If you’re an author, it’s time to get to grips with BookTok, the book-reading community on TikTok, as a way to spread awareness about your books.

I’m the author of four books (one self-published, three traditionally published) and the creator of Author Website Marketing, and here are my 13 lucky tips to help you get visible on TikTok.

Still wavering about whether to join TikTok as an author? Check out this post: TikTok for Authors: Is it Worth it to Promote Your Book on BookTok?

1. Keep Your Algorithm (Mostly) Books-Only

Before you begin posting on TikTok, define your niche. That niche is likely to be: books (obviously), writing, publishing, your specific genre, perhaps connected content (e.g. if you write hockey romance, you might also post about hockey).

Yes, we’re all multi-faceted people and it’s fine to show your life outside of writing, but remember to keep most of your content within your niche.

2. Follow and Engage With Bookish Content

Getting followers matters less on TikTok than on other platforms, because you’ll get views on your content regardless of how many followers you have. But it’s still worth building up your follower count, both because it makes your account look more established, and because (when you reach 1,000 followers,) it “unlocks” your ability to include a link in your profile.

Make sure to follow similar accounts to your own, and like and comment on bookish videos that show up on your For You Page. This helps the mysterious TikTok algorithm to know that’s the type of content you like, and it may also help to guide your own bookish content to the right types of people.

3. Speak to the Camera Like It’s a Friend

There are lots of different types of content you can post on BookTok; not just videos but also photo carousels. Not every post you make requires you to be on camera, but I’m gonna give you some tough advice here:

You need to be on camera as much as possible. Straight-to-camera videos do well on TikTok, because they’re immediately eye-catching. It’s like if someone grabbed you by the arm and started telling you a secret.

Also, people connect with people, so I guarantee you’ll get more comments and likes if you speak to the camera in an authentic way.

4. Think Clickbait

More tough advice: the thing that unequivocally works on TikTok is clickbait. For example:

– I’ve read 50 books this year and here’s the BEST one

– 5 books that have CRAZY twists

– 3 HUGE mistakes you’re making in your writing

When you shoot a video, think of a “hook”, an eye-catching headline that will prompt people to stop scrolling.

5. Big Opinions Get Views

On the topic of clickbait, you know what always does well on TikTok? Controversy. That means, rants (“I HATE this popular book trope”), advice that goes against received wisdom (“you’re approaching getting published ALL WRONG”), and anything that’s going to rile people up enough to get them to leave a comment.

I wouldn’t advocate posting a lot of negative, controversial content, but if you have a genuine rant brewing inside you, let it out!

When I post anything negative, I usually try to turn it out around by the end of the video and offer some positivity. If I’m pointing out a mistake that authors make, for example, I’ll confess that I also used to make that mistake, but now I do THIS other, better thing instead.

6. Get to the Point, Always Include a Headline

To reiterate, make sure the very first thing you say on camera is interesting/hooky/suspenseful. Also include a big piece of text on screen that blasts the same hook to anyone scrolling past.

TikTok is not the place for a gentle start like, “Hey, guys, I decided to record a video today because, um, I was thinking about…” Snoooooze. Everyone’s already scrolled onward.

7. Smile, Be Animated

Smiling makes a big difference to both your voice and your facial expression. Make a concerted effort to smile as much as possible in your BookTok videos. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate your reactions, either. Being animated helps people connect with what you’re saying.

A common mistake people make on TikTok is to come across as nervous, downbeat, even miserable. Yes, it may feel weird to be alone in a room, talking a camera, but you need to give the impression that you’re full of beans.

Do a few jumping jacks beforehand, or spend a minute talking aloud to yourself in order to warm up your voice.

8. Shoot Videos Outside

When a friend, who’s an avid TikTok user, told me to record my videos outside, I thought she was mad.

But she was right, outdoor videos get more views. They’re visually interesting and they have a more authentic feel about them, like “oh, this thought just popped into my head and I had to tell you all about it.”

Videos shot in your car (while stationary) are also effective, because they have that same un-rehearsed feeling. Users of TikTok are looking for REAL – and apparently there’s nothing realer than sitting in the driver’s seat, or walking down a footpath, yapping to the camera.

9. Don’t Worry About Professional Gloss

The shoot-in-your-car advice may have tipped you off to the idea that professionalism is overrated in TikTok videos. I think this is because everyone nowadays is tired of being “sold” to.

That slick, perfect video on your feed screams corporate money, doesn’t it? By contrast, the low-fi, shaky-hand video you recorded while walking across a field is genuine.

When I first joined TikTok, I figured I’d need to buy an external mic and get really good at editing lots of video clips together in a clever way.

NOPE! Your phone’s mic is fine, and it’s rarely worth the effort to do anything clever with editing.

10. Shorter Is Better, But Don’t Worry If Your Videos Are Longer

TikTok is a successor to Vine, which made popular super-short videos. These videos of 7-, 10-, 15-seconds still do well on TikTok. Crucially, they can be re-watched easily, which boosts the number of views.

However, longer videos (2 minutes, 3 minutes, even 5 minutes) are popular on TikTok as well. Obviously, try to keep it snappy, but don’t worry too much about the length of your video.

11. Always Include Captions

A surprisingly high number of users (85%) on TikTok scroll through their feed without sound, so it’s vital to always include captions on all your videos.

They’re auto-generated (just click on the closed caption button), although it’s worth checking through to make sure the process hasn’t misunderstood you.

12. Keep at it, Consistency is Key

Every author marketing their book is looking for a silver bullet that will prompt lots of people to buy their book immediately. Sorry, but TikTok is not that. (I would argue that no social media platform is going to have that effect on your book marketing.)

Don’t be disheartened if your account is slow to take off on TikTok. Keep going. Keep posting. Look at it as a long-term marketing plan.

Some people recommend posting multiple videos every day. Personally, I’ve never had the stomach for that, but whatever your bandwidth, come up with a schedule (one video a week, two or three videos a week, etc.) and stick to it.

13. Use Your Videos for Instagram, Too

Have I mentioned that Instagram is so threatened by the success of TikTok that it has turned itself into TikTok-Lite?

Instagram Reels do have a different feel to TikToks (they’re usually less frenetic, for one), but they’re similar enough that it’s worth also posting your content to Instagram as well. You’ll reach different people via Instagram, and more eyeballs on your content is better, right?

Don’t directly repost, though! Instagram suppresses any videos with the TikTok watermark, so your videos won’t get seen. Instead, you should recreate any videos you make, either using Instagram’s built-in video editor, or an external app like CapCut.

No matter if it’s on TikTok or Instagram, the most important thing about succeeding with shortform video is to be authentic and have fun with it.

Are there any tips you’ve found particularly useful when it comes to TikTok?

Oh, and don’t forget to follow me on TikTok…