In this post we will cover:

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• How we increased our following by 1,035%
• Does Instagram work for authors?
• Can you make it pay?

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Think Instagram is just for celebrities showing off their opulent lifestye? We did too. However, it turns out it is becoming an increasingly popular channel for author to market their books. Adding followers is tough on any social network. Authors have asked about adding this service so we wanted to investigate the platform in greater depth.

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Followers: On the 10th of August we had a very pitiful 73 followers. After 16 days we are at 829. A 1,035% increase!

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Hits: Tracking Instagram requires some effort. Google Analytics don't track it effectively. Caitlin Brehm has written an excellent piece about how to track Instagram refferals. I won't repeat those details here as she has summarised the options well. We wen't with Pretty Link for Wordpress. It was quick and easy to setup. We tracked 71 clicks with a very low bounce rate and excellent engagement.

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So thats enough about the results. How did we achieve this?

*Disclaimer - we have invested in building some software to handle the repetitive tasks for us. If you are interested in hearing more about this please send us an email.

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Step 1: Following

You need to start by following users who will be interested in your content. Find other similar accounts and follow those who follow and engage with that account. You need to start engaging first to establish and initial presence on the platform. Introduce yourself to the community and bring them to your content.

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Step 2: Liking and Commenting

This continues from the points raised above. You need to like other relevant content and comment on it. Don't copy and past comments it needs to be genuine. Spend the time to engage effectively and you will be rewarded.

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Step 3: Content

The first two steps helped and gave us a good foundation. What really drove the substantial growth for us was when we improved our content.

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We started with the generic items such as author quotes, images of the books we were working with or our favourite books. That did get some good engagement but it was interesting enough. People weren't connecting with the content enough for us to make an impact.

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This is largely because the content didn't require any interaction and didn't involve users. The post regarding the Top 10 Most Read Books In The World was the first taste of success on Instagram.

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People engaged with this because it encourages and stimulates discussion. People want to talk about the books they have read from the list. They want to see which books have been read by others. People also want to share this with their friends so they can continue the discussion.

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[January UPDATE]

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Katarina West, one of our long term clients, emailed us with even better results! She has seen an increase of 7,535% after following our tips in this post.

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First of all, thanks for that great endorsement on Instagram...Instagram, I started to be active there just before Christmas, reading carefully that blog PublishingPush posted about Instagram this autumn. And it worked - my Instagram followers have increased from a paltry 14 to some 750 [now 1069] in little more than a week! So thanks, I just put into practise what PP wrote.

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Our following has increased a further 192% using this same process. Instagram is becoming a great tool for authors and we urge you to get involved on that platform.

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