If you’re overwhelmed with just the idea of social media but fellow writers, colleagues, and your friends and family expect you to be on—at a minimum—Facebook, it may be frustrating to learn that your book likely needs its own accounts. Social media wants you to have a split personality. You’re you, unless you’re that “other” you. The author.
Posting without using hashtags is self-defeating. If you want to build interest in your book and expect sales, social media with the use of hashtags is the fast track.
Examples of Hashtags
How to use hashtags
As we write this, Anchorage, Alaska, had a 7.0 earthquake. For news, you can use #earthquake, #anchoragequake, and #AnchorageAlaska. You can search for these hashtags on Twitter and Instagram and see what others have posted. If you post something related to this event, you can use these hashtags so others who are following these hashtags will see your post.
Hashtags are a form of “community.” It can be worldwide or local and narrow. You can follow #WacoTx or #Magnolia, if you’re specifically interested in Chip and Joanna Gaines. New York options include #NewYork, #NY, and #brooklyn.
Hashtags can increase your book’s visibility on social media, which helps drive visitors to your website, other social media pages, or sites where people can buy your books (e.g., your website or Amazon).
Hashtag Research
Search hashtags
There are hundreds of hashtag options for books, whether you are a bookseller, writer, or reader. For example:
#nytbestsellers, #goodreads, #audiobooks.
You can narrow it down to genres such as #romance, #RWA (Romance Writers of America), or #romancenovels. #SFWA is the hashtag for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
This list will help you find the hashtags being used by your potential audience, customers, and competitors. Campaign or promotional hashtags are used short-term and are popular for Instagram “live” promotions (e.g., #cybermonday2018), but they’re not for long-term use. On the other hand, you can make new contacts, and others can find you in return, by participating in the trending tags of the day/week/month/year.
These are sites you can use for hashtag research:
Twitter. Log in with your business account. Twitter will show you hashtags based on your location and whom you follow.
Instagram Insights: You’ll need a business profile.
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Hashtag Etiquette
You can use up to 30 hashtags on Instagram. The recommendation for Twitter is no more than 3, and they should be nonconsecutive. Use the appropriate hashtags for your tweets. Be natural. Don’t invade where you don’t belong, and don’t spam. Make sure that your hashtags are separated by at least one line from the caption so your caption stands out.
Instagram Hashtags and Twitter Hashtags for Writers
Expect overlap/repetition in these lists.
Popular hashtags
#amwriting
#amediting
#amreading
#writerslife
#writerlife
#writingtip
#writingtips
#writing
#NaNoWriMo
Also check out:
#lovewriting
#poemsporn
#poet
#poetry
#quotes
#word
#wordgasm
#wordporn
#words
#write
#writer
#writers
#writersblock
#writersnetwork
#writersofinstagram
#writing
#writingblitz
#writinglife
#writingparty
#writingsprint
#writings
Book industry updates, publishing news, and literary agents
(To get their attention or to find out which agents are looking for which types of books.)
#AskAgent
#AskAuthor
#AskEditor
#dvpit
#MSWL – Where agents post their wish lists
#MSWLYA – Agents for young adult material
#pitchwars
#tenqueries
#BookMarket
#BookMarketing
#GetPublished
#EBooks
#IAN1
#IndiePub
#IndiePublishing
#PromoTip
#Publishing
#PubTip
#QueryTip
#SelfPublishing
#SelfPub
#WritingTip
#WriteTip
Writers’ communities
#1K1H
#Creativity
#StoryStarter
#WordAThon
#WIP
#WritingPrompt
#AmWriting
#AmEditing
#CopyWriting
#Creativity
#Editing
#IndieAuthor
#RomanceWriter
#StoryStarter
#WIP
#WordAThon
#WordCount
#WriteChat
#WriteGoal
#WriteMotivation
#WriteTip
#WritersLife
#WritingBlitz
Connect with your potential readers
#99c
#99cents
#Amazon
#AmazonCart
#AmazonKindle
#AmazonLikes
#AmazonPrime
#AmReading
#AuthorRT
#BestRead
#bibliophile
#Book
#BookBoost
#BookBuzz
#BookBuzzr
#Bookclub
#BookGiveaway
#bookmarket
#BookMarketing
#BookPlugs
#BookReview
#Books
#BookWorm
#Borrow
#eBook
#eReaders
#followfriday
#Fiction
#Free
#Freebie
#FreeBook
#FreeDownload
#FictionFriday
#FictionFridays
#FridayFlash
#FridayReads
#FridayRead
#FollowFriday
#FreebieFriday
#FreeReads
#Goodread
#GoodReads
#GooglePlay
#GreatRead
#IndieThursday
#IndieTuesday
#iPad
#iTunes
#KDP
#KDPSelect
#Kindle
#KindleBargain
#KindleBooks
#KindleeBooks
#KindleFire
#KindleTouch
#KindleTweet
#Kobo
#LendingLibrary
#LitChat
#MustRead
#New
#Nook
#Novel
#Novelines
#Novelists
#Novels
#Paperbacks
#PDF1
#Poetry
#PoetryMonth
#Pubit
#Read
#Reader
#Readers
#Reading
#Reviews
#SampleSunday
#ShortReads
#Smashwords
#Sony
#Special
#Story
#StoryFriday
#StoryTelling
#TeaserTuesday
#TeaserTues
#GreatReads
#WhatToRead
#WriteQuote
#WeekendReader
#whattoread
Connect with other writers
#140Poem
#1LineWednesday
#amwriting
#amediting
#AmRevising
#amquerying
#AuthorLife
#ASMSG
#BookMarket
#CopyWriting
#cpmatch
#EditGoal
#Editing
#IndieAuthor
#IndieAuthors
#LitChat
#MemoirChat
#MyWANA
#NaNoWriMo
#PoetTues
#RomanceWriter
#ScriptChat
#WANA
#MyWANA – We Are Not Alone
#WednesdayWisdom
#WIP
#WordCount
#WriteChat
#WriteGoal
#writelife
#WriteGoodNews
#WriteMotivation
#WritersLife
#Writer
#WritersBlock
#WriterWednesday
#Writing
#WritingBlitz
#WriteMotivation
#WritingParty
#WritingPrompt
#WritingSprint
#WriteTip
#WritingTips
#WritersBlock
#WroteToday
#WW
#YALitChat
Ebooks, Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble Nook
#Amazon
#eBook
#BookBuzzr
#eReaders
#ePubChat
#iPad
#Kindle
#KindleBargain
#Kobo
#KDP – Kindle Direct Publishing
#Nook
#Pubit
#SmashWords
#Sony
#Webfic
#WritingTip
#WriteTip
Genre and specialty hashtags
#ACFW – American Christian Fiction Writers
#140Poem
#Biopic
#Comedy
#Cookbooks
#Cooking
#Crime
#Comedy
#DarkFantasy
#Dystopian
#Erotica
#FanFic
#Fiction
#FlashFic
#Food
#HistFic
#History
#Historical
#HistFic
#HistNovel
#FaithLitChat
#Horror
#KidLit
#KidLitChat
#Literature
#LitFic
#memoirs
#inspiring
#lifestories
#momreflections
#onwardandupward
#shareyourstory
#shareyourworld
#truestory
#welovememoirs
#MemoirChat
#MGLit – middle grade
#Mystery
#NonFiction
#Novel
#Paperbacks
#Paranormal
#Poetry
#PoetryMonth – April
#Recipes
#Romance
#RomanceWriter
#Romantic
#RomanticSuspense
#RWA – Romance Writers of America
#TrueStories
#SCBWI – Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators
#ScienceFiction
#Science #Fiction
#SciFiChat
#Short
#ShortStory
#ShortStories
#Short #Stories
#SteamPunk
#Suspense
#UrbanFantasy
#WomensFiction
#YA
#YALit
Promotion, networking, and marketing hashtags
#99c
#AuthorRT
#BookGiveaway
#BookMarketing
#FollowFriday
#FreebieFriday
#FreeReads
#Novelines
#99c
#99cents
#Amazon
#AmazonCart
#AmazonKindle
#AmazonLikes
#AmazonPrime
#AmReading
#AuthorRT
#BestRead
#bibliophile
#BookBoost
#BookBuzz
#BookBuzzr
#BookGiveaway
#bookmarket
#BookMarketing
#BookPlugs
#BookReview
#Books
#BookWorm
#Borrow
#Ebook
#eReaders
#followfriday
#fRead0
#Free
#Freebie
#FreeBook
#FreeDownload
#FictionFriday
#FictionFridays
#FridayFlash
#FridayReads
#FridayRead
#FollowFriday
#FreebieFriday
#FreeReads
#Goodread
#GoodReads
#GooglePlay
#GreatRead
#IndieThursday
#IndieTuesday
#iPad
#iTunes
#KDP
#KDPSelect
#Kindle
#KindleBargain
#KindleBooks
#KindleeBooks
#KindleFire
#KindleTouch
#KindleTweet
#Kobo
#LendingLibrary
#LitChat
#MustRead
#New
#Nook
#Novel
#Novelines
#Novelists
#Novels
#Paperbacks
#PDF1
#Poetry
#PoetryMonth
#Pubit
#Read
#Reader
#Readers
#Reading
#Reviews
#SampleSunday
#ShortReads
#Smashwords
#Sony
#Special
#StoryFriday
#StoryTelling
#TeaserTuesday or #TeaserTues
#GreatReads
#WhatToRead
#WriteQuote
#WeekendReader
#whattoread
Day-of-the-week hashtags
#MondayMotivation
#MondayMorning
#TuesdayMotivation, #TravelTuesday, #TuesdayThoughts, #TuesdayTreat
#WriterWednesday, #WednesdayWisdom
#ThursdayThoughts, #ThrowbackThursday, #TBT
#FollowFriday, #FridayReads, #FlashbackFriday, #FridayFeeling, #StoryFriday
#SaturdayShoutout, #SaturdayMorning
#SampleSunday (for sample chapter giveaways), #ShakespeareSunday
Hashtags for weekly Twitter chats
#BlackBookChat
#Bookmarket
#EditorChat
#FantasyChat
#KidLitChat
#KindleChat
#LitChat
#MemoirChat
#Poetry
#RomanceChat
#SciFiChat
#Scriptchat
#SteampunkChat
#TVWriterChat
#WriteChat
#WritersRoad
#YALitChat
Contact us to suggest other hashtags for this list.
- 3 Must-Know Tips For Selling Books On Amazon - May 7, 2019
- A List of the Best Twitter and Instagram Hashtags for Writers - December 3, 2018
- The Best Facebook Group For Writers - November 28, 2018