How to Promote Your Book on TikTok: 16 Ways to Sell More Books

TikTok is for more than just the latest dance craze or viral challenge. There’s a community for almost everything people are interested in, and this is especially true for book lovers. #BookTok is a large, thriving community. Even brick-and-mortar stores often have a section devoted to books recommended on #BookTok. It’s the perfect place to promote your self-published book.

Here are 16 of the best ways you can reach people on TikTok and make more sales:

• Post Regularly and Engage: You have to be willing to publish content regularly and engage with subscribers. If you just post a video once a month and leave it at that, you’ll never gain traction—you might as well save the time and not post at all. It’s a commitment, but a fun one!
• Make It Obvious That You're an Author: Showcase your author brand through your profile pictures, name, and bio. Your profile picture should include one or more of your books along with your face, and your name could simply be YourNameAuthor or YourNameWrites. 
• Tease Your Book Cover Reveal: Build interest with your fans, and entice new ones, by showing off your book cover with a fun reveal that lets everyone know when it will be available and/or if you’re taking pre-orders.
• Share Unboxing Videos for Your Books: Subscribers love to share in the experience of finally seeing your book in print. These could be emotional videos that show your joy, or you can take the comedic route if that’s more your thing.
• Give Writing Advice and Useful Tips: Share the ways in which you’ve learned to become a better writer over the years. Pass along any writing tips that worked well for you. Allow people to get a peek behind the scenes into your writing process.
• Offer Insight into Your Journey: Talk about your experience in self-publishing, and share what your journey was like: who you published with, the steps you completed, and the obstacles you overcame.
• Prompt People to Ask Questions: Engagement with the people watching your videos can’t be neglected. It makes them feel included, as though they're part of your community. It actually does build a space where people are talking about and buying your book and you’re doing the same.
• Make Book Recommendations: Talk about other books you want to read, and suggest them to your followers. Encourage your followers to do the same.
• Create Fun Filters for Your Followers: Make a "Which Character Am I?" filter so people can find out which character from your book they are. It’s another way to interact with followers, and it’s not too difficult to make one. You can find tutorials for creating the filter of your choice via a quick Google search.
• Network with Other Authors on the Platform: Follow other authors and make a stitch or duet with their videos that relate to yours. Or create a video asking others to stitch with what their book is about. Click here for help from TikTok on how to stitch. 
• Join Challenges and Book Trends: Take part in trends related to books, writing, and self-publishing such as #mypublishingjourney, #currentlyreading, or #newbookchallenge.
• Use Hashtags: Look up specific hashtags for your genre. Go beyond #booktok and add other related hashtags. You can go as broad as you like:
  • #authortok
  • #indieauthor
  • #writertok
  • #writerlife
  • #booklovers
  • #author
  • #selfpublished
  • #writer
  Or as niche as you want: 
  
  • #darkromance
  • #dystopianfiction
  • #romantasy
  • #historicalfiction
  • #folkhorror
• Feature Current Trending Sounds: From new song snippets to retro sound effects, trending sounds can make or break a video. Get creative and find a way your book can fit with the most popular sounds on the platform. 
• Create a "Let's Find My Books" Video: Record or livestream yourself finding your book in bookstores, libraries, schools, etc. If you travel, make sure to find your book somewhere at your destination to show off the book’s availability.
• Place Ads on TikTok: You’ve probably already got the creative and copy on hand, you just need to create an ad account and pay to get your book in front of even more eyes. (If you have a budget for it)
• Share Your Content on Other Social Media Platforms: With just a few more steps, your TikTok videos can work double or triple time for you when posted on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and your own author website.

In 2024, TikTok has to be part of your marketing strategy. There are so many ways to creatively showcase your book; it’s really a fantastic medium for writers to put themselves out there.

Don’t hesitate; the #BookTok community is waiting to welcome you with open arms.