Heyo Bookaholics!

Happy Australia Day!

My first posts of my Bookstagram:

Prior to these, my little ol’ Instagram was nothing more than a confused lifestyle blog. I finally decided to change to a Bookstagram after following a few accounts and realising that the content I really wanted to blog about was books and not cafés and being outside!

Over the 4-ish years that I have been on the Bookstagram, I have experienced pressure to post, the sadness of not having enough followers; and wanting to close my account because well, I felt I couldn’t compare to other accounts. Despite all of this, I continued and pushed through to learn so much about the community, but also about myself as a person.

So, What have I learnt from Bookstagrm?

I have developed a strong connection and dedication to my books. It may sound weird but honestly, I feel like you have to to be able to take photos of them and not feel ridiculous about it. I scroll for hours through Bookstagram looking for inspiration for my next photo shoot and then I set up and snap away. It really gives me time to think and unwind, play with my camera and let out my creative side.

Thanks to Booksagram and the people on it, I read so many more diverse books. Books that I never would have picked up, but also books with controversial reviews just so I can have my own opinion on it. I’ve also put down a book that has been rated/ reviewed badly. There have been comics in my TBRs, historical fiction, mystery, and now a fair amount of contemporary; plus so many other things that aren’t just general fantasy as I used to stick to.

The Bookstagram community – or the book community in general – is the most supportive one I have come across. You’ll get fandoms who are crazy and yeah there are fandoms within the community, but the community as a whole is so inclusive and will stand up against anyone trying to tear another member down, but are also willing to accept everyone’s views on any conflict that occurs. People are so chatty and just fun to interact with, and everyone just wants the same thing. To be appreciated for their photos and have their opinions/ voices heard.

It’s been 4 years on the app and frankly, I’ve learnt to not care about a lot of things. Things like follower count and likes are nice, but I’m not going to get all upset over not reaching a certain goal. As long as all of the numbers I see are genuine, it’s really all I care about anymore. Of course, this may sound like I’m just trying to reassure myself (coming from a small account and all), and yeah it started off like that, and then I said: “why should I care?” My blog is what I love. Books and pretty photos are what I love. So why not just do what I love instead of trying to grow a number. I did just that and it helped me to just make my account more genuine. Abandoning a theme was the best thing I ever did. Posting the photos I love instead of ones that fit criteria really made me happy, and allowed me to take better photos as well as freely talk about my blog in the comments!

My reading habits changed once I stopped caring and started getting off of my arse to actually read instead of just photographing books. Then I followed some people from Australia, then Melbourne; found a book club and go out of the house! Instagram is good and all to socialise online but it is also a connection for people to actually talk and meet and make real-life connections over works of art.

Instagram is a brilliant platform for promotion and marketing and I’ll admit there are restrictions to the marketing aspect as people may not really want to go the extra mile when we say “link in bio”, thus losing readers. It would be great is Instagram allowed links in the comments, but it works for promo in many other ways. Ways I wish I can unlock the secrets too. Showing that there are still many things for me to learn from this app.

My Bookstagram posts now:

Drop your Bookstagram accounts in the comments below and I’ll give you a follow! Tell me your Bookstagram journey story too. I’d love to hear it!

What is your Bookstagram journey story? Have you learnt anything?

Leave your opinions in the comments or alternatively on my social media channels!
Instagram // Goodreads // Twitter // YouTube

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With Love Bree xx

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© Jasper+Spice 2019. All Rights Reserved. Please do not use without my permission. This post was not sponsored, all photos and graphics are of my own creation.