As we enter into the digital age, the key to success seems to be developing a strong online presence. By connecting with your audiences online, you have the potential to reach hundreds, even thousands, of potential readers with the click of a finger.
Picture this: you’ve just started your author Instagram profile! You’ve set up your Creator profile, you’re sharing fun and engaging content about your book, and you’re using a variety of hashtags to reach as many people as possible (#bookstagram and #indieauthor being some favourite of ours!). Suddenly, your direct messages are flooded with reviewers; all of them telling you how much they would love to read your book and how they can help you gain followers and awareness through their promoting – all for just one simple fee. But, who is a reviewer, and who is a “reviewer”? Who will actually deliver, and who is really just looking for an easy scam?
Don’t fret – we’re here to help!
We know how stressful navigating the world of self-publishing and promoting can be, and adding the extra stress of messages from spammers just will not do! So, check out our tips below on how you can spot a fake vs. someone who is actually trying to support you, and how you can respond to these types of messages!
Message Mistakes
The first thing you need to do is really look at the message that the promoter sent you! Sometimes fakes are obvious to spot (for example, someone who messages you nothing but “Interested in promotion?” or, “Hey! We love what you’re doing. DM us for a collab!”; or they comment on your post saying “promote it on @theirownusername”), but sometimes, you need to be a bit more critical.
How much information does the message provide? Typically reviewers will give you some type of information on what they can offer you (i.e. what their promotion includes, such as an Instagram review, Goodreads review, Amazon review, etc.).
Another important thing to note is their attitude towards you. Are they consistently pushing you to answer, or decreasing the price with “final offers” to make sure you buy right now before you’ve even had a chance to respond? That is a sign that they may not be trying to help you. Most reviewers have a set price, and they will stick with it and respect your wishes or your lack of response (we’re all busy, and we all need to think over business decisions! Real accounts will acknowledge this!).
Account Awareness
Another key aspect of trying to determine if an account is fake or real is to do a deep dive into their account. By just reviewing their account, you can catch some immediate red flags! Stuff to look out for includes:
- Followers vs Following
- If an account has hundreds of thousands of followers but is following zero accounts themselves, they are most likely spam (especially if they have thousands of posts as well!)
- Note: Instagram will let you know if you have any mutual followers when you check out their page. If other authors are following the account, that’s always a good sign!
- If an account has hundreds of thousands of followers but is following zero accounts themselves, they are most likely spam (especially if they have thousands of posts as well!)
- Engagement Levels
- Take a look at their posts! Do they have thousands of followers but their photos/videos have less than 20 likes and few to no comments? Then they are most likely spam.
- Note: Believe it or not, for the fan/follower-based measurement method, an engagement rate that’s above 1% is considered good. It doesn’t seem like much, but when you start to look at spam accounts, you’ll notice that a lot of them are producing an engagement rate of somewhere near 0.003%!
- Do they respond to comments on their posts? This can also be a big indicator if the account is real or fake. If they interact with their followers, clearly there is someone running the account!
- Take a look at their posts! Do they have thousands of followers but their photos/videos have less than 20 likes and few to no comments? Then they are most likely spam.
- Content
- While there will obviously be some type of book promotion on these pages, does it actually pertain to you? For example, if you are approached by a “reviewer” but they have no book content in your genre, then it prompts the question, “Why did they target you?” (i.e. a children’s author but there are no children’s books in sight). A lot of these spam accounts comb through the author hashtags to find authors to approach, so they know that you are an author, but won’t do the research to find out what type.
- Do they have zero posts? Definitely not a good sign!
- Price Point
- With fake Instagram accounts, if they seem too good to be true, it is likely that they are! If someone is offering you promotion on multiple accounts, plus your online listings, and Goodreads, and their blog, and guaranteeing that you’ll get followers for a low price – that is a big red flag.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Anyone who guarantees you hundreds or thousands of followers within a certain time limit is spam. The only way someone can promise you that kind of growth is an account that is going to purchase followers for you. Purchasing followers will not help you generate awareness or sales because these purchased accounts are just more spambots.
- In our experience with paid Instagram promoters, you will typically receive a review on their Instagram account, Goodreads, and their blog unless otherwise stated (i.e. they are running a group promotion with other notable reviewers). The pricing for this typically ranges from $25 – 50 USD depending on follower count.
- Note: How they request payment is also a tell-tale sign on who or who isn’t spam. Never provide your credit card information over direct messages, or over platforms like WhatsApp. In our experience, certified merchants often use secure payment methods such as PayPal.
- With fake Instagram accounts, if they seem too good to be true, it is likely that they are! If someone is offering you promotion on multiple accounts, plus your online listings, and Goodreads, and their blog, and guaranteeing that you’ll get followers for a low price – that is a big red flag.
How to Respond to Instagram Promoters
So now that you know what to look out for, how do you respond to all of these requests? Check out our templates below so you can feel confident responding to any account!
Interested – Need More Information
Hello!
Thank you for your interest in [Book Title]. I appreciate your support!
May I ask for more information for your promotion? What would the cost of this service be?
Please let me know.
Thanks!
Interested – Let’s Get Started
Hello!
Thank you for sending all of this information over! It sounds great.
How do we move forward with payment, and when can I expect to see the review? I’m so excited to get started!
Thanks!
Interested – But Not Right Now
Hello!
Thank you for sending all of this information over! It sounds great.
Unfortunately, I do not have the budget for paid promotion right now. I have made a note about your services and will be in touch when I have the extra funds for promoting.
Thank you again for thinking of me, and for your interest in [Book Title].
The downside to Instagram promoters (and really any online promotion) is that it’s a lot of guesswork. There are clear signs when an account is fake or a spam bot, but sometimes all you can do is just ask for more details and make a judgment call. We hope that with the tips above, you feel more confident making these calls! The more you see fake accounts, the easier it becomes to recognize the signs.
