While working on my book revision yesterday, I came across this section about targeting your audience for your book. I thought it might be of interest to those of you who are still a little unsure of who your true audience for your book is and how to determine where they are.
Ask yourself who are you writing this book for? Define who will want to read it, not necessarily who you think should read it. And make sure that this is a large enough audience or a strong enough niche audience to support the book you are writing. (If not, you may want to expand on the concept of your book to appeal to a larger audience.)
Use logic and research when determining your target audience. And be realistic. Seek out statistics reflecting the number of people who purchase genre fiction each year, for example, or who buy certain types of children’s books or cookbooks. Start here: http://www.publishers.org. Click on “Industry Statistics.”
And then you must determine where you will find these people. Discover your audience by visiting websites of authors with books like yours. Who are they directing their advertising toward? Read their media releases—you may get an idea of what groups of consumers they are approaching with their promotional material. Study their book’s back cover copy. Who are they addressing? Read their testimonials. Who wrote them?
It’s not always easy to locate your target audience, but it is important to go through the motions. Otherwise, you are just flailing in the wind. You’ll have a product and no discernable direction for promoting or selling it.
Would you create a new way to sharpen pencils without an idea of who would buy the device? Would you just stand on the street corner or stay in your office waiting for the appropriate customer to come forward? No, you would be out contacting office managers in charge of supplies, promoting to accountants and visiting schools where you know that pencils are widely used. In your production, you would consider your end user—children (is it safe to use?), busy professionals (is it easy to use and attractive?), for example.
Never lose sight of the fact that your book is a product and it is up to you, the author, to identify and discover ways to reach your particular readers (customers). And the best time to do this is before you complete the book. Why?
• You should have your audience in mind as you write the book to make sure that the story will aptly entertain them, be clear and be free of inconsistencies.
• While compiling your nonfiction book, consider whether this is the material, facts, information your target audience desires/needs.
Otherwise, how can you be sure that you are writing a book that is wanted/needed—that will be well-received?
Figure out where you will find your audience. Now don’t cop out and decide that you will simply sell your book through bookstores. Did you know that over half of all books sold in America are sold outside of the traditional bookstore? You must also think outside the bookstore. Think instead, specialty stores, back-of-the-room sales, story time in schools/libraries, college bookstores, Internet sales and, of course, those off-the-wall ideas that could work for your particular book and with your particular personality.
Arrange to do a reading from your crazy-sports-moments book at the county-wide Little League Parents’ end-of-year barbecue. Attend open mic events with your book or poetry. Do signings at motorcycle shops for your book featuring a woman stunt rider. Have a stand and sell your Western romance at local rodeos. Offer your parenting book as a door prize at state and county run parenting classes and so forth.
Use your creative abilities to devise a marketing plan. That’s what it takes in these highly competitive times. With over a million books coming out each year, if we want our book to be in the running for attention with all of the others, we MUST get creative and bold.
Read my book The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book for additional marketing ideas. http://www.matiliapress.com/rightway.html. In fact, you might want to sign up for my online book promotion course to help generate some ideas and devise a plan. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm