What hashtags should writers use on Instagram?

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INSTRUCTIONS – How to Use the Hashtags for Writers Generator

STEP 1:

Select the social media platform you wish to find your hashtags for.

STEP 2:

Select your hashtag goal. Who is it you wish to reach with your social media post?

STEP 3:

Select the hashtags you want to use for your social media post. The tool will automatically count the number of hashtags or characters you have selected for you. It will also show you the allowed number of hashtags or characters – depending on what social media platform you have chosen. 

Now simply click the Add Hashtags button to add your hashtags to your collection box of hashtags.

STEP 4:

You can go back to STEP 2 any time, if you wish to select a different hashtag goal to find even more hashtags. Your previously added hashtags will remain in the collection box until you either (1) refresh the page or (2) clear the tool by hitting the Clear All button.

Once you have created your list of hashtags, copy them into your social media post by simply clicking the Copy Your Hashtags button.

Here, the tool will also automatically tell you how many hashtags/ characters you have already used, based on your selected social media platform.

To begin a new search and clear all the collected hashtags in the collection box, simply click the Clear All button.

Best Practices When Using Hashtags:

When you create your social media post, we suggest you include three types of hashtags:

• Hashtags suggested via the Author Hashtag Generator tool
• 1-2 niche-specific hashtags
• 1-2 branded hashtags 

While this tool consists of the best and most commonly used author and reader-related hashtags, it’s important to also include a few niche-specific ones and hashtags related to your own author brand. 

For example, if your book is a children’s book about dogs, your hashtags could include:

• Children’s book genre-related hashtags provided by the Author Hashtag Generator
• Dog-related hashtags
• Hashtags related to you brand (e.g. your author name or imprint)

Why we created the Author Hashtag Generator Tool

The reason we wanted to created this Author Hashtag Generator tool was twofold:  

• We wanted to make sure we focus on the most versatile and most often used hashtags among authors AND readers so both can find and connect with each other more easily, and
• We wanted to present these hashtags in a way that you, the author, can find and access them more easily and quickly

There are millions of hashtags out there. And each social media platform uses slightly different ones, so we made sure to share the BEST author hashtags for these four major social media platforms right here:

1. Instagram
2. Twitter
3. Pinterest
4. TikTok

What Hashtags are Included in This Tool?

The Author Hashtag Generator shares the 500 most commonly used hashtags that are used among authors as well as readers. 

All hashtags in this tool have been hand-selected, based on 

1. the social media platform they are being used on
2. how often they have been used on each of these platform

This tool uses an internal database we have created that holds the 500 most commonly used hashtags among authors as well as readers. 

Because it is a static database, it does NOT reflect short-lived trends, but instead includes author and reader-related hashtags that fall in between these parameters right here:

Each platform’s hashtags are organized by the authors’ intent or goal of their social media post. We can choose between hashtags that…

1. Share about a Specific Genre 
2. Connect with Readers
3. Connect with fellow Authors
4. Share about the Writing Process
5. Share about Special Deals

Each social media platform has its own set limits.

And to make sure you stay well within those limits, the Author Hashtag Generator will automatically count the number of used hashtags or characters for you.

But Hey! What Are Hashtags Anyway?

Now that I have introduced you to our Hashtag Tool, let's take a step back to see what hashtags actually are and what they can do for us.

Hashtags seem to be #inescapable. Like them or loathe them, they are a feature of modern life and are here to stay. But are they useful for you as an author? Can hashtags for writers boost your writing efforts on social media?

I recently explored social media for authors in-depth. However, hashtags for writers is a subject deserving closer treatment because choosing the right hashtag can make your tweet, Pinterest or Instagram post go much further.

What you need to know is that I’m no believer in ‘magic bullet marketing’. If you’re expecting hashtags to do the legwork of marketing your book or writing alone, you’re bound to be disappointed. However, I do feel they can play a valuable, supplemental role in your book marketing.

So what do you need to know about hashtags for writers?

In the section below, you will learn:

1. The Right Way To Use Hashtags For Writers
2. The Benefits Of Using Hashtags
3. Where You Can Use Hashtags Effectively

Let’s get to it!

The Short List Of Hashtags For Writers

Before we delve deep into how and where to use hashtags, let's get straight to the good stuff – a few hashtags for you as an author!

Here are some useful hashtags for you below. For a much more extensive list, though, be sure to use the Author Hashtag Generator.

GENRE SPECIFIC HASHTAGS

#SciFI (80 tweets per hour)

#Fantasy (130 tweets per hour)

#Romance (133 tweets per hour)

#Horror (121 tweets per hour)

#UrbanFantasy (84 tweets per hour)

WRITING PROCESS

#Writing (200 tweets per hour)

#AmWriting (267 tweets per hour)

#Editing (21 tweets per hour)

#BookBoost (40 tweets per hour)

#WritingPrompt (150 tweets per day)

SELF-PUBLISHING & MARKETING

#BookMarketing (190 tweets daily)

#Publishing (700 tweets in current archive)

#BookPromo (330 tweets per day)

#MSWL – ‘manuscript wish list' (tweets most days)

#1K1H ‘Write 1000 Words in 1 hour' (tweets on most days)

#WritingPrompt (150 tweets per day)

CONNECT WITH READERS

#MustRead (70 tweets in the last hour)

#BookGiveaway (daily use, mixture of authors running giveaways, and fans saying thanks)

#FollowFriday (spikes in popularity on Fridays, suggesting new people to follow)

#FreeBook

#FridayReads

#Bookish

#Shelfie

#ReadMore

CONNECT WITH WRITERS

#AmWriting

#WriteTip

#WritersLife

#WritingCommunity

#ASMSG (Authors Social Media Support Group)

#RWA (Romance Writers of America)

#ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers)

#SCBWI (Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators)

The Purpose Of Writer Hashtags + Benefits & Best Practices

Hashtags originally developed on the Twitter platform. They were organically created by Twitter users, and the company then adopted them as an official feature. Since that time, they have become ubiquitous across social media. You can find hashtags on almost any platform you can think of, including Pinterest, Tiktok, and Instagram.

So why do hashtags matter for writers?

Simply put, hashtags are a way of categorizing your social media content. This makes it more easily discoverable by others. There are many millions, sometimes billions, of users of the major social platforms. Inevitably, a lot of content gets lost amidst the noise. The algorithms underpinning the social networks curate the content we see, meaning a lot of it gets potentially overlooked.

By applying a hashtag to a social media post or piece of content, you enable others to discover it more easily. This discoverability has a number of underlying purposes:

• Share your work. By making a social media post linking to some of your work, and applying a hashtag, you categorize the post. So, for example, if you tagged a link to your latest military sci-fi novel as #militaryscifi, it would help people interested in this genre to discover it.
• Join an event. Many events in the writer community have hashtags to go alongside them. For example, Nanowrimo has its own hashtag, and there are many others associated with different writer challenges. By using these hashtags as an author, you gain a sense of participation, and can see what others in the challenge are up to.
• Connection. Many users of social media platforms follow specific hashtags. They then are presented with a feed of all the content that is relevant to them. By applying relevant and popular hashtags, you can connect with people that are interested in the same areas of writing as you are.
• Conversation. Perhaps there is a hot topic within your subsection of the author community, such as a controversial new marketing technique, or an absorbing new read everyone wants to share their take on. By finding popular hashtags related to conversations, you can go from spectating to participating.
• Humor. There is an art form to humorous hashtags. If you have a comedic side to your personality, don’t be afraid to show it. You can put a smile on the face of your followers with a well-placed sarcastic or ironic hashtag. (#HalfwayToMyMidLifeCrisis or funny sounding words like “Heissluftfritteuse Rezepte“ that leave readers saying “Gesundheit!”)

Overall, hashtags are all about sharing and connecting. They help you put yourself and your work out there to kindred spirits who might otherwise never encounter it.

Using Hashtags As A Writer – Best Practices

Now that you know the reasons behind using hashtags as authors, I’ll also share my take on the right and wrong way to use hashtags as a writer.

With the abundance of book marketing options out there, you should be sure that you stand to benefit from ‘bang for your buck’. Even though using hashtags is free, it still represents an investment of your time and energy.

Like anything in the world of author marketing, there is a right and a wrong way to do it.

If you’re interested in adding hashtags to your book promotion toolkit, but aren’t sure of the right way to go about it, check out my thoughts on the best practices for authors using hashtags:

• Don’t spam. Sometimes, you see people stack endless hashtags in a single post, and it’s a little cringey. It comes across as desperate and attention-seeking. The key to using hashtags is to restrain yourself! Select a few relevant hashtags for each post. If you need guidance on the right number, get a feel by following different authors you admire and seeing how they do it.
• Humor. There is an art form to humorous hashtags. If you have a comedic side to your personality, don’t be afraid to show it. A well-placed sarcastic or ironic hashtag can put a smile on the face of your followers.
• Value. Don’t be the author who shamelessly uses social media and its hashtags for endless self-promotion. Try and provide value with your content. Inform or entertain your followers. Ironically, this is likely to lead to better outcomes in terms of promoting your work!
• Tools. Consider using a social media assistance tool, such as HootSuite. This helps you to manage your social media presence in an efficient and effective way, and stops you falling into the trap of undisciplined and excessive scrolling through various apps!

Like anything, you’ll get a feel for hashtags as you grow in your use of them. If you’re already an active Twitter or Instagram user, hashtags might already be second nature to you! If you’re not, no worries. Everyone started somewhere.

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Where You Can Use Hashtags

I delve deep into my exploration of social media for authors here.

However, I’ll summarize with a few thoughts on the social media platforms where you can deploy hashtags for writers effectively:

• Twitter. Probably the best social platform for authors wishing to join conversations and put their voice out there. Twitter makes it easy to see how popular various hashtags are, so you can easily see which is likely to produce the best results for you.
• Instagram. Instagram is probably the most popular social network among the younger generation, and it’s built for images. You can apply hashtags to image posts such as quotes from your books, or even high-resolution images of your book covers or writing life.  You can also apply some very valuable hashtags to the great selfies taken with your book.
• Pinterest. Although not a major feature of the platform, Pinterest does make use of hashtags. You can use them to make your content more easily discoverable.
• Tiktok. Although this platform doesn't allow for a lengthy description for it's videos, one or two well-placed hashtags can really help with a video's discoverability.

Basically, almost every social platform out there makes use of the hashtag or a similar feature. Failing to use them is a wasted opportunity for more exposure and fans.

Hashtags For Writers – Final Thoughts

Thanks for checking out this guide to hashtags for writers. We hope you find our new Author Hashtag Generator helpful when it comes to finding the best and most commonly used hashtags for your next social media post. 

And if you know of any other great author and reader-related hashtags that would fall in between our previously shared parameters, let us know in the comments. We’d happily add them to our database. 

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