How Do You Find Your Targeted Reader, Dear Author?
Authors want more readers and
lots of book sales. Do they even know who their targeted readers are — or where
to find them?
“My book is for everyone,” says many
authors.
Wrong answer.
Most run-away bestsellers this year won’t
crack a million copies sold. Folks, there are 337 million people in our nation.
If even three million read the same book, 334 million — or 99 percent of our
country — did not read it.
Books have targeted readers. Know to whom your
book can appeal to and seek them out.
Why Most People Will Not Buy Your Book
Every book has its readership. However,
understand that most people, for any number of reasons, will never read your
book. Why?
About 25 percent of Americans didn’t even read
one book last year, so they are not reading your book — or any book!
They don’t know your book even exists.
They aren’t interested in your genre.
They only read classics, bestsellers or
award-winning books.
They only read books if they saw a movie based
on it.
They only read books based on book reviews or
personal recommendations.
They don’t think you are interesting, skilled,
experienced, or qualified enough to write the book — or they instead find
similar books by their favorite writers to read.
Dumb title.
Ugly cover.
Lack of strong testimonials.
Bad font/layout.
Poor paper quality or lack of ideal format
availability.
Price.
Not much free time.
… and the list goes on.
But people don’t read you book because it
simply doesn’t seem like it is for them. A six-year-old lacks the ability to
read an adult book; a senior may not believe YA speaks to them; people who
don’t understand poetry or care about politics won’t buy such books; and one
who despises fiction will only read non-fiction… you get the point.
Who Is Your Reader?
What does this person look like? These factors may or not be
relevant:
* Age
* Race
* Size
* Gender
* Faith
* Political leanings
* Family size/friend pool
* Where they have lived or presently live
* Level of education
* Hobbies
* Line of work
* Life-defining moments experienced
It may come down to a singular event that a
reader had that invites them to be your reader. For instance, if you suffered a
certain type of loss or suffer from a specific disease or condition, you may be
drawn to or repelled by certain books.
Some readers purposely desire a locally or
domestically-set book; others want to have their book set in another country,
to be off this planet, or even in another world.
Where Do You Find Your Reader?
Your reader can be found:
* In a bookstore or library * By mail
* Through email
* On social media
* From advertising
* In a membership group
* At a school
* In a house of worship
* At a book fair or convention
* At a hotel while on vacation
What groups are they in? Find them and reach
out. Where do they congregate? What other content do they consume and what
other authors /books do they read?
Authors must know who their readers are,
research where they are, and take action steps to reach them.
Need
Book Marketing Help?
Brian Feinblum, the founder of this
award-winning blog, can be reached at [email protected] He is available
to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He
has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in
all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!
Read
This!
10 Winning Book Strategies For Authors
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/08/10-winning-book-marketing-strategies.html
Authors,
Always Speak Your Mind
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/08/authors-always-speak-your-mind.html
23 Errors Authors Must Avert
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/23-errors-authors-must-avert.html
Authors Must Actually Learn What They Think
They Know
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/authors-must-actually-learn-what-they.html
Do Good Writers Only Come From Bad Things?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/do-good-writers-come-only-from-bad.html
How To Go From A
Writer's Mindset to A Marketer's Mindset?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/how-do-you-go-from-writers-mindset-to.html
What’s Trending
In The Book World?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/whats-trending-in-book-world.html
The Perfect Media
Pitch For Authors
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-perfect-media-pitch-for-your-book.html
Should Authors Stop The Audio Book
Madness?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/stop-audio-book-madness.html
Sorry, Your Book
May Not End Up On Netflix
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/sorry-your-book-may-not-end-up-on.html
What’s The
Psychology of Being an Author?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-psychology-of-being-author.html
About Brian Feinblum
Brian Feinblum should be followed on LinkedIn. This is
copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now
resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue
dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The
Writer and IBPA’s The Independent. This
award-winning blog has generated over 3.4 million pageviews. With 4,600+ posts
over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by
BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018
as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by
www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades,
including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book
publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with
many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with
best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen,
Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard,
Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C.
Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a
panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA,
Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction
Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland)
Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association.
His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal,
USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News
(Westchester) and The Washington Post . He has been featured in The
Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald . For more information, please consult:
www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum .
