8 Creative Content Ideas for Authors on TikTok
When it comes to marketing yourself as an author, social media can be the most fun and efficient tool. TikTok is especially handy for building a loyal following, but you must be meticulous about what you post if you want success.
We’re going to discuss creative content ideas and tips for authors on TikTok to help get you started. They can establish your creative brand and books, as well as your personality. As viewers engage with your posts and profile, your popularity on the platform will grow.
1. Introduce Yourself and Your Platforms
CloseYou’ve weighed the pros and cons of signing up on TikTok and decided it’s worth a try. But don’t rush in. Spend some time getting to know how the social app works.
For starters, experience the rabbit hole for yourself and learn what to avoid with your brand. Then, make a note of fun TikTok content ideas for creators, get extra insights from authors on TikTok with thousands of likes, explore your available tools, and start planning your own content.
A good post to kick off your debut on TikTok is an introductory video, ideally no longer than 60 seconds. Showing your face and talking straight at your audience builds rapport faster, but you can just use images, text, and music or a voice-over to relay what you want.
Tell your viewers who you are, what you’ve written, and what you plan to offer through your TikToks. You can share additional details, like a website and other social networks you use, but don’t overcomplicate the video. Expect short attention spans on TikTok.
2. Content About Your Books
CloseThe next creative and essential content idea to try as a TikTok author is a series of posts with details about your publications, whether they’re books, short stories, poetry, or something else.
Tell your viewers about the genres you specialize in and what inspired you to even start writing. Talk about your universe and characters, from their backgrounds and physical characteristics to their key quotes. Explain what themes motivate you the most and why.
As you come up with more and more book promo ideas, consider the best ways to use hashtags on TikTok. Always use #booktok, for example, to make sure your videos reach the platform’s huge literary community. Find other popular tags relevant to your book, brand, and each post’s purpose. Bookmark hashtags, too, so that you don’t miss a beat.
3. Content About Your Creative Writing Process
Close Besides readers, your profile might be of interest to fellow writers, so don’t forget to connect with them, too. In fact, the most effective content from authors on TikTok is there to instruct and inspire.
Feel free to share techniques and tools that help you plan your plots, enrich characters, edit books, and overcome writer’s block. Be honest about the perks and obstacles you meet, as well as how you tackle them. Use humor and good communication to resonate with a wide range of viewers.
From there, you can be as technical as you wish. If you use software that creative writers might love, such as Canva or Scrivener, create tutorials about them. If you’re an expert in narrative structures or the history of your chosen genre, why not produce bite-sized insights? You’d educate people while boosting your reputation.
4. Traditional and Self-Publishing Advice
CloseYour instructive videos can also focus on your publishing journey, something that budding and seasoned authors are always curious about. They’re eager to learn from other writers.
Tell stories about your experiences with agents, publishers, beta readers, bookstores, and so on. Give advice on anything you yourself would’ve liked to know about before getting published.
Again, make the most of hashtags to reach the right people. And post consistently so that anyone interested in such content can learn to identify and trust your posts.
5. Books You Love or Hate to Read
Close Other topics you can focus on are genres, tropes, or any bookish aspect you love. By choosing to discuss a certain niche—and tagging your post correctly—you gain access to its fans on TikTok, who might be interested in what you have to say.
Your content could be about recent book purchases for your #tbr pile, the types of stories you enjoy, book covers you find beautiful, and even tropes or authors you avoid like the plague.
Negative TikToks can actually be very effective in turning heads, but they must be tasteful. For example, a constructive breakdown of why a certain author doesn’t appeal to you is better than a 10-minute rant about a book you hate.
In general, be careful about what you say in posts, comments, and messages to avoid getting banned from TikTok. Content violations range from spreading misinformation to using words like “dead” and “cigarettes”.
6. Book Reviews
CloseBook reviews are very popular on TikTok, so this is one of the best content ideas for authors. If you read a lot, it’s also a great option for quick and easy posts to fill your feed and build your fan base.
Let your followers know what you’re reading right now and what you think of it. Whenever you finish a book, you can review it by itself or alongside a few others people should know about. Get your face in your videos or make them all about the books.
Keep an eye out for BookTok trends you can join to enhance the impact of each post. Even better, you’d be helping the publishing industry. According to Mailchimp’s report, 2021 saw TikTok cause a five percent increase in sales for the UK’s Publishers Association, a 220 percent profit growth for Bloomsbury, and the sale of 826 million book copies in the US.
7. Content About You as a Person
CloseYou don’t have to be all business on TikTok. In fact, more personal posts can connect with viewers better than perfectly edited presentations.
This is a great opportunity to use text posts on TikTok and share daily thoughts or quotes. If something funny, wonderful, or horrible happened to you, tell your followers about it, respond to comments, and get a conversation going.
Just keep your brand in mind when creating such content. It shouldn’t be sloppy or inappropriate, for starters. Keep it friendly, engaging, and a positive reflection of you as an author.
8. Stitch or Duet Other TikTok Creatives
CloseIf you’re feeling brave, you can use other creators’ posts to get a message across. Firstly, learn how to duet on TikTok, which lets you respond or add to videos.
You may just want to highlight and show appreciation for someone’s content, but you can also try fun collaborations. If you like to sing, cosplay, or play bookish trivia games, for example, showcasing your skills alongside someone else’s contribution can generate a lot of likes.
To keep a collaborative post’s spotlight on you, look into what TikTok’s Stitch feature can do. You basically grab a five-second clip from an existing video and record your commentary—three minutes maximum.
Again, this could be for something positive, like saying thank you for a great review of your book. But remember that negative posts can benefit your brand, as long as they’re tasteful and well-timed.
You’ll come across stitches on BookTok that condemn another creator’s comments because they’re misleading or insulting. You can follow suit if you have valid arguments to share.
What you mustn’t do is use the Stitch, Duet, or any other tool on TikTok to bash people for no good reason. That’s abuse that can get your profile blacklisted among BookTokers and banned from the platform entirely.
Key Takeaways
- Use TikTok to introduce yourself as an author, share your writing journey, and connect with your audience in a fun and engaging way. Remember to keep your videos short and attention-grabbing.
- Create content about your books, including details about the genres you specialize in, your inspiration, and your characters. Utilize hashtags like #booktok to reach the literary community on TikTok.
- Share your creative writing process and provide tips and insights to fellow writers. From planning plots to overcoming writer's block, offer valuable advice while showcasing your expertise and boosting your reputation. #TikTok #authors
Put a Unique Spin on These Ideas to Elevate Your TikTok Author Content
TikTok is one of the best social networks for marketing yourself as a writer and reader on a personal and professional level. Your thoughts, tastes, and everyday experiences matter as much as your book trailers and sales.
So, go ahead and introduce yourself, share your opinions, collaborate with fellow creators, and interact with commenters as much as possible—all with a personal touch. Building a strong presence on TikTok and nurturing your relationship with its users will lead to instant attention when you announce a book launch or other important occasions.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3KnqysnZ%2Bbe6S7zGiroqOkpLhur86nq56mpGK2pbHArGSfp6JirrbAx6iprGc%3D