How to find BookTok influencers for your book or brand

BookTok is TikTok's community of readers, and it sorts itself by genre and trope rather than by author or publisher. TikTok treats it as a market of its own: in March 2026 it extended its monthly #BookTok Bestseller List, built from TikTok's data and book sales, to the UK, Italy and Spain (TikTok's announcement).

Romance and romantasy

Trope-led recommendations, special editions and favourite-scene reactions. Suits romance publishers and indie authors. Check how the creator handles explicit books against your readership.

Fantasy and science fiction

Reading orders, maps and series reviews. Suits series launches, where a creator who read the earlier books beats a bigger account.

Thriller, crime and horror

Twist reactions without spoilers. Suits thrillers and horror, with a peak in October.

Literary fiction and non-fiction

Annotating, book club picks and "books that changed how I think". Suits literary and non-fiction publishers, annotation kits and stationery.

Young adult and new adult

TikTok's bestseller list now has separate YA and NA lists. Suits YA publishers, with care over the creator's age.

Shelves, shops and reading corners

Shelf tours, bookshop visits, hauls and e-reader set-ups. Suits bookshops, subscriptions, shelving, lights and e-readers.

Readers on TikTok describe books by how they feel and what happens in them. Search that way, in your genre:

• enemies to lovers books
• books like [comp title]
• romantasy recommendations
• slow burn romance
• found family fantasy
• dark academia books
• thriller with a twist
• books that made me cry
• cosy mystery
• annotating my book
• indie bookshop
• book subscription unboxing

Comp titles do most of the work: search the novels your book is pitched against, because their fans already read for you. By hand, trope hashtags such as #romantasy narrow the crowd under #BookTok. A translated edition needs creators who read in that language, so search in it.

Reading takes days, so book deals need more notice than most TikTok work. Running a creator's video as an ad from their handle needs their authorisation: see Spark Ads and partnership ads.

• The genre they actually read. Scroll back through 20 or so videos. A thriller reader won't help a romance, however large the following.
• Their review policy. Check the bio for whether they take review copies or self-published books, and respect a "no requests" line. You approve each first email Nakodo writes by default, so you can skip them there.
• Free copies count as payment. The ASA's guide for creators says free products, requested or not, count as payment even with no obligation to post, and advises against labels such as "gifted" and "PR". The FTC tells creators to disclose free products from a brand when they mention them (Disclosures 101). Ask for "Ad"; see disclosure on Instagram and TikTok.
• Honest reviews. The FTC says creators can't describe a product they haven't tried, and paid creators can't call a product terrific if they thought it terrible. Don't ask for a review of an unfinished book.
• Embargoes and spoilers. Agree in writing the earliest posting date and whether the ending is off limits. If you send proofs, say the text may change.
• Age. BookTok includes teenage readers and creators. Check a creator is an adult before offering a paid deal; TikTok's own marketplace, TikTok One, only accepts creators aged 18 or over (TikTok One for creators).

A book video's real result, someone buying the book, happens later and away from TikTok. Read the numbers for readers, not reach:

• Median plays. One list can travel far beyond the following. Skip pinned videos and anything under 3 days old, then take the middle of the next 10 to 15; the TikTok engagement rate calculator does the sums.
• Saves. TikTok shows how many people saved each video, and on a recommendation a save is a reader keeping the title. Nakodo's score counts likes and comments only, so note saves by hand.
• Comments. "Adding this to my TBR" is a reader deciding. A thread arguing about a trope is reach, not intent.
• Pace. A creator who reads every book they review can't post one a day. Judge their rhythm over months, not weeks.

Publication day anchors everything: send advance copies early enough to be read, and agree whether posts go up before, on or after it. For a backlist title, check when searches for your genre or comparable titles rise on Google Trends and plan around that. In the UK, TikTok has partnered with the National Literacy Trust for the National Year of Reading 2026, with BookTok events it calls the World's Biggest Book Club (TikTok).

Nakodo reads your website and writes an editable brief with 3 to 6 groups of search keywords: for a romantasy debut, tropes and comp titles rather than "books", run on every platform in the campaign. On TikTok, relevance comes from the first line of captions and from hashtags, so an account that names books only in on-screen text can score lower than it deserves. Look at those yourself.

Accounts below half the bottom of your follower range or above twice the top are set aside, as are accounts where more than half of at least 5 captions match your off-topic words: add "manga" or "audiobook" if they aren't for you. TikTok's region and language count towards fit, which matters when your rights cover only some countries. It emails creators who publish a business email, under your name, and the first email says where it found the address. The Free plan searches Instagram and TikTok: see pricing and how it works.