influencer Archives

The People Behind the Posts Share Their Best Advice

In Part 1 of our Ode to Micro-Influencers, we made the case for looking beyond follower counts and building relationships with micro-influencers. But what does that actually look like in practice? We asked publishing professional, Jillian Hinz, Digital Media Coordinator from PR by the Book and book influencer Laraib at literarycatlady_ to share what they look for, what works, and what they wish authors and publishers knew.

Publicist’s View: Jillian Hinz, Digital Media Coordinator, PR by the Book

What do you look for when you work with a micro-influencer?

For us, the biggest thing is authenticity, not simply audience size. We look for micro-influencers who have built real trust with a clearly defined community and whose interests genuinely align with the book. We also look at how a creator actually talks about books. Are they thoughtful about their recommendations? Do their followers respond, ask questions, and share their own opinions? Are they consistently creating content rather than simply posting sponsored or gifted books? Those signals tell us much more than a follower count.

For authors, micro-influencers can be especially powerful because their recommendations often feel like they are coming from a fellow reader rather than a traditional advertisement. That personal connection is exactly what we want to tap into.

Any particular amazing success stories?

Some of our most successful influencer campaigns have come from finding creators who are incredibly specific about what they love. Rather than trying to put a book in front of the biggest possible audience, we focus on finding the right audience.

We have also seen success outside of traditional book influencers. For some of our nonfiction titles, the strongest partners can be creators in adjacent communities: architecture and urban design creators for a book about neighborhood development or legal creators and law students for a book centered on real cases. Those audiences may be smaller, but the alignment can make the resulting conversation much more meaningful.

The takeaway for us is that the “success story” isn’t always the post with the biggest reach. Sometimes it is the creator whose audience immediately understands why the book belongs in their world.

Some examples of influencer posts:

Anything to avoid?

We try to avoid treating micro-influencers like a numbers game. A large follower count does not automatically translate into influence, and chasing vanity metrics can lead to partnerships that don’t feel authentic. We also avoid overly scripted partnerships. If a creator has built a relationship with their audience around a particular voice, we want to give them room to use that voice. The goal is to give them the right book and the right information and not dictate exactly what they should say.

Finally, we look for genuine engagement rather than inflated or superficial metrics. An account can have thousands of followers but very little meaningful conversation. On the other hand, a smaller creator may have a highly engaged community that trusts their recommendations. For books, that trust is incredibly valuable. Our biggest piece of advice is simple: don’t underestimate the “micro.” The right small creator can have a much bigger impact than a large creator who is simply a demographic match.

Influencer’s View: Laraib H., @literarycatlady_

What does all of this look like from the other side? We also spoke with literary content creator Laraib H. (@literarycatlady_) about what she looks for when deciding whether to work with an author or publisher, and what can turn a one-time interaction into a lasting relationship.

What do you look for when deciding to work with an author or publisher?

The first thing I look at is credibility. Who is this person/company and what do they publish? I think about how much time I can invest in our partnership. I want to make sure it aligns with the kinds of books I read or am interested in. Because if I do decide to work with them I want us both to help one another.

Any particular success stories about creating a relationship with authors or publishers?

I reached out to Harper360 and told them about my interest. I included my follower count and a little bit about what I post. They were really receptive and took the time to look through my information and added me to their creator circle. I recently met an author, M.S. Masood at BookCon and we really connected! Now I’m moderating an author talk with her in the fall and she asked me personally. I’m really happy I built that relationship with her enough for her to ask me.

Any tips for authors who want to reach out?

A good tip I would give is reach out to creators that you trust and see yourself working with in the future! I think reaching out to small creators is important. Don’t ignore them.

Why Trust Matters More Than Follower Count

Wade through any list of “top book influencers” and you’ll land on familiar names: reviewers with six-figure followings, brand deals, and a mountain of publisher gift boxes stacked in the background of posts. We love these reviewers and they’ve earned their reach! But today, we’re singing the praises of the micro-influencers whose impact often exceeds their follower count.

What Is a Micro-Influencer?

A micro-influencer is generally defined as someone with a following under 100,000 people. In the book reviewing community specifically, the number isn’t as significant as the influence. Trust is the foundation of a literary micro-influencer’s success rather than size.

Micro-influencers’ followers choose to stick around because they consistently deliver authentic, personal, and relevant recommendations. Think of the romance reviewer with 4,200 followers, whose readers pre-order everything she recommends. Or the horror BookToker with 18,000 followers whose stitch-duets move backlist titles years after publication. Post after post, these influencers prove they understand a specific genre, subgenre, microtrope, or reading mood better than almost anyone else.

Their Role in Helping Books Succeed

While scale has been, and always will be, a carrot that book publicists chase for book marketing, scale isn’t the same thing as conversion, and conversion is what actually sells books.

Micro-influencers tend to outperform on the metrics that matter most: click-through rates, saves, and comments that become actual conversations. They’re also great at one of our favorite metrics of interest: the word-of-mouth effect that gets people in a certain community talking, recommending, and buying.

Arcadia Publishing recommends following this formula to calculate an influencer’s level of engagement with their community: “Take the median number of engagements (likes, comments, etc.) across all the influencer’s posts on a particular profile, divide by the total number of followers, then multiply by 100. So if an influencer has 10,000 followers and averages 300 likes and comments per post, their engagement rate is 3%.”

How to Find Your Micro-Influencers

Modern book discovery isn’t a single funnel built on traditional media gatekeepers. It’s a network of overlapping, trust-based communities—but where do you start, and how do you reach these micro-influencers?

Look beyond follower counts.
Prioritize engagement and audience fit.
Search by genre or niche, not just “book influencer.”
Hunt through hashtags and social groups for influencers that specialize in your book’s area. Similarly, you may find your Non-Fiction influencers in podcast circles, rather than on Instagram. Get to know these communities and encourage your author to join in!
Look at who’s engaging (and how)
The comments can tell you almost as much as the account itself. Are readers asking for recommendations? Tagging friends? Discussing similar books? Or are they mostly posting emojis and generic comments?
Start early.
Build relationships well before launch. ARCs are key here!
Give them something worth talking about.
Exclusive material, author Q&As, behind-the-scenes content, comp titles you’ve seen on their platforms, etc. The goal isn’t simply to get them to post, it’s to give them a reason to want to talk about the book.

For marketers and publicists building a promotional strategy, micro-influencers are more than a nice-to-have. They’re a strategic way to build awareness within the communities most likely to care about your book. A launch strategy built entirely around scale can miss the readers who are only ever going to trust a familiar, specialized voice.

So here’s to the micro-influencers! We celebrate those who build engaging genre communities one post at a time. “Smaller” numbers are doing some of publishing’s biggest work!

An Ode to Micro-Influencers, Part 2