Instagram Book Spotlights: Pretty Posts, Zero Sales

Hellooooo! Welcome back to the blog! I'm so excited you're here today because we're talking about Instagram spotlights. Like many of you, I’ve dabbled in book promotion strategies from blog tours, to Facebook ads, to the ever-tempting Instagram book influencer. This post will be a reflection of the latter. You all know I'm out there trying the things so you'll know if they work or not. Yeah, I may lose a little money, but it's a business writeoff for me, and it gives me a ton of first-hand information to pass along to you. You all know how I feel about money. That's probably the most serious topic you'll get from me here. No, I won't name anyone, so don't ask me to. I'm not that guy.

If you're interested in reading more, grab a coffee or a tea, and let's dive right into it.

So, it all started with a DM from an IG account, asking me to DM yet another account (fishy already) and inquire about a book spotlight. I bit. I figured there wouldn't be any sales of my book over that period, but I thought "what the hell" and gave it a go. It at least got me blog fodder. Ha.

That account promised a gorgeous spotlight post and potential visibility to thousands of readers. Man, I was dying at this point to know how much all this was gonna cost me, so I asked. Book promo packages started at like $29 and went up to $99.

For $99, you got a month's worth of posts, one per week, on their page plus one story per week and one highlight that's permanent. Okay, I did that one.

THEN they asked if I also wanted ads. I was like, sure! I mean, why not? We're on a roll.

Remember, I'm prepared to lose this money ahead of time.

Ad sets were an additional $49. We're up to $148, if you're keeping track.

It looked amazing. It got likes. It got comments. It was beautiful. After all, this account had several thousand followers.

Know what it didn’t get? Sales.

How do I know?

Well, like any good writer does when they run a promo, I tracked my sales from day one to day thirty. There wasn't a single sale during that period.

Wanna know what did happen?

SPAM. I got hit from a million sides with requests from accounts offering to host my book on their pages. DMs, comments on images, aggressive people that didn't give up when I politely said no thank you.

I'm talking 15+ messages a DAY.

Guess who followed that account I promoted with? All the people sending me DMs, leaving comments on my stuff, and being aggressive with their marketing. Also probably all previously featured authors. You know that's a pet peeve of mine.

Now, I'm not saying everyone was a total ass when I said no. There were quite a few people who just thanked me and moved on, so that was nice, but the others? Oh. My. Lanta. It was like fending off a herd of starving cats while you're holding a salmon. Sadly, I ended up reporting them as spam to IG.

You all know me. This post isn’t about blaming or shaming influencers. It’s about empowering authors with information. A beautiful spotlight doesn’t guarantee results, especially if the audience isn’t primed to buy. I highly doubt there are 1k+ people who enjoy reading thrillers who are following that account.

As I've always said, put your money where your readers are. Places like Amazon, for example, but pretty much anywhere you can target your readers yourself. So remember:

• IG engagement ≠ book buying behavior.
• Most bookstagram followers are other authors, other influencers, or casual readers, not high-intent shoppers.
• There’s rarely targeting by genre, niche, or intent.

Would I do it again? No. Am I glad I tried it? Honestly? Yes. Because now I know what (for sure) doesn’t work, and I get to share that with you lovely people.

Save your money. Save your sanity. Promote with purpose.

I hope you learned something from this post, and I hope I'm able to save you money you didn't need to spend in the first place.

Have you ever tried a spotlight promo? Did it work for you? Drop your experience in the comments so others can see what you learned and get some info from it.

Well, that's all for today, folks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo