Let's tell people how to make Litsy really fun! Use the #LitsyTips hashtag, & either add your tip in the comments below or in one of your own posts. Feel free to screenshot this if you need an image. #SmittenByLittens
Raimey's Tip 1: Litsy doesn't rank posts by popularity. It's chronological, so the more followers you have, the more interaction you'll get. (How to gain more followers in another tip in the comments, where I'll be adding tips.)
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 2: Litsy is less about the hashtags than Bookstagram/Instagram (with a few exceptions, more on that in one of my next tips), and more about how many followers you have. 7y
aschermetz Thanks so much for this! I feel like a Litsy Idiot still. 😂😂 Excited to see all these tips! 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 3: When you first join Litsy, and you don't have a lot of followers yet, look out for Litsy games (one of the hashtag exceptions I was talking about.) There are reading bingos, this-or-that or get-to-know-you questions & month-long photo challenges, among others. If you see a game, but can't figure out how it works, ask the person playing, and they'll explain. Use the game's hashtag, so other players can find you & interact with you. 7y
See All 78 Comments
Book_in_hands Thanks for the tips!!! I'm new to Litsy so these help a lot to understand how it all works. There is a lot of fun things to do on here!!! 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 4: Look at my follower-to-following ratio. Approximately 50% of people followed me back. Don't be afraid of people not following you back. You need to add people to gain a following. More tips on gaining a following follow. 7y
KnjiskiZmaj Thanks Raimey... this'll help a lot!! 😎 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 5: Start by adding some people who post regularly and who have at least a couple hundred followers. Then you want to scroll through your recent home feed, and click into their likes. Add the people who have liked a post within the past few hours. These users are recently active and most likely to follow you back. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 6: Pretty soon, you'll be following people who have 100+ likes on their posts. Especially click into their recent posts and follow the "likers." 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 7: As far as I'm aware, unlike other social media sites, Litsy hasn't implemented any follow or interaction limits yet. You could technically add 1,000 people today using the follow method I describe in earlier tips, and have somewhere close to 500 followers within the week. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 8: The reason I started #SmittenByLittens is because so many users get bored with figuring Litsy out, and they stop posting. In order to grow this community, we have to work together. If you see newer users, welcome them and tell them about this new #LitsyTips hashtag, so they experience less of a learning curve. By newer users, I mean anyone with less than 5-10 likes on their posts. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 9: You can find new users to welcome by doing a user search for some of the bigger accounts that Litsy recommends following when people first join. At the moment, the two accounts that most new Littens seem to follow are @Litsy and @bookriot. When you click into their followers, the most recent are listed first. 7y
Jess7 These are good tips. I would add that it's also very important to be an active litsy member and return the #litsylove by liking and commenting on posts of those who like your posts. Be active and but most of all have fun! I think the monthly photo challenges are a great way to gain followers and share insight into books. If any of you want to do the #awesomeautumnbooks challenge I would love to see your posts - just don't forget the hashtag. 🤗📚 7y
[DELETED] 3803335244 Great tips! One of the reason I love litsy is the interaction with book nerds who actually read books. I was on instagram for months with almost 1000 followers, I left because nobody was really talking about the books! I felt the what you have, funkos, background, more books you bought, candles, etc.. were the focus. I found myself overwhelmed by that community. But I love just talking about books here! The great part of litsy (book lovers!) ❤️ (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 10: I'm hoping we can keep the #LitsyWelcomeWagon hashtag going so that when someone finds a newer user (joined within the last month or so) to welcome, the rest of use can easily find those users by searching the hashtag, and we can welcome them to. If you click on the hashtag, you'll see that myself and others have added the hashtag in the comments of newish users' posts, so feel free to add a welcome message yourself. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 11: What @Jess7 said. Try to return likes and comments as much as possible. This is a two-way street of encouragement. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 12: We are Littens, and we're kinda proud of it. I think it's because it sounds like kittens, and those who have pets love to share pictures of their reading buddies, especially using the #CatsOfLitsy and #DogsOfLitsy hashtags. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 13: Do you have to post everyday? No. Some people do. Unlike other social media sites, where if you stop posting for a period, the platform will stop ranking your posts higher in their algorithm, Litsy is democratically chronological (at the moment), which I love. You can post as often or as seldom as you like, but this said, you'll get to know the community more, the more often you post. You'll be more recognizable. (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 14: Litsy allows you to post three different types of posts: Reviews, Quotes, and Blurbs. I found the term blurbs confusing at first, because a blurb can mean a book summary in some circles. Litsy means blurb in a different way. Basically, you can post anything you want in a blurb: your mood, a shout-out to another user, anything. It is not a book summary, but you could do that too. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 15: Several users run successful real-world interaction events in the form of partnering users as pen pals or for book swaps/exchanges. These look super fun, so look out for them and sign up! The people who participate in these events rave about them. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 16: Some people are confused about images, because they're not sure how to make them, especially if they don't have a physical copy of the book, or if they want to review a book they gave away. I use screenshots. When googling a book, I try to use Google's extended search parameters by only searching images in the public domain. Then I screenshot it. Advanced tip: Click on the image again until the pesky "X" disappears... 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 16 (continued): For images, you can also snap a photo of the cover or page you're reading on your e-reader, or you can snap a shot of something random. Generally speaking, the people who create images for Litsy games or events WANT you to steal and share their image, so center their image and use the screenshot function on your phone. Litsy will help you crop it to your liking when you re-upload it. (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 17: Many users run successful and fun read-a-thons and read-a-longs. Look out for these hashtags, because there's no better way to get through lotsa pages than when 50+ Littens are cheering you on. (edited) 7y
Daisey @ForeverNerdy Yes! I'll like a beautiful photo, but I'm much more interested in what people actually have to say about the books they are reading. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 18: Can you start your own Litsy event or game? Yes. The more followers you have, and the more well-thought-out your game is, the more likely you are to be successful. Be warned however that a lot of people are running events and games already, and so some of the game/event types may not do as well if the environment gets too cluttered. 7y
RaimeyGallant Raimey's Tip 19: If you don't know how something works on Litsy or what the etiquette is, ask someone in their comments. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 20: If you recommend a friend join Litsy, give them your handle so they can add you, and tell them to post something right away. Once they post, you can add the #LitsyWelcomeWagon in their post's comments, and in one of your own posts, you can tag them asking your followers to follow them. Also direct them to the #LitsyTips hashtag, so they can get their bearings. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 21: Litsy gets easier as you use it. As with any new-to-you social media site, it may seem overwhelming at first, but once you have 10 or so posts under your belt, you'll get the hang of it. (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 22: Because Litsy is an app only, there is currently no way to add a linkable icon for people to follow you on your website (or anywhere else) that I'm aware of. You can do what I did in the left-hand column of my site here: http://www.raimeygallant.com (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 23: Don't think there's something wrong with you because you don't seem to read as fast as other users. Everyone has their own pace and non-literary commitments. In my case, I'm slower these days, because I'm a writer now, so I reread a lot of passages to learn more about the sentence constructions choices of the author, among other things. I also critique unpublished fiction for my writing buddies, or I'm writing/editing my own stuff. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 24: Another strategy for finding followers likely to follow you back is to click into the followers of recently active users with a fair amount of them. If you see in your home feed someone got 50 likes, for instance, click into their profile, click into their followers, and add anyone you're not yet following from the top of that list, which is chronological by who followed them most recently. 7y
Sace @RaimeyGallant you ROCK! 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 25: If you are curious about a book, click the book title if you see it in your home feed, or search by author or title. There is usually a back cover summary at the top. Then scroll down to see all the reviews and blurbs about that book in reverse chronological order. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 26: Near the bottom of every post in your home feed, you'll see an icon of a stack of books. Click this to add the book to one of your three stacks: To Read, Am Reading, Have Read. You can also rate the book here if you've read it. On your profile page, below your followers, there's a bar with 3 options. You can toggle between your feed of posts, your stack of To-Reads, and your stack of Have-Reads. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 27: If you want to add all the books you've ever read to your stack (which I have yet to do), it's easiest to use the search icon, and search by author or title, then add each book. (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 28: You don't have to tag someone in a reply to their own comment, but if they commented on your post, you need to tag them, or they won't see it. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 29: You can edit any of your posts or comments, even if they're made in reply to someone else's post. To edit your post, click the ellipsis at the bottom of your post. To edit a comment on your post or someone else's, click the comment if you can see it, or if you can't because there are more comments hiding the one you want to edit, click near the bottom of the post where it says 'comments', then scroll to your comment and click on it. (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 30: When playing the monthly photo challenge games, no, you don't have to post every day, just as often as you want. You'll get more interaction if you use both the game hashtag as well as that day's hashtag by simply turning that day's theme into a hashtag verbatim. For instance, if on the third day of the month, the theme is 'Wind and Fire', the hashtag would be #WindAndFire. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 31: The lightning bolt icon on the bottom bar is your notifications. This is where you can see chronologically who has added you, liked your posts, added books from your posts to their stacks, and who has commented on your posts or tagged you. This is what I scroll through to return likes and comments (as much as I possibly can.) (edited) 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 32: To follow back peeps who have followed you (and please do!), there are two methods. 1) Check your notifications. For users that show as having added you, there will either be a triangle beside their name (which means you're already following them, or a button with a plus sign that says 'follow' so you can easily follow them back. 2) On your profile page, click into your followers to find those you're not yet following back. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 33: I've been on Litsy for 5 months now, and I've accumulated 5K followers, so if you follow the advice in this thread of comments, you'll find that it's not difficult to grow a sizeable following with a fair amount of interaction on your posts in a relatively short period of time. 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 34: As social media sites become more popular, the follow-back rate declines. Litsy has a relatively high follow-back rate (approx. 50% when you follow recently active users) at the moment as compared to other sites, so the time to gain a following on Litsy is now. As with every social media site, Litsy's follow-back rate will decline over time. 7y
RaimeyGallant Phew! That's all I've got for now kids, but if I think of more, I'll add them. :) 7y
dariazeoli This is an awesome resource! 👏🏻 7y
RaimeyGallant Litsy Tip 35: Thanks to @RestlessFickleBookSlut for this one, because it just blew my mind. The Long Hold: Long hold any comment and then choose reply. This automatically tags the person you're replying to without having to search and tag them manually. Such a time-saver! 7y
Sace Note to tip #29- I'm not sure editing your comment is an option on the android app. If anyone out there knows feel free to tag me and educate me 😊 7y
quietlycuriouskate You're a star for putting this together! 😊 7y
Ms_T Great tips! 7y
Amosmoses This is so helpful! I'm new here and haven't even posted anything yet. Thank you! 7y
KathyWheeler @RaimeyGallant This one about the follow back rate is interesting. I didn't know that. 7y
tpixie @ForeverNerdy you are right!! We like to talk books with each other! More personally interactive! 7y
tpixie @Amosmoses be sure and post something- so we can follow you! Use #Litsywelcomewagon so we can find you!! 7y
tpixie Great summary of tips!! 7y
RaimeyGallant @Amosmoses @tpixie Yes please, post something so we can welcome you properly. Tag me. 7y
Cortg I have a question that's been driving me bonkers. How do you type a couple lines then skip a space to type a line down. I'm an iPhone users and can't for the life of me figure it out but it see often. Any thoughts??? 7y
Lupa08 If you create a PDF of this tutorial, it will get a lot of downloads. Thanks 🙂 7y
RaimeyGallant @Cortg It probably depends on your iphone and update, but for me, when I want a line break, I hit the 123 button on my keypad, and then I hit return. This doesn't work in comments, just in new posts, from what I can tell. 7y
RaimeyGallant @Lupa08 Good idea. I'll do a post about it on my site, next month probably. 7y
MrBook @Cortg , @BookBabe and I use the built-in app Notes. We type it, copy it, then paste it here on Litsy. Hope that helps. 😊👍🏻 7y
MrBook @RaimeyGallant You're a superstar with this mighty impressive list of tips. I'll refer people here tomorrow. 😎👍🏻 7y
RaimeyGallant @MrBook Cool. @TrishB and I are putting this together in a blog post in the near future as well. I'll be the iphone expert, and she'll be the Android one. 7y
TrishB I'll fo my best!! 7y
Lupa08 For #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or in general? Can't wait to read it! 7y
Cortg @MrBook @BookBabe Thank You! 7y
RaimeyGallant @Lupa08 I'm not sure yet...I'll let you know. :) 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes Do post again when the blog post is up, this stuff is great! Thanks. I wish there were an easier way to find out what readalongs and over events are going on in case you're not following that particular person...does anyone ever compile some things and post about it somewhere? I've slowly found some good things but it took forever. 7y
jbhops @RaimeyGallant great tips. I'm on #20 and will come back for more later. For now, I'm off to follow anyone who hashtags #catsoflitsy to fill my kitty quota for the day. 7y
Jess7 @SNM99 here one of the main #litsytips posts 7y
RaimeyGallant @jbhops Haha:) 7y
RaimeyGallant @Natasha.C.Barnes Agreed. 7y
sacrilecious Thank you! This is very helpful! 7y
No_One Thank you for the tips and the warm welcome! I just followed everyone who commented here, haha! 😊 Very helpful tips! 7y
No_One @TrishB can I ask a maybe-stupid question. I'm on Samsung Galaxy S7. How do I share a post? I click the "share" arrow and it gives me several options for apps to share with... FB, Twitter, the usual, but not Litsy.... how do I re-post someone's blurb in Litsy? Also, one more: is it possible to send a private msg to someone on Litsy? Thanks in advance! ? 7y
RaimeyGallant @No_One Nice! 7y
RaimeyGallant @No_One There isn't a way to repost on Litsy or to private message. If you take a look through the tips here, I explain how to screenshot someone else's image so you can share it. :) 7y
No_One @RaimeyGallant okay, so I am not losing my mind. 😁😁😁 Thank you!! 7y
TrishB @No_One what @RaimeyGallant said! You do a lot of screen shooting! If people want to talk off line they tend to go via GR or exchange email addresses. It's not as sophisticated as some apps. But the people are amazing 😀 7y
No_One @TrishB thank you! Okay, I understand now. Screenshots all the way! 😊 7y
JamieHReads This post is so helpful! Thank you!! 7y
115 likes78 comments