop page either — we handle it all for you from start to finish!
Getting started with book publishing?
If you're still dreaming about publishing your own book, it's time to make that dream a reality. BookBaby is your one-stop source for all things self-publishing, book printing, design, and marketing. Why search all over the web to find a graphic designer, a print shop, an editor, and everything else when you can get it all right under one roof?
Of course, we understand that publishing a book, even self-publishing, is no small feat. You likely have lots of questions, like:
- Should I choose a print book or an eBook or both as my book format?
- What is the best trim size and paper stock? How do I choose?
- Can I print a hardcover book with BookBaby?
- How long should my book be?
- What is Print On Demand?
We've answered them all in our detailed FAQ and price list where you can instantly get pricing and quotes for a variety of services we offer.
Free support for self-published authors
Last but not least, we also offer helpful support and free guides for aspiring self-published authors. In addition to our complete catalog where you can see all of the ways that BookBaby can help you publish like a pro, we also have specific guides to help you:
- Plan out your book launch
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- Ask questions you need to ask in order to find the perfect editor for your book (and no, it doesn't have to be you!)
- Learn how to go from manuscript to marketplace as a self-published author
- Learn how to prepare your graphic files for book printing
- Learn how to prepare your eBook files for proper conversion
- Discover the three steps you MUST take as part of your early-stage book marketing
- Learn how to get more holiday book sales ... and more
Over 50,000 self-published authors use BookBaby to professionally design, print, publish, and market their books, and we'd love for you to join them!
Take the next step now and realize your dreams of becoming a published author with BookBaby's professional services. Let us work with you every step of the way to bring your voice to the page in a way that amazes and delights you and your readers. Contact us today or get a free quote on our book design, marketing, and publishing services to learn more!