A colossal amount of data is posted to social networks every day. Hashtags give networks a way to sort through and classify this data. When someone wants to search for a certain topic on Instagram or Twitter they use hashtags. Authors using hashtags increase their search visibility enabling them to connect with new readers and grow their following. You can use hashtags to classify your own posts and join in other hashtag topics.
Where to use hashtags?
Facebook - No or at least sparingly.
Research has shown that hashtags do not increase the visibility of Facebook posts, as users don’t search Facebook content via hashtags. In fact it might have the adverse effect of annoying your followers.
Twitter - Yes. One to two per post.
On Twitter the current recommendation is one or two hashtags per post. This increases engagement by 21%. When you start using more hashtags your engagement rates immediate lower.
Instagram - Yes. Put them in the comments.
You can use up to 30 hashtags per Instagram post. There is no clear guide to exactly how many you should use. Some say 5, others say 11, some say use them all. Studies show that photos with 11 or more tags get the highest rates of engagement. If you are going to use over 5 it’s best to put them in the comments so they don’t look overly spammy and get in the way of your message.
YouTube - Yes.
Use hashtags in your video titles and descriptions. Don’t use more than 15 hashtags or YouTube will disregard your tags.
Pinterest - Yes but not too many.
Pinterest encourages sparse use of hashtags to search content. While you can place hashtags in account descriptions, board titles, board descriptions or profile names these are not searchable. The only place you can click and search hashtags are in a Pin’s description. Unique hashtags (for searching only on a very specific topic) work best on Pinterest. Consider using your author name as a hashtag on your posts here.
Google Plus - Yes, automatic
Google Plus automatically formulates hashtags for you or you can add your own.
Hashtags for Authors
#amwriting – the author favorite.
#authorlife – works with most author posts, including behind-the-scenes type posts.
#authorconfession – same as authorlife, also used for any difficulties along with #authorproblems.
#nanowrimo – Popular for the Nanowrimo month of November.
#campnanowrimo - virtual novel writing month held in April and June.
#writingcommunity - broader writing than fiction, tends to be popular with poets.
#amreading – Also popular with the bookstagram community.
Others include: #amediting, #amquerying, #writingprompt, #writingsprint, #writingtip, #writershelpingwriters, #whereiwrite, #books, #igauthor, #authorsofinstagram, #authorsofig.
Specific hashtags according to your genre. These are fantastic for reaching your target audience and other authors in your genre, e.g #yalit, #amwritingromance, #kindleromance, #amwritingscifi #scifi.
And of course my favourite hashtag #wildmindcreative
As a writer, you know how satisfying to have a flash of creative inspiration and feel that you just can’t type the words fast enough. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen every day. The reality is that you’re going to have days when you don’t feel motivated to write at all. Learning to say motivated is a valuable skill for any writer to learn. After all, if you waited around to feel 100% motivated before you write anything then your book may never get written. So let’s look at what you can do to stay inspired to write.
If we take up a new sport or learn a language or musical instrument we don’t hesitate to tell our friends. Yet to admit to writing, not on your life! For this reason, most writing advice books begin with the sage advice to declare yourself a writer. Surely beginner music lessons don’t begin with the advice to declare yourself a musician as you pick up your instrument every day. So why does the simple act of arranging words inspire so much self-doubt and public angst?
It seems that anyone trying to make it in a creative field has at some stage struggled with the dark cloud of self-doubt. It hardly comes as a surprise when you are going against the mainstream, creating something from nothing and in many cases working in isolation. Putting your work out for public consumption means rejection is inevitable.
As a writer you must grow a thick skin and not waste a second of your time worrying what anyone else thinks of you. Build your self-confidence and you will be bullet-proof. Know the following on your journey.
'To be a writer is to embrace rejection as a way of life' - Dana Stabenow.
The journey of every author comes with the challenge of rejection. Throughout history, talented authors have been rejected and overlooked. Even literary geniuses such as J. R. R. Tolkien and John Steinbeck have suffered the sting of dismissal. Here’s six famous authors that once faced rejection.
Our authors’ answer to their most overwhelming struggle was unanimous: Market Saturation. Their secret weapon? Instagram, Book Bub, email newsletters, and bloggers were amongst the most popular. We also chatted networking and approaching publishers with many authors stressing the need to consider all publishing options before going the traditional publishing route.
Creative doubt can be a crippling force, stopping you from writing or showing your work. It’s the what-if questions asked late at night – What if no one likes my book? What if people judge me on my writing? What if I’m laughed at? What if no one buys anything I write ever again?
Know this - You are not alone. Ever since humans begun to create they have been plagued by thoughts of fear and inadequacy.
We all wish we had more time in the day to write. Perhaps you’ve felt despondent by the days, weeks, or even years being swallowed up by endless obligations that don’t allow you the time you need to work on your manuscript. Given that a thirty-hour day isn’t coming anytime soon, let's look at how you can make the better use of the writing time you do have.
The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has seen an abrupt and significant change in our daily lives. For a large proportion of us, this means self-isolation and more time at home. As this new reality sets in you may find yourself with more time on your hands. For some, it’s the perfect time to finally write that novel. The one you are always saying you’ll write someday. So, how can you maximize your writing productivity during quarantine without losing your sanity? Here are my top tips to make the most of your newfound time.
Think you don’t have time to write? Think again. The truth is even the busiest person can find time to write, be it as little as ten minutes a day. Many famous authors including Anne Rice, Toni Morrison and Harper Lee wrote their books while holding down full-time jobs and many authors continue to write while juggling family commitments. The truth is we all have the same amount of time in a day and it’s up to us what we do with it. Here are six ways authors fit writing into their lives.
Whether your goal is to release more books, complete NaNoWriMo or get that first draft down before the idea evaporates, almost every writer would love to write faster. To make writing a viable career, you need to produce quality books regularly. And while a well-written book can take time, there are some habits that can help you speed up the process, without losing any of the quality.
If you are an author then you are also a marketer. Long gone are the days when you could just upload your book to Amazon and it would sell itself. Increasingly author life is one of entrepreneurialism. You are responsible for not only writing but also the marketing of your book and balancing both is an ongoing juggling act. So before you self-combust from overwhelm at all the tasks you have ahead of you, here are our tips for mastering the balance between writing and book marketing.
If ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ is your mantra for book marketing then it’s time to replace that with ‘Just do it’. You know it needs to be done, yet day after day it’s there at the bottom of your to-do-list and you haven’t started on it. We all have tasks we procrastinate on, jobs we should be doing but search for any excuse not to. We tell ourselves we’ll do it when we are in the perfect mood, the right time of day, when we have oodles of time for the task. Well that time is now! Let’s get rid of that guilt and get started on your book marketing.
Dream of being able to have adventures in exotic lands while simultaneously writing your book? Trip coming up and worried about it clashing with your book marketing plans? Or already working overseas, laptop perched precariously on hotel pillows? It’s a blessing to be able to travel and work at the same time and it brings it’s own set of challenges. Here are my top tips for maintaining your book marketing and writing momentum on the road.
Every day we are bombarded by a constant stream of book marketing tools, techniques and trends. Added to this is the highlight reel of social media, making us feel that everyone else is hustling so much harder and smarter than we are. It’s enough to make even the most persistent author feel like giving up. So how to succeed in book market when it feels like you are trying to eat soup with a fork? Here are our straight-forward strategies for beating book marketing overwhelm.
As a writer your book marketing to-list can seem endlessly long. Often authors are already juggling multiple roles with full-time work, writing, childcare and other responsibilities. You may be navigating the steep learning curve of self-publishing, on top of which you are expected to do all your own book marketing and now maintain a regular presence on social media as well. How to fit in time for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram when it all seems too much? Let’s look at how you can work smarter instead of harder by simplifying your social media in three easy steps.
Social media is an integral part of your book marketing strategy but how long do your posts remain effective for? How many days or minutes until your content no longer appears on your reader’s Facebook feed or Instagram stream? All authors can benefit from knowing the average lifespan of their social media posts and how to extend post visibility to reach more readers. So let’s examine the major social media platforms further.