Oh, hashtags. Why must you be a necessary evil? If you can figure out the right hashtags, your account can grow without a lot of effort. If you’re not using the ‘right’ ones, your account can feel like it’s stagnant.
Last updated: 3/15/21

This isn’t a comprehensive guide but rather some inspiration to change and play with your hashtags.
Looking for more bookstagram help? I’ve got you covered.
If you’re needing additional hashtag inspiration, try Display Purposes. You can put hashtags in and the site will generate some relevant other hashtags for you to try.
Hashtag basics for Bookstagram
- You can only use 30 hashtags on a post.
- Never, ever use #books
- Use a mix of large (100,000+ posts), medium (50,000), and small (less than 1,000) hashtags.
- Don’t use the exact same hashtags on every single post. Mix it up!
Basic
Title, Series, & Author of the book (featured)
When doing a book stack or a picture featuring several books, I try to do the title of each book.
Daily Hashtags

- #socksunday
- #sundayshelfie
- #onsundayswepostpotter
- #mapmonday
- #mugmonday
- #teatuesday
- #wickwednesday
- #waitingonwednesday
- #swapwenday
- #throwbackthursday
- #tbt
- #flatlayfriday
- #funkofriday
- #followfriday
- #stacksaturday
- #sleevesaturday
Describe the item(s) in the photo
- #booksandflowers
- #bookishcandle
- #bookishmerch
- #candlegram
- #enamelpin
- #shelfie
Monthly Challenges
Each month various bookstagrammers put together photo challenges. I love them because you can find new accounts and it gives me inspiration for taking photos.
You’re probably already following someone who is hosting a challenge.
I refer to Bookstagram Challenges or Challenges of Bookstagram for my challenges.
Kell Jasmer created a handy tool to round up the monthly challenges. Check late in the month (25-30) to see all the challenges for the next month. Select the challenges that interest you & hit generate. Now you have a list broken down by the day. I keep my list in Evernote. I look over it each day as I’m working on my post & then delete the day as I’m done.
Shops
Bookstagram is all about small shops. Use the shop’s name for a hashtag.
Some shops even have special hashtags for you to use. Flickerwix uses #flickerwixflavors for a monthly contest. Novelly Yours uses #novellyyoursfeature to find pictures to post on their IG page.
The Rest
After using hashtags specific to the picture, I fill in the rest of my 30 hashtags with general hashtags.
- #allthebooks
- #alwaysreading
- #beautifulbooks
- #becauseofreading
- #bookaddiction
- #bookaesthetic
- #booksbooksbooks
- #bookcommunity
- #bookdragon
- #bookflatlay
- #bookgeek
- #bookspine
- #bookstack
- #bookworm
- #bookishlove
- #booklife
- #booknerdigans
- #bookobsessed
- #booktography
- #coverlove
- #igreads
- #ilovereading
- #instareads
- #ireadya
- #prettybooks
- #readaholic
- #readersofinstagram
- #ReadingTime
- #totalbooknerd
- #yabooks
- #yabookstagram
- #yafiction
- #yalit
- #yalovin
Mix It Up
When possible, I try not to use the exact same hashtags on every post. Sure, the ones I use work but if I only use them, I’m reaching the same audience. I’ve started using Hashtag Shuffle for my posts. Thanks to cookies, the site saves all of my hashtags and I add to it when discover new ones.
After using specific and relevant hashtags for the post, I figure out how many more I can use and do a quick shuffle to get the exact amount of ‘fresh’ hashtags for my post. Bam! Instant access to a new variety of relevant hashtags for my post with basically no work.
What hashtags are working for you?
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I love this guide! I’ve been looking for instagram guides specifically for bookstagram and this one is super helpful! One of your tips that really stuck with me is mixing up my hashtags– I tend to use the same ones, but I should really try to change up the order and which tags I use! 💞
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You’ll have to let me know if it helps!
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I’ll definitely try it out and will do!! 💞💞
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Thanks for the tips. I’ve been struggling to grow my bookstagram followers and am going to try mixing up my hashtags a bit and see if that helps!
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Good luck, Sarah!
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[…] I shared a quick guide to bookstagram hashtags. […]
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Great list! I love the themed daily hashtags.
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They’re great for when I don’t know what to post.!
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Late reply but this post is SUPER helpful as someone new-ish to all the workings of Bookstagram! Just curious about the reason for not using #books, is it just because the tag is already clogged and too generic or is there another reason too? Thanks in advance!
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It’s a combination of being too cluttered with relevant (and not relevant) pics as well as the rumor that it’s shadow banned. I always error on the side of caution and use hashtags that will be get me more visibility.
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Oh wow I haven’t heard that rumor, will keep it in mind for sure. Thanks for the info. 🙂
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[…] on unlikable main characters and how they affect the reading experience.Alison In Bookland – Quick Guide to Bookstagram Hash Tags – Most book bloggers already understand Bookstagram much more than I do, but this post is […]
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Fab post! I’m always on the look out for more hashtags!
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[…] Quick Guide to Bookstagram Hashtags […]
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Why never use #books?
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Between the rumor of it being shadow banned and the fact that your post will be immediately drowned by other posts, you should use your limited hashtags on something that will give you actual visibility.
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[…] as doing so will only drown your post in the millions of images using the same tags. Instead, curate book hashtags relevant to the specific photo and account. You’ll have better luck being discovered by other likeminded people when you […]
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Thank you so much for this post and your others on Bookstagram! They’re very useful for this first-time bookstagrammer!
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You’re so welcome! Welcome to bookstagram!!
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[…] way to help get eyes on your account. Alison in Bookland has a great guide on Instagram hashtags on her blog – I highly recommend her Bookstagram guides! As much as I love blogging with WordPress, blogs […]
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