Your job as a writer on Instagram is not to sell your book. At least, not in the way we usually understand what selling is.

It is your job as a writer on Instagram to:
1. Find your ideal readers.
2. Create content to attract them to follow your account.
3. Build relationships with them by talking about the things you both care about.

Members of your community will inevitably go on to become your readers as you will have shown them why your book is a good investment of their time. A beautiful thing about this way of using Instagram is that very often, many of the followers who become readers will go on to share your book with their own audiences without you being involved = word of mouth on steroids.

Hopefully, this approach to Instagram sounds appealing but you might be wondering how you go about it. This is where Instagram School for Writers comes in.

What will you learn in ISfW?

We will follow a curriculum designed by me - 7 years experience of growing Instagram communities, 12 years experience as an English teacher, and a lifetime book lover - that teaches everything you need to know to use Instagram strategically. The LIVE lessons will cover:

- how to define your ideal reader so you know you are (and are NOT), trying to talking to

- how to create a strategic content framework to guide your planning and ensure you’re going to reach the right people for your book

- how to find, attract and engage your ideal reader

- how to generate content ideas so you never think ‘I have nothing to say’ ever again

- how to create a content calendar so you post consistently, with purpose

- how to use every part of your account to maximise the potential of the time you spend on Instagram

- how to use specific tactics and routines to deliver the best results in the time you have available

- how to design Instagram posts that will appeal to your ideal reader

How does ISfW work?

ISfW is a 4 week long programme arranged into 1 x Welcome Call; 4 x live TEACHING calls; and 4 x TAKE ACTION calls. All calls will be recorded and available to watch afterwards.

As we progress through the programme, you will complete a framework document so you can keep track of your developing strategy. You will also take this away with you so you can refer back to it, and use it as a model to follow, once you’ve completed Instagram School for Writers.

At the end of the programme, all writers will be able to submit your framework documents to me (by an agreed deadline) for review and feedback. Everyone who submits their frameworks will receive BONUS goodies to support them with life after ISfW.

Schedule of calls:

Thursday 18th April, 12pm (GMT): Welcome Call. An opportunity to say hi, ask any questions and address any concerns before the teaching and learning begins.

Week 1 - AUDIENCE WEEK

Monday 22nd April, 12pm (GMT): Lesson 1 I guide you through a series of tasks to help you reach a clear definition of who your ideal reader is

Thursday 25th April, 12pm (GMT): ACTION Call 1 a practical session when I will show you ways of reaching your ideal reader without making any content

Week 2 - CONTENT WEEK

Monday 29th April, 12pm (GMT): Lesson 2 with my support you use what you have learned about your ideal reader, and combine it with what you know about your book/ writing, to create a framework to hang your Instagram content from

Thursday 2nd May, 12pm (GMT): ACTION call 2 with my support you will take everything you know so far about your ideal reader and your content to optimise your account, including crafting a kick-ass bio that tells your ideal reader they’re in exactly the right place

Week 3 - CREATIVE WEEK

Tuesday 7th May, 12pm (GMT): Lesson 3 using my tried-and-tested prompts you will generate a bank of bespoke content ideas that will give you plenty to work with when you pull together your content calendar.

Thursday 9th May, 12pm (GMT): ACTION call 3 I give you a guided tour of Canva for a taste of how to create different kinds of Instagram posts that will appeal to your ideal readers

Week 4 - TACTICS WEEK

Monday 13th May, 12pm (GMT): Lesson 4 I will guide you through a menu of tried-and-tested tactics and routines that will elevate your use of Instagram and deliver the results you want in the time you have

Thursday 16th May, 12pm (GMT): ACTION call 4 with my support you will pull together everything you have learned during the programme and produce a 1 month content calendar that will find, attract and engage your ideal readers while respecting your creative energy.

Price £375

(email me on nicola@toomuchsocial.com to arrange a payment plan, 3 x £125)

Why me?

I retrained as a Social Media Manager in 2016 after twelve years as a secondary-school English teacher. One of my favourite parts of being a teacher was designing lessons and Schemes of Work to deliver topics to students in an engaging, enjoyable way that also developed the skills they needed. This grounding means I know how to structure learning, and how to design lessons, so my students - you! - receive important insights and supported opportunities to put the theory into practice. Practical application is a KEY part of Instagram School for Writers as most learning happens in the doing.

My expertise in social media has been developed over a number of years working with small businesses to get them noticed online. In 2019, one of my clients, Don’t Buy Her Flowers, was listed as one of The IAB’s Top 50 ‘Born Online’ Brands, in part thanks to our success in using social media to reach, engage and nurture our community.

At the start of 2023 I began working with writers to teach them how to harness the power of Instagram to build communities of readers and share their work as widely as possible. So far I’ve worked with over 70 writers in 1-2-1 and small group settings; I’ve been a guest on Penny Wincer’s podcast ‘Not Too Busy To Write’; and I’ve built a new Instagram community of over 1600k people.

I’m loving the work I’m doing with writers and find myself getting very excited about finding ways to translate their work into ideas for Instagram because, although it’s a relatively new area of business for me, it’s an old area of interest. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a child and in the last three years I’ve been working on my own fiction project. I’m currently querying agents and ‘enjoying’ the roller-coaster of that experience;-)

If there is anything else you would like to know about Instagram School for Writers, then please get in touch via email or Instagram. I hope to see some of you there!