5 Reasons To Set Up A BookTube Account

Did you know there's a whole section of YouTube devoted solely to books? It's called BookTube — and it's about to become your favorite corner of the Internet. It's easy to spend hours watching vloggers talk about their book hauls, wishlists, and recommendations — but have you ever considered setting up your own BookTube channel? It might seem like a terrifying prospect, but it's so worth it. I should know, I tried it out myself.

You don't need any fancy equipment to give BookTube a go. It might seem intimidating when you look at some of the perfectly well-lit, high-quality videos out there — but I started my own channel just using my iPhone, and you'll find a lot of popular channels that do the same thing. All you need for your BookTube channel is a love for books, and then you're good to go.

If you're not sure where to start, why not film a round-up of all the books you recently bought? Or you could talk about your TBR list, and set yourself some challenges for what you're going to read over the next month. Once you've said it out loud to an audience, you're way more likely to stick to it! There are also some pretty fun and creative BookTube tags going around; perhaps the TMI Book Tag or the BookTube Newbie Tag would be a good way to introduce your new channel. Here are four great reasons to start a BookTube channel of your own.

1. You'll Feel Like Part Of A Community

Uploading your own BookTube videos is a great way to make new book-loving friends online — who will freak out over new books with you and totally relate to your out-of-control book buying habit. On BookTube, your subscriber count doesn't matter: after all, no true book-lover would ever turn down the chance to chat about novels!

2. It Forces You Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Talking into a camera doesn't come very naturally to most people. In fact, it can feel extremely awkward at first. But that's why setting up a BookTube channel is such a great idea: it forces you to face your fears and boost your confidence.

3. It Encourages You To Read More

In order to make more videos, you'll need more material to talk about — so having a BookTube channel encourages you to seek out and read new books to chat about. You might actually find that you enjoy your reading even more, as you'll be paying close attention to all the aspects of your book that you could talk through online.

4. You'll Get Great Book Recommendations

Watching BookTube videos is a great way to get book recommendations anyway, but once you set up a channel of your own, your recommendations will get even more personal. On my channel, I talk a lot about my love for female-led thrillers, time-travel stories, and feminist fiction — and now, in the comments or on Twitter, I'm constantly getting sent spot-on recommendations of books that I always love. You could even upload a video asking people for advice on what to read next.

5. You Can Get Free Books!

If you get enough of an online following, one of the most exciting things that can happen is that publishers might decide to send you free books, sometimes ones that haven't even been published yet, in exchange for an honest review. Is there anything better than free books?!

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