Your Instagram bio is incredibly important because it is your first – and often last – chance to convert a profile viewer into a follower. And that’s how you start building a consistent audience who will see your posts.
Followers are not everything, but sales are often proportional to the number of followers you have due to the increased reach of your content and sales posts.
That being said, do not buy followers, participate in follow trains or engagement loops, or join any other “too good to be true” trends for follower growth because they don’t work and could potentially jeopardize your account.
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What Should an Instagram Bio for Authors Do?
Your bio should tell people what you write, your newest release, your genre, and how they can buy the book from you.
Why?
Because most people are not going to work that hard to figure out if they are interested in you. If you don’t quickly and clearly give them a reason to care, they likely will click away and forget about you.
How Can I Optimize My Instagram Profile for the Greatest Follower Growth?
Each Instagram bio will be a little different, but several of the rules are uniform across all accounts.
The Rules:
Instagram Bios can be 150 characters, but if you add more than 4 lines, some of them will disappear behind “see more” and this is a NO GO. We do not need a list of all your hobbies/work listed out one by one.
The Name Field just got an update and can now hold at least 52 characters. However, be careful when you’re updating it because you can only change it 2 times every 14 days before you’re stuck with a typo!
The link field is NOT optional for authors. The link field is absolutely necessary to drive traffic to buy your book online, sign up for your newsletter, or do whatever else you are looking to do regarding your business.
4 Steps to a Perfect Instagram Author Bio
Step One: Update Your Name Field. Your name field should include your name (or pen name) as well as your genre. Why? Because this makes your profile searchable for that genre.
Example: Lucy Smith | Fantasy Author
Step Two: Fix Your Profile Picture. Far too often, I see authors with either a really unclear photo of their book cover, a photo where the author is standing too far back to recognize them, or a photo with such a busy background that you can’t see the author.
You’re marketing your book, so you need to look professional and take ownership of your book. Otherwise, it is going to be really hard to gain the credibility you need to drive sales.
Step Three: Share What Type of Books You Write. In your bio, you have 150 characters. Briefly describe what people will get if they follow you and read your book.
Example: Award-winning epic fantasy series with a strong female lead
Step Four: Add a Call to Action. Tell people how to do whatever you want them to do. If you want them to buy your book, direct them to buy it at the link in your bio.
Is your author bio converting? If not, book an Instagram Profile Audit so I can help you find something that works!
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