Ebooks are a powerful tool for skyrocketing your brand and unlocking the ultimate prize of online success – passive income.
If your website or social media is brimming with fantastic content, you’re already sitting on a treasure trove of ebook potential. You could be heading towards success as an "authorpreneur" faster than you ever imagined.
But with so much competition out there across the ebooks niches, how do you stand out and make money?
The answer is the same as achieving success when selling anything online – you need to attract and build an audience of potential customers. This means exploring all possible platforms where you can get your ebooks in front of readers who are happy to pay for your awesome content.
So, here, we delve into how you can use Instagram to boost sales of your eBooks.
Can You Still Make Money With Ebooks?
In a word, yes.
Worldwide, the ebook market is expected to reach $14.61bn by the end of 2024, and grow to $15.33bn by 2027, with total readership of 1.1 billion people.
That’s a huge potential audience.
Why do people love ebooks? Well, ebooks are (usually) shorter than printed books, convenient to read on-the-go, and cheap to buy.
This makes them an attractive way for people to consume a chunk of content on their favorite topics and to discover new writers and experts to follow.
From your point-of-view as an online entrepreneur, ebooks are easy to produce, self-publish, and sell.
They also complement other digital products, leading to multiple revenue streams, including:
The best part is that eBooks offer passive income – this means they make you money 24/7.
The catch? You need to actively promote your content to a wide audience. One way to do this is to harness social media – including Instagram.
Check out our awesome short video, which explains all you need to know about creating and selling an ebook:
Why Should You Use Instagram to Sell Ebooks?
The easy answer is that lots of people are on Instagram.
What does that mean? Well, globally, about 2.35 billion users are active on the platform every month.
Maybe surprisingly, among app users, it ranks fourth overall among the main social media sites, behind YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook. That puts it ahead of X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Pinterest.
Instagram gets its largest share of users from the 18-to-24 and 25-to-34 age groups. Together, these account for around 62% of total users.
But, wait.. isn’t Instagram just about photo-sharing?
While the platform has seen a shift from just being about photos, the majority of content is still image-based. But that’s what makes Instagram a great addition to the marketing mix when it comes to selling your ebooks.
By showcasing visual content around your ebooks, you can reach and connect with a whole new audience.
Instagram also offers lots of avenues to promote your ebooks, including:
- Instagram Stories
- Instagram Reels
- Instagram Ads
- Influencer marketing
- Audience engagement
- Incentives and discounts
Let’s take a closer look at how you can craft an Instagram presence which gets as many people as possible clicking on your sales page and buying your book.
Selling Ebooks on Instagram: Step-by-Step Guide
As with all the social media platforms, the key to success on Instagram is building a presence that stands out. Here how:
1. Open an Instagram Business account
Even if you already have a personal Instagram account, it’s a good idea to create a business account. This gives you a range tools specifically designed to help businesses and brands grow.
For example, a business account gives you access to Instagram Ads. You will also get improved reporting metrics via Instagram Insights.
If you want to expand your offering and sell physical products, you will be able to take advantage of Instagram Shop.
You can open a new account as a business user or switch your personal account. It’s a pretty easy process:
- Download the Instagram app
- If you don’t have an account, follow the steps to create one
- Click on your profile
- Click on “options”
- Choose “settings and privacy”
- Click on “account type and tools”
- Choose “switch to a professional account”
You can then select a category which describes your business, and you have the option of linking your Instagram account to your Facebook page.
2. Create your profile
The next step is to create and optimize a clear author or brand profile which sets out what you and your ebooks are about.
Include relevant keywords and a link to where users can buy your book. This is often a landing page dedicated to your latest publication.
Here are a couple of examples of Instagram author profiles:
- Bestselling fiction author James Patterson’s profile simply states who he is and what he’s done – when you’ve sold as many books as he has, you really don’t need much else.
- Meanwhile, writer Juno Dawson adds a little more personality and uses her profile to flag a forthcoming release:
Don’t forget to add a photo. Make sure it fits your author or brand profile, whether you’re positioning yourself as an expert in your niche or showcasing your personality.
3. Develop your content
Think about the best ways in which you can visually showcase your ebook. You want to create eye-catching images which will appeal to users.
There are lots of content options for authors on Instagram, including:
- Book covers
- Excerpts / quotes in an attractive typeface
- Images from the book
- Personal photos
- Details of promotions or discounts
For example, here’s some recent posts from author Kelly Rimmer:
As you can see, she offers a mix of her book covers and personal content – including the obligatory photo of her cat.
Top Tip: Don’t cheap out on your cover
The saying “never judge a book by its cover” might be true when it comes to people. But for ebooks, a great cover makes a strong first impression that can secure sales. Many new authors figure they can save a few bucks by doing it themselves. But unless you’re a designer, this is one thing that you should think about outsourcing to a pro.
4. Add captions
Instagram gives you the option to add a caption to your post. You can use this space to create interest and encourage engagement with you and your ebook.
Also, add relevant hashtags to your captions. But don’t overdo it. Stick to hashtags relevant to your topic or those that expose your posts to a book-loving audience, such as #bookrec and #bookishlife.
Keep the tone of your captions suited to your brand and target audience.
You can include calls to actions, encourage people to click on a link, send a DM for more information, or even just answer a question.
For example, in this post, Penguin Books encourages people to click on a bio link to take a quiz:
People who take the quiz get a book recommendation at the end based on their answers.
5. Engage with your audience
Make sure you respond to any comment left on your posts.
You should also look for ways to connect with your audience, whether that’s taking part in a Q&A session, hosting a live chat, or running a contest that gives people a chance to win something of value.
One of the big advantages of social media is that it brings you and your audience together. Make the most of that opportunity by turning a casual reader into a lifelong fan who will be chomping at the bit to consume your content.
6. Connect with reviewers and influencers
Instagram is popular among influencers, who you can leverage to spread the word about your eBooks.
For authors, the best place to start is Bookstagram. This is an online community within Instagram filled with all things book-related.
So, be sure to add #bookstagram to your posts, like these folks at Bookshop.org:
You can also follow and connect with popular bloggers in your niche with a large following who review books.
7. Introduce offers and incentives
Help to generate interest and sales by offering discounts, giveaways and other promotions. A limited-time element adds urgency while ensuring you don’t give your content away cheaply forever.
If you have published multiple ebooks, bundling is a popular tactic. This gives people a set of ebooks at a cheaper price than buying them individually.
As a visual platform, Instagram is great for shouting about your offers using eye-catching graphics.
8. Make use of Instagram Stories & Reels
Instagram Stories are collections of photos and videos which are only viewable for 24 hours. They are really popular, with 42% of US users of Instagram engaging with Stories.
Meanwhile, Instagram Reels are short videos of 15 to 90 seconds (similar to TikTok). These also get awesome traction, with 2.35 billion people interacting with these videos each month.
The most-viewed Reel ever is Hardik Pandya's video for a BGMI promotion – with a massive 1.1 billion views. (Maybe not surprising, since the Indian cricketer has 34.4 million Instagram followers.)
These tools can create additional interest and engagement in your ebook.
For authors, they are great for sharing promotions, teasing a new release, or for interactive campaigns (such as quizzes and polls).
9. Run Instagram Ads
Finally, consider splashing out on paid-for Instagram Ads to spread the word about the features and benefits of your ebook.
Instagram’s targeting tools let you tailor campaigns according to your aims, budget, and target audience. You can create original ads or use your organic posts.
The ads will appear across feeds, Stories, Reels, and Instagram’s Explore page. The ads include a link to a product, website, or direct messages, so you can send people to a landing page to buy your ebook.
Instagram Ads are run through the Meta Ads Manager, so you need to link your Instagram account to your Facebook page. Ads work on a pay-per-click or cost-per-impression basis.
Alternatively, you can buy a “Boost” for an existing Instagram post on your business account. This turns an organic post into an ad.
The feature does not require you to link to a Facebook account. You can do this directly through Instagram.
Is Selling Ebooks on Instagram Worth It?
While Instagram can boost your book sales, it’s important to be aware of some limitations for authors looking to promote their work:
- Instagram is a promotional tool not a sales platform for ebooks (people can’t buy your eBooks directly on Instagram)
- Crafting regular, compelling visual content for Instagram can be time-consuming
- It can be hard to stand out as a writer on Instagram
- Not all ebook niches suit visual promotion
- Instagram is not the most business-focused social media platform (it’s better for authors who want to create a more personality-driven brand)
- Finding what you want on Instagram is challenging (so you have to work hard to attract visitors to your page)
While Instagram can be a useful tool to promote your books, with Whop, you get so much more…
Sell Ebooks (and Anything Other Digital Product) With Whop
Getting started as an online “authorpreneur” can be daunting. There are so many options out there and so many platforms promising the world.
That’s why Whop exists. Our mission is to simplify the process of selling ebooks online.
But we don’t want to limit your ambitions…
Once you’ve set up your very own “whop”, you can build a community and sell anything – including unlimited ebooks.
Even better, getting started with Whop is free. All you pay is a 3% fee on transactions, with NO monthly charge.
That’s right, no matter how big you grow your online business – or how many ebooks you sell – you pay us nothing but that 3%. We want you to succeed – so, we only get paid when you start making money. A real win-win!
Find your niche, create great ebooks, and start selling online with Whop.
