One of the big mistakes authors make dooms their books to failure even before they’re finished writing.
They have no clear picture of the target market.
They spend months writing, more time editing, rewriting and proofing, and they call me when they’re ready to launch their a publicity campaign.
The first question I ask is, “Who’s the target market for your book?”
Often, I hear silence.
If you don’t know who you are writing for, you can’t possibly know where to find those readers online and offline.
Why You Book Isn’t for “Everybody”
Sometimes, authors tell me their book is written for “everybody.” Those authors are delusional.
If it’s written for everyone, that means it’s written for blue collar, white collar and unemployed workers. You’re trying to attract men and women, gay and straight, young and old, Democrat and Republican, church-goers and atheists, single and married.
It’s impossible to create a marketing message that tells all those people, “This book is perfect for you.”
Tricks and Tools for Finding Your Target Market
If you don’t have a good idea of your target market, take advantage of free training tonight. Georgia McCabe, a book marketing expert, will be the guest presenter on a webinar we’re hosting on “Ninja Tricks for Finding Your Perfect Target Market for Your Book.” It’s from 6 to 7:30 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, Aug. 20. Register here.
If you attend, you can ask questions. If the time is inconvenient, we’re recording it. I’ll post the video here.
This is the fourth of four free webinars for authors to give you a taste of what we will be teaching on our Publishing at Sea cruise to the eastern Caribbean Jan. 18-15. Book shepherd Judith Briles and book distributor Amy Collins will join Georgia and me to teach authors about the business of publishing a book. We’ll cover everything from how to raise money to pay for your book to what to do if sales stall six months after you’ve launched it.
More Free Training for You
You can watch replays of the other three webinars on my Publishing at Sea 2015 playlist on YouTube. The titles are:
How to Create Story Ideas for Book Publicity
Share Your Two Cents