It’s been some time since I did a book influencer post. Today, I am going to share a technique that helps boost a book onto the bestseller list. All it takes is one post. This is how to influence people to buy books.
Now, I need to preface this by saying there is a difference between reviewers and influencers. Reviewers review books and post their reviews on various sites. Influencers review books, but they also influence people to buy them by subtly making suggestions. There are a lot of book influencers who are excellent at doing this. Jordy’s Book Club and Sadie Hartmann are excellent examples of people who influence others to buy books. Jordy makes a suggestion and his followers race to buy the book. Sadie uses genre horror themes and recommends books that way. I can’t tell you how long my TBR list has grown because of Sadie’s lists.
Today, I am going to share a marketing strategy I use based on what I see trending. I am known to not share book reviews often. Usually, I market a book for months, and then wait to drop the note that says, “Go buy this book.” I will hold off on giving a review until I see the right fit for an audience.
A Book for the Resistance
This year, one of the trendiest topics just happens to be resisting what is happening in America. I discovered two days post-election that the Trump administration planned to change our democracy into an authoritarian government. I started getting the news out and amassed over 2,000 followers on Threads overnight.
People wanted information on what to do next. I was supplying the information as I received it. This allowed me to be put into a position that people trusted.
During this time, Omar El Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This landed in my inbox.
I’m not sure why Knopf sent this book in particular. But the imprints at Penguin Random House are known for sending the right book to me at the right time. I never understand why, but when I start reading, it eventually makes sense. They watch my feeds, so they know what will fit into my narrative. They always send books that will help. [Although, when I can pluck the book out to read in my ever growing TBR pile is always a mystery.]
This book talks about Palestine. The author is pro-Palestine. [Please ignore reviews that suggest he is not. That reviewer only read 40 pages and is not in a position to review. They gave out a lot of erroneous information based on their assumptions.]
He makes a profound statement. If you ignore the genocide, it will one day show up at your door. He goes on to discuss American politics, warning us that the current system is failing. In this book, he teaches us how to walk away from this government. He wrote this before Kamala Harris entered the 2024 presidential race. He was a critic of the Biden administration. But at the same time, he was warning of what was to come.
He was not wrong.
It was the part about walking away that I latched onto. I took that teachable moment and told my followers: This is how we walk away from this government. I told my Threads followers to pre-order this book now. It was due to release two weeks later.
When the book debuted, it was on the bestseller list.
So let’s break down what happened.
- Who is the audience? The type of audience for this book are people looking for information on how to resist authoritarianism. People need help in understanding what we need to do next. They need hope. They need something that will tell them what to do. How to switch gears. In this case, I have an audience of people who are resisting. They will not only buy this book, but they will re-post my post, and spread the word.
- Are you answering a question that your audience has? In this case, it’s how do we deal with this? The answer is to walk away, and this is how we do it.
- Is this a trending topic? Fighting authoritarianism? Yep. I do believe that’s a trending topic.
- Are people passionate about this topic? If you know that they are, and you have a book to recommend, drop that book recommendation.
A Book for People Wanting to Know More About that Trending Movie They Just Watched
At this juncture in 2025, I hope you have already seen Sinners. If you haven’t, get thee to a movie theater!
Sinners was trending everywhere during the first 2-3 weeks of its release. Everyone was talking about it. There was one cool aspect at the beginning of the film where the Choctaw Native Americans were hunting the vampire. They discovered the white woman had already let the vampire into her home. The sun was going down. They hightailed it out of there.
That was the last we saw of the Choctaw in this story.
Now, everyone has questions. What did the Choctaw know about the vampire?
Seeing this question trending, I felt like I may have something to contribute. One bookstagrammer suggested reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. So I jumped on that recommendation, especially after Ryan Coogler wrote a thank you note. Surprise! He thanked Stephen Graham Jones for being among the many who helped inspire Sinners.
I then merged all of these elements and created one post on Threads. This is how I recommended The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.
Let’s break down the key elements here.
- What is the trending topic? Sinners. By using the first word as Sinners, this puts the post into the trending algorithm.
- What is the question (or need) everyone has? The question is what did the Choctaw know about vampires? People have a need to know more about Native Americans and vampires.
- Who is the audience? Mainly BIPOC. Most have never heard of this author. This opens the author up to a whole new demographic of potential fans.
- Is there a trusted connection between Sinners and this book? In Ryan Coogler’s thank you, he acknowledged Stephen Graham Jones as helping to inspire this story. Ryan Coogler is the individual this audience trusts.
- Are people passionate about this subject? Ummm. Have you seen this movie? Yes. People are passionate about this movie and everything that happened in it.
- Bring it home. Add all of these elements together into one post. This includes the key terms: Sinners, Choctaw, Native American, vampire, and Ryan Coogler. These key terms will pick up in the various algorithms. Introduce the audience to the author and their book. Let them know that this is a trusted source. Point out the Coogler connection. Maybe this author has the answer on how the Choctaw knew about vampires. They had one of their own.
- Note the choice in photos. On Bookstagram (Instagram for Books), people focus on aesthetics and pretty photos. On Threads, I used a photo I took of Stephen. That face can sell books. There’s a reason why his main demographic is women between 18-35. I also chose a photo to make the book clearer for everyone to see. My purpose in choosing these two specific photos was to introduce the author and the book. That is what I’m selling here. I’m creating a new fan base for the author, while selling this particular title to the audience. Be intentional with your message.
I asked Saga Press to monitor sales of BHH after my post. Two weeks later, results showed the book received a bump in sales. This increase was enough to put Stephen Graham Jones back on the USA Today Bestseller List.
During this time, Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory was also linked to Sinners. The book received a significant spike in sales. People wanted more information on Sinners. They wanted more BIPOC horror stories. They wanted more horror stories from this time period.
When you see a viral trend, and you know a book you can recommend, drop that recommendation! It really helps boost the author’s sales and may open the author up to a whole new demographic of fans.
Etc.
It is important when you are latching onto a trend to take your ego and self out of the equation. Don’t post photos of yourself trying to market the book. You can leave that on Instagram or BookTok. When you use social media platforms like Threads or BlueSky for book recommendations, focus on the books. Take yourself out of the equation. Focus on the author and their book, especially if this is a new target audience.
Know who your audience is on every single platform. I review what people want to see from me according to the social media platform. Each space has a different audience. It is knowing who your audience is that you can best influence the information you are giving to them. I wear a lot of different hats as an influencer. I have a fashion crowd, Native American crowd, horror crowd, the resistance… That means I’m posting on a variety of different topics on many platforms.
The important thing is when you find something that works, stick to it and be true to your audience. They depend upon you for the information you are giving to them. You are building trust. They come to you for help and information.
Instagram is a very fickle book place. I’ve only seen a few Bookstagrammers influencing people to buy books. Marketing books is very different there because you are marketing to other book lovers. On Threads and BlueSky, I know that to sell a book, I must suggest it subtly. Most are not book enthusiasts. But with the right book suggestion, they will pick it up en masse.
Always study your audience. You can learn from them.