Marketing for authors can be difficult! Here are a few simple ways to find and utilize your book’s target audience!
The first step to finding your target audience is developing your reader persona (or ideal reader). It’s easier to think of your target audience as one specific person instead of a group of people. Develop these characteristics and demographics as much as possible: gender, age, interests, habits, etc.
Your book isn’t for everyone (and that’s a good thing!).
Your target audience includes the readers who fall in love with your book and then share it with other people they think would love your book. This word of mouth translates into loyal followers. Focusing on your target audience doesn’t mean that other people won’t find and buy your book, but that your target audience are the best people to relate to your book.
In nonfiction, the target audience is who your book would help the most. Fiction target audiences are typically determined by genre. (Example: Adult Contemporary categories are targeted to adults over 18)
1. Simple Ways to Find Your Target Audience:
- What genre are you in?
- What are some comparable titles to yours?
- How is your book different?
Do some investigating into where your ideal reader is hanging out. What are some similar books out there to yours? Go to those books’ Amazon pages and read the reviews. Take note of the name and descriptions of reviewers. Sometimes these reviewers will leave demographic information in their reviews.
Next, go to the author’s social media. Who is interacting with them? Visit those profiles and start making notes. By visiting these profiles you should be able to discern age range, gender, likes and dislikes, and hobbies. This should give you a picture of who is drawn to books similar to yours.
Another approach is to interview someone who has read your book. What’s their favorite book? How do they decide what books to read? Where do they spend time online? What podcasts do they listen to?
2. Book Marketing: Ways to Utilize Your Target Audience (ideal reader):
- Design your reader magnet / opt-in for that person.
- Write to that person when you write your newsletter.
- Write to that person when you craft articles.
- Find where that person hangs out online to guide your marketing and social media.
- Talk to that person when you’re on a podcast.
Blog Article Written by: Claire Coffey