Book Blogging Tips

Bookish Hashtags for Social Media

When promoting your book blog on social media, you'll want to get the most out of each post. Whether it's a photo, video or just a simple status update, there are plenty of ways to make sure your content stands out from other posts and gets noticed by your audience. One way is by using hashtags. Hashtags are a great way to turn your everyday posts into something more meaningful for readers—and for brands as well!

#bookstagram

Bookstagram is a great way to share pictures of books you are reading, connect with other book lovers and find new books. It’s also a great way to find new book bloggers!

#amreading

• Use this hashtag to let people know what you are reading. It's a great way to find new books, authors and book bloggers.

#bookworm

A bookworm is a person who loves to read.

Being a bookworm is good for your mental health because it helps you stay in touch with yourself and your interests—even if those interests are only reading!

#tbt - Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday is a popular hashtag that allows people to post old pictures. It's used to reminisce about the past, and it's a great way to share some of your favourite blog posts again.

#bibliophile

Bibliophile: A person who loves books, and is especially interested in collecting or reading them.

This hashtag is great for book lovers who want to share their love of books on social media. You can use it to promote your own book blog, review blog, or literary magazine. 

You might see some people using this hashtag when they're tweeting about how much they love reading: “I've been reading this new novel by...” Or maybe they'll link back to their own website so others can find out more information about the author/publisher behind that particular title? It's up to you where you go with this one!

#bookish

A bookish hashtag is a way to encourage people who love books to share their love with the world. It’s also a great way to find fellow book lovers on social media, since it helps you find other people who are also interested in the same themes as you.

A bookish hashtag can be used in any social platform (Twitter, Instagram, etc.), but it’s most commonly used on Twitter or Instagram. 

#igreads

If you're looking for an easy way to get your book reviews and recommendations out there, try using the hashtag #igreads. This can be used in conjunction with any other hashtag that you want to promote your content, as long as it's relevant to what you're posting about.

You'll also find this hashtag useful if you're trying to find new books or authors who might have similar interests as yours—or even just someone who has read lots of books!

#bookshelfie

• A picture of your bookshelf:

• This hashtag is for sharing pictures of your bookshelf, both in an image format and as a link to the image. It can be used to show off the books on your shelves or it can be used when uploading a picture of yourself holding a copy of one of these books. The second option allows people with similar interests to find each other online and talk about their favourite things together!

#currentlyreading

When you're reading a book, this hashtag is a great way to tell people about it. You can use it in the same way that you would use #currentlyreading—to promote your own work or other people's books, if they are available for purchase on Amazon or otherwise. If someone asks what you've been reading lately and you're not sure how much time they have on their hands (or don't want to bother), then this is another option for recommending something without having to explain everything about each book in detail.

If there's something specific people should know about your books you could also use this hashtag: #currentlyreadingmybook

#BookBlogging

This is a great hashtag for connecting more with the book blogging community and/or discussing book blogging in general.

These hashtags are a great way to promote your book related posts on social media. They are also good for creating content that will get you more likes and followers.

You might also like: Want To Increase Your Blog Traffic? Ways To Upgrade Old Blog Posts

What bookish hashtags do you use on social media to connect more with the book blogging community? Do you have a favourite hashtag you use regularly to promote your book blog? 

Tips from an experienced book blogger 

What I've learnt in over 10 years of book blogging

I started book blogging in 2006 back when tripod was the website platform of choice and Myspace was the place to hang out online. As you can imagine, a lot has changed since then.

If you want to know more about the current state of the book blogging industry and what average stats look like for 2022 check out the Book blogging in 2022 survey.

I moved over to this blog on 1st June 2012 so today is my blogiversary. I wanted to take this opportunity to look back over the years and share some of the things I've learnt along the way.

Back on 1st June 2012 I got just 27 page views for that first day. Since starting this blog it's had a total of over 1.21 million page views so far. My blog and I have had quite a journey.

What I've learnt from over a decade as a book blogger

A passion for books

Firstly you need to be passionate about books. If you're not truly interested in the subject you blog about you'll lose steam pretty fast. It will also, most likely, show to your readers. So, if you're thinking about starting a book blog ask yourself if you're likely to get bored of talking about books. If the answer is no, you've found your community. 

I don't think I'll ever get bored of talking about; books, publishing, reading, book blogging,etc.. and so after all these years feel pretty confident that I found my niche. 

Read what you want 

Read the books you want to read. Don't get caught up in trying to reading every trending book. Time is too limited as it is to be able to read all the books we want to read so don't go wasting any time on books you don't really want to read. Why force yourself to read a certain genre if you don't enjoy it? It would just be a waste of time. 

Not everyone can read hundreds of books a year. That's OK. We lead busy lives and some of us are slower readers. It doesn't make us any less of a book blogger.

Consistency is key

When it comes to blogging it's not so much important how often you post, but more the fact that you post regularly. Whilst posting every day is great it's not essential for getting good traffic. Posting on the same day or days each week however does wonders.

Plan for perfection

Schedule in advance when you can. This really takes the stress out of posting. It also allows for better planned content and helps you make sure you're sharing a variety of content over the course of the week/month. If you need some inspiration for what to post about check out the 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers post I did back October 2020. Scheduling in advance also helps make sure you're posting on the same days/times each week.

Team work makes the dream work

Collaborations are dynamite for pageviews and also a lot of fun. For more reasons why you should consider doing more collaboration posts check out this post I did back in February 2021 Reasons To Collaborate With Other Bloggers. If you're not sure what to do for collaborations check out Book Blogger Collaboration Ideas.

It's OK to say no

You don't have to agree to every book review request or book tour. If you try to say yes to every request you'll soon hit burn out and get overwhelmed. Be selective and only take on tasks you want to do that fit your schedule. Remember if you’re not getting paid for it, you’re not obligated to do it.

Your opinion matters

Everyone rates books differently and that's OK. Want to know more about how I rate books? Check out Book Reviews: Star Rating Systems for Books. It also gives insight into the other rating systems that are often used by book bloggers. 

 You might also like: Book Reviews: Can You Trust Book Bloggers?

Be you

Just be yourself. Don't try to copy anyone else. What works for one person won't necessarily work for another anyway. It's much better to be your original, unique self. No one can be more youer than you! Stand out for being who you are instead of trying to be someone else. 

Know your limits

Whether it's how frequently you post, the type of content you're comfortable with, or how you interact online know your limits. It can all be a bit overwhelming if you try to do everything and be everywhere. Find what works for you. Ways To Avoid Book Blogging Burn Out.

It's a work in progress

We never stop learning especially when it comes to book blogging. Constant changes to technology, algorithms, etc... mean that the learning curve never ends. 

If you want to take your book blog seriously and care about whether people read it or not, then you need to learn a bit about the technical aspects of blogging. Some posts you might find helpful include; SEO for Book Bloggers: How to Improve SEO for Book Reviews, Things That Should Be In Every Blog Post, and Book Blogging 101: Everything You Need To Know About Metadata.

Want to know more about book blogging? Check out The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers for a wide variety of resources and advice.

If you'd like to support me, donating goes a long way to helping with the running of this blog. Thanks for your support 💗

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Blogging 

Types of Round Up Posts

Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.

Round Up Posts for Book Bloggers

Round up posts are great for SEO, shares, backlinks, and viral traffic. In fact, they are one of my favourite types of blog posts to create and I tend to feature them a lot on this blog. 

You might like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

Why Book Bloggers Should Use Round Up Posts

Book blogging is no different from any other blogging niche. It works on the same principle. 

When you do a round up post you are featuring other people, or their content, in your blog post. This means that those people now have a vested interest in promoting that post.

It also often means a bunch of quality backlinks as they likely will want to use being featured as a way to increase their authority on the subject. They will therefore also help drive traffic to the post.

Creating round up posts is a great way to build relationships too. It gives you the chance to strengthen contacts you already have and to reach out and make new ones. 

Expert round ups and content round ups

There are two main types of round up posts; Expert Round Ups, and Content Round Ups.

What are expert round ups?

This is when you reach out to experts in your niche and ask them a question. An example of this is a recent post I did about Best Tips for Book Bloggers. For the post I asked fellow book bloggers "You can give your fellow book bloggers one top tip, what is it?" and shared their feedback. 

A large part of an expert round up is copy and paste as each expert will send you the content to include in your post. This makes it easy content as the main work is in formatting the post. 

Hosting an expert round up post also strengthens your own position as an expert in your niche. By bringing your readers feedback and advice from other experts in your niche you become associated with experts, influencers, and well know people that cover the same topics you do. Your own authority on the subject therefore also increases.

What are content round ups?

You might like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers

Types of Round Up Posts for Book Bloggers

• A collection of book reviews from different book bloggers for the same book
• A collection of book reviews from different book bloggers from a specific genre
• A collection of random book reviews (mix it up and add something from a variety of genres)
• Bookish blog posts from other book bloggers
• Ask a specific question to other book bloggers, publishers, authors, and share their answers
• Best books in a specific genre
• Books on your TBR- feature each book with a link to the author website/purchasing page
• Top tips
• Highlight different types of book bloggers (bookstagram, booktok, booktube, etc...)
• How to guides (bring together expert advice on different aspects of book blogging)

Book Blogging On A Budget

Ways To Book Blog Without Breaking Your Bank

Net Galley

ARCs

Book Tours

Amazon

Libraries

Creating a blog on a budget

Free platforms

Cheap Domain

Free blog templates

Free visual content creation tools

Common Problems Book Bloggers Have and How To Solve Them

Solutions to Book Blogging Problems

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

As a book blogger it's not always clear sailing. We all go through moments where we struggle with one aspect or another of book blogging. 

The good news is we all go through it from time to time. You are not alone in your struggles.

The other good news is that there are solutions for the common problems that book bloggers face.

I recently took to Twitter and asked Book Twitter what their biggest problems were as book bloggers.

#QOTD What are the biggest problems you face as a book blogger?#BookBlogging #BookBloggers #BookTwitter

— Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) September 8, 2021

I was not surprised by the answers. That's because we all experience a lot of the same problems when it comes to book blogging.

Problem 1: Not enough time

The struggle is real! We all live such busy lives and finding the time to do everything can be a struggle at times. 

Not enough time to read- 

This is probably one of the first problems that comes to mind for most book bloggers. There is just never enough time to read all the books! 

Solution- Don't try to read ALL the books. Accept that you can't. There's just too many. 

If you can't manage longer reading sessions, try catching up in shorter bursts. You'll be surprised at how much reading you can get through with 10 minutes here and there. 

Remember it's not a competition. Read what you can, when you can. Reading should be first and foremost an enjoyable activity.

You might also like: Ways To Get Out Of A Reading Slump

Not enough time to blog- 

Solution- If you're feeling overwhelmed by your blog and struggling to find the time to post maybe you need to take a look at your posting schedule and re-organise it. 

You don't have to post every day (although it's great if you do). If twice a week is more manageable then do that. You can always add extra days slowly as you go.

Another thing that helps is batching. When you do have some free time try to set up multiple posts and schedule them for posting. This is easier to do if you have templates e.g. for your blog posts like reviews and templates for your blog graphics.

I personally use Canva for my graphics and have templates set up so I just make a few quick changes and I have new, on-brand graphics ready for posting in a matter of a few minutes. It saves me loads of time. 

You might also like: Ways To Super Charge Your Productivity As A Book Blogger

Problem 2: No one reads my blog

It can be discouraging when you put a lot of work into your blog posts but feel like no one is reading them. 

Solution- It's not enough to just publish a post. People have to know it exists. There are two main ways to do this.

1. Are you leveraging SEO to optimise your posts for organic traffic? 

When writing your blog posts make sure you're using keywords in your headings, urls, alt tags, meta descriptions, and in your article. Don't just stuff the keywords though. It should read naturally. 

By optimising the SEO of your blog post you are making it easier for Google and other search engines to find your content when they crawl your site and therefore improving your chances of showing up in search results.

2. Are you sharing your posts on social media? 

Share your blog posts your social media channels. Let your followers know when you have a new blog post out. Also make sure you have social share buttons on your blog posts to make it easy for readers to share your content on their social media channels too. 

You might also like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers

Problem 3: I don't know what to write about

Especially when you've been book blogging for a while, it can be hard to come up with new ideas for content to post to your blog. 

If you've been in a reading slump you may not have a lot of reviews to share with your readers which can leave you struggling to come up with things to write about.

Solution- Good news! Book blogging isn't just posting book reviews. There's loads of other types of book related content you can cover on your book blog. All you need is to get a bit creative.

Interviews, book spotlights, lists of books you; love, hate, or just from a specific genre, book trivia, book vs film... not to mention all the weekly memes you can join in with. Experiment with new types of content and see what works well with your readers.

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

Problem 4: No one is commenting on my posts

Without blog comments we can start to feel like no one cares about the blog content we put out. Are we just talking to ourselves? It can feel that way and after all the work we put into creating our blog posts this can be quite a downer.  

Solution- The first thing to do is make sure you're making it easy for your readers to comment. We live in a world were we want everything instantly so if they have to jump through too many hoops to leave you a comment chance are they won't bother.

Have you included a CTA (Call To Action) in your blog post? You should. Ask your readers a question. Sometimes they don't know what to write and so don't comment. By asking a question you're giving them a prompt for what they can write about in their comment. 

You should also make sure your blog post looks good, and is quality content. If it's nice to look at and engaging there's a higher chance they'll read it all and feel motivated to comment on it.

And last but not least, make sure you reply to all comments that do get left on your blog posts. If you want people to take the time to post comments you should make time to reply to them. Just good etiquette 😉

You might also like: Exploring CTA's: Different Types of Calls To Action To Use in Your Blog Posts

Best Tips for Book Bloggers

Book Blogging Advice and Mistakes to Avoid

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

Whether you're just started out or have been book blogging for a while now we can all learn from the experience of other book bloggers. 

I asked my Twitter buddies for their top tips for book bloggers and they didn't disappoint.

Book Blogging Tips

Book Reviews

On a practical level the sooner you review the books you read the better. The book will be fresh in your mind and so you don't risk forgetting things.

As an avid reader, you probably have several books already on the go or start a new one on finishing the last. Another good reason not to put off creating your reviews.

Don’t wait too long writing your reviews after finishing a book… which… cough… I obviously have no experience with at all😅😅😅🙈

— theartsyreader (@theartsyreader1) September 9, 2021

Avoid Overwhelm

It is so very easy to overload your plate and take on too much. If you sign up for every book tour and say yes to every book review request you'll soon be left feeling overwhelmed.

If like me you're guilty of getting click happy on Net Galley you might want to join me for the Net Galley TBR Reading Challenge.

Pace yourself. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Tempting to keep requesting/or buying but churning out reviews like a machine and you'll soon run out of original things to say.

— A good book 'n a brew 📚 ☕ (@NatterBlog) September 9, 2021

Know your why

Make sure you have a clear idea of why you book blog. You should be doing it first and foremost because you love reading and are passionate about sharing about it. If your heart's not in it it'll show in the content you create. 

Also, whilst having goals is great you should try not to compare yourself to other book bloggers. We're all on a different point of our book blogging journey. Celebrate all your personal milestones and enjoy it.

Don't compare yourself to others, be happy doing what you're doing, and do it for you. I appreciate that's easier said than done.

— Jill Doyle🕷 (@JillsBookCafe) September 9, 2021

Do what feels right for you

Book blogging can feel stressful at times and lead to overwhelm when your TBR gets out of control and you lack inspiration for a new blog post. Try to find the right amount for you. You don't have to post new content everyday. 

When possible try to schedule a few blog posts in advance so you can take a few days off. 

You might also like my posts Ways to Avoid Book Blogging Burn Out and 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers.

Blog when you feel like blogging. Read when you feel like reading. Do things when you feel like doing them and breaks are A-OK ✌

— 🗡Esther | Book Blog | Always Need Thriller Recs🗡 (@BooksCozy) September 9, 2021

And last but not least...

Be consistent

It might seem contradictory given the last point but being consistent is more important than you think. This applies to both your blog and the social media channels you use to promote it.  

Consistency

— Carol 🌻 Reading Ladies (@ReadingLadiesBC) September 9, 2021

For more book blogging tips check out The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers

What are your top tips for book bloggers? 

Tips for Book Bloggers

Ways To Avoid Book Blogging Burn Out

Avoiding Book Blogger Burn Out

Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I just roll with it and give myself a hiatus. Now I’m trying to schedule hiatuses ahead of time to give myself a break to look forward to.

— winebrarian (@bitchbookshelf) August 26, 2021

Don't over commit. Putting too much on your plate is a sure fire way to burn out. Set limits for the number of reviews you accept, book tours you join, etc... so you don't get overwhelmed. 

Well, I've never really experienced it myself, but some people do things like cut down on how often they post, or toss in some book tags or memes to shake things up.

— Davida (The Chocolate Lady) Chazan 📚 🖊 (@ChocolateLady57) September 7, 2021

Try something new. This might be reading a new genre or maybe a new type of content you haven't tried before. 

Be organised. Where possible I like to schedule at least some of my blog posts in advance. I find it really takes the pressure off.

Reach out to the book blogging community. Fellow book bloggers can be great for helping get you back on track whether it's by inspiring you with their blog content or just giving you the motivation to read all the awesome books they are excited about. Passion is infectious so follow the right people and they'll help keep you motivated and inspired. 

Accept that you won't be able to read ALL the books. Yes, there are loads of amazing books out there but realistically you won't be able to read them all. The sooner you accept this fact the better. There is no point in stressing over finishing what is ultimately a never ending TBR. If you're anything like me you probably add at least five new books to your TBR whenever you finish reading one. With those kind of stats you can't win. 

Don't feel pressured. Book blogging isn't a competition. Trying to "keep up with the Jones" is hard work. Just do you. Everyone is on their own journey and doing things differently isn't a bad thing. 

Have fun. This is the most important thing to remember. If you're passionate about books and enjoy book blogging you're doing it right. Keep that positive energy and excitement alive and have fun with it. 

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

SEO for Book Bloggers

How to Improve SEO for Book Reviews

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a huge role in the success of individual blog posts and your blog as a whole. Book blogging is no exception. In this post we'll be looking at ways to make sure your book reviews are SEO friendly. 

Google wants to find blog posts that deliver what they promise in their titles. SEO is therefore important to your search engine ranking. In the case of book reviews your keyword focus is probably on the title of the book. 

You might also like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers

Where to insert your keywords

The title of the post

Your title is one of the most important pieces of your SEO game. Make sure it's crystal clear what your blog post is about by inserting the book title of the book you are reviewing in the title of the post. 

The permalink

It's a good idea to have the name of the book appear in the permalink for the blog post too.

The body of the post

The more comprehensive, informative, and useful your blog post is the better it should appear in search engine results. Book reviews are no different to other content. 

Use headings and sub-heading with your keywords in your book review, and make sure your blog post is optimised for readability. Users don’t always read the entire article. They scan the information to find the interesting bits. Keeping your sentences short, and using fewer sentences per paragraph makes your content easy to scan.

Another way to improve readability is to make sure you have plenty of white space on the page and use a font that is easy on the eyes. 

The meta description

The meta description is an HTML meta tag that you can add to any page. It provides a short description of your article for search engines and other crawlers.

The character limit for meta description is 150 so make sure you include your keywords early on in the description.

The post labels/tags

Categories and tags help sort your content not only for yourself, but also for your readers and search engines.

Don't forget to add related keywords too. These might be:

• The author name
• The Publisher
• The genre
• The series name
• Other books by the same author
• Tropes
• Character types

You might also like: Ways To Write More Creative Book Reviews

The images

1. Make sure the images you use are optimised for the web. Images increase your overall load time and take longer to load than plain text. As search engines often rank faster websites higher you need to make sure your images aren't too big. A file size below 70kb is what you should be aiming for.

For more detailed information about Image optimization for SEO check out this article by Search Engine Watch with basic image optimization tips that anyone can apply for any type of site.

2. Alt text is also crucial for image SEO as it helps search engines understand the context of the image. Usually, the alt text is not visible on your website but it accompanies images in Google image search which helps users understand the image and improves your chances of getting more visitors. The more descriptive your alt text the better. 

3. Be descriptive with the file names of your images too and make sure you include your keywords e.g. Percy-Jackson-Bookcover.jpeg is better than DSC01234.jpeg

Internal links to related content

Adding internal links in your blog post is a great way to develop a relationship between new and older blog posts. It also allows you to pass link juice to your older posts. 

Do you spend time to SEO your book reviews? Got more tips on how to improve SEO for book reviews? 

Join the Blog Audit Challenge 2021 for monthly tasks on how you can improve your blog. It's completely free and you can join in at any time throughout the year.