Heeey, I decided to combine these two posts into one since its the end of the month and I included the post ideas here and made a content calendar for next month as well.
Now the content calendar also has some reel ideas, hooks, content series that you can try aaand what’s trending.
P.S The content calendar can be downloaded only if you are a part of my Patreon Family - The Studio tier - I spend more than 4 hours creating this manually so unfortunately I cannot give it away for free, but do not worry! I will still create a shorter version of this on my Bookstagram page for free <3
Now the most important thing, you do not need to post exactly what’s in the planner, since it’s not specifically made for you and your content, but the calendar was made to help you understand how a schedule could look like. Feel free to replace them with your own ideas and content, by either using the sheet ideas, weekly content ideas or even your own.
What I wanted to emphasize with the content calendar, is that content pillars matter, and having a diverse schedule and post different kinds of content will help you grow your account
In the attached excel you will find an explanation on content pillars.
What is inside this month:
The August Calendar is a full month grid, Monday through Sunday, color coded by content type (Growth, Valuable, Community, Inspirational, Trending). Each cell tells you the content type, the pillar, the format, and the post idea. Rest days are grayed out. Swap anything that does not fit your week for something from the matching content type tab.
Five content type idea tabs with 20 ideas each, all written with brackets so you customize them to your account. “If you loved [popular book] read these next” works whether your popular book is Fourth Wing or Intermezzo.
A brand new Find Your Pillars tab. It walks you through two different methods for discovering what YOUR content pillars should be, similar to the workbook I posted last week but shorter.
The first is The Document Method where you filter your content ideas through four lenses: what you are already doing (document), what you love watching (consume), what you bring up with friends for hours (talk), and what you could talk about for a year without getting bored (sustain). Each lens has bookstagram-specific examples so you are not staring at a blank page trying to figure out what fits.
The second is The 4 Buckets Method where you pick one pillar from each bucket: Personal (gets them to know you), Relatable (gets them to relate to you), Value (what they gain from you), and Curiosity (what makes them come back for more). Each bucket does a different job for your audience and the tab explains exactly what that job is.
A Signature Series tab with 14 recurring series concepts you can make your own. Monday Mood Books, monthly wrap-ups, genre deep dives, unpopular opinions, DNF confessions, “you choose my next read” polls, and more. Each one has the content type and a description of how to adapt it. Signature series are what make people follow you, they know they will get more. Start with 3 to 5 episodes and see what sticks.
p.s. click on any image to visit the original post, please don’t copy paste, use your own books and your own voice, and give the creators some genuine love when you stop by, they earned it
Reel - Set up your book annotation guide
Hook type: A satisfying process video, she shows you the setup step by step instead of just the finished result.
Why it works: There is something about watching someone match tab colours to a book cover that is deeply calming, and honestly the aesthetic of the whole thing does most of the heavy lifting here. The caption asks a direct question about the book itself, which is smart because it invites a comment even from someone who has zero interest in ever colour coding a single tab in their life. This is proof that a process video does not need to be groundbreaking, it just needs to feel like a tiny satisfying ritual someone wants to copy.
Content type: Community content, process and ritual based.
Steal these:
set up my book annotation guide with me
organizing my annotation tabs for my next read
my tab colour system and why I am so particular about it
annotating my first chapter of the year, here is my system
matching my tabs to the cover before I even start reading
6 of the Highest Rated Thriller Books
Hook type: A big text list with a niche baked right into it, plus she adds her own opinion on top instead of just listing titles.
Why it works: The huge pink and white text takes up almost the entire first slide, so you know exactly what you are getting before you even swipe, and that clarity is the whole reason people stop. Adding “and if I thought they were worth the hype” turns a plain list into an actual opinion piece, which is why the comments turned into a full on debate about whether The Silent Patient is overrated. People do not argue in the comments of a boring list, they argue when you clearly had a take
Content type: Growth content, opinion driven within a specific genre niche.
Steal these:
books everyone says are must reads and whether they actually held up
the most hyped thrillers of the year, ranked by whether they deserved it
thriller books that lived up to the reviews versus the ones that did not
books I went in skeptical about and ended up loving anyway
the thriller everyone recommended me and my honest verdict
Books That Rewired My Brain
Hook type: Big text over a flatlay that uses a dramatic phrase instead of a plain title, “rewired my brain” instead of “books I loved.”
Why it works: “Rewired my brain” is such a specific and slightly unhinged way to describe a reading list that it immediately reads as more interesting than “books I loved,” and the genre spread in the caption signals this is a curated shelf, not a random pile. The comments are full of people adding their own brain rewiring books, which means this format basically writes its own engagement loop. People want to claim a book as theirs the second they see someone else claim one.
Content type: Growth content, high shareability and high saveability.
Steal these:
books that permanently changed how I see the world
the books I think about more than I probably should
books that lived in my head rent free for months after finishing
reads that made me a slightly different person
books I would put on a shelf labeled do not read unless you are ready
What I Read This Week
Hook type: A recurring weekly series where she rates each book using coffee order names instead of stars or a simple list.
Why it works: I think I’ve shared “what I read this week” posts in my plans a lot of times and this just shows that they are still working on Bookstagram. Think of it as the day in the life content but for bookstagrammers. People get to know you better.
Content type: Community content, recurring series format.
Steal these:
what I read this week, rated like a coffee order
my reading week summed up as a drink menu
this week in books, from the disappointing to the unforgettable
rating my week of reading using completely unrelated food items
what I read this week and how slow my reading actually was
Booktok Plot Twists You Missed This Week
Hook type: She takes actual publishing news and talks about it like it is celebrity gossip instead of dry industry updates.
Why it works: Framing publishing news as “plot twists” instantly makes it feel juicier than it actually is. The comments turn into their own mini debate about casting and deals, which tells you the hook did exactly what it needed to, it got people invested in industry news the way they get invested in reality TV. This is proof that book industry content does not have to be dry to perform, it just needs a gossip lens.
Content type: Growth content, trend and industry commentary.
Steal these:
the book industry drama you missed this week
publishing news that low key reads like reality TV
the book deal everyone in the comments has opinions about
adaptation casting that has book community fully divided
this week in book world drama, ranked by how unhinged it is
Books for the Overthinkers and Deep Feelers
Hook type: Text over a cozy photo that names a specific type of person first, “overthinkers and deep feelers,” before any book gets mentioned.
Why it works: “Overthinkers and deep feelers” is doing so much work here because it is not a genre, it is a personality, and people comment purely to claim that identity before they even care about the actual book list. This is the type of book recommendations that actually work on Bookstagram
Content type: Growth content, identity and emotion first.
Steal these:
books for the girls who feel everything a little too much
reads for the overanalysers and the emotionally unwell
books for people who cry at things that are not even sad
recommendations for the deep feelers who never learned to not be
books that get the overthinkers the way nothing else does
Start a Reread With Me
Hook type: A direct invite, she asks you to join her doing something instead of just announcing what she is reading.
Why it works: The little location pin sticker over the photo makes it feel like a genuine invite rather than just an announcement, and the caption explaining exactly why this book earned a reread gives new readers a reason to pick it up for the first time too. The comments are full of people who already read it getting excited alongside people adding it to their fall list, so this one post is quietly doing double duty as both a community moment and a recommendation.
Content type: Community content, deepening connection with existing followers.
Steal these:
start a reread with me before the sequel drops
rereading my favourite of the year because I cannot wait for book two
joining me on a reread of the book that ruined my whole month
reread season is starting, here is the book I am revisiting first
the book I loved so much I am already reading it again
Books I Didn’t Think I Would Love VS Books I Thought I Would Love But did
Hook type: A versus format, two opposite lists side by side so you compare your own answer to hers as you read.
Why it works: The versus structure basically guarantees engagement because everyone reading has their own answer to both sides of it, and the collage style lettering makes the whole thing feel more like a magazine spread than a typical carousel.
Content type: Growth content, trend format with a personal opinion twist.
Steal these:
books I expected to hate and ended up loving
the hyped books that did not live up to it for me
books I judged before reading and was completely wrong about
the versus list of books that surprised me both ways
books everyone loves that just were not it for me
The pattern I am seeing across this whole batch is that specificity and a clear point of view are doing more work than the actual book recommendations themselves. You already know that I will forever yell about specificity <3.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.