How Should Authors Profile Their Targeted Readers?

Everyone has a blind spot, not just when driving a car or steering their life, but in how they market their brand or promote their book.  What’s your gap that needs attention?

Assume there is a blind spot and seek to find what until now has remained hidden to you.  Ask yourself:

·         Where does my message not resonate?  Why.

·         Why do some people not perceive me the way I’m projecting?

·         Is there a disconnect between what people hear and what I say?

·         Am I failing to fulfill a need, serve a desire, or at least empower, entertain, enlighten, or educate others?

The minute you think that everything you say, do or believe is perfect is the moment you know something is missing.

We are human and we all are misunderstood at some point in our lives, by many people including those closest to us.  Remember, all conversations or presentations are two-way exchanges. What you do, say, look like, and give a feeling of is then translated back by those who perceive, observe, interpret, and come to internalize what you said or did. They then match it up with their personal baggage, professional abilities, psychological handicaps, or physiological limitations.

Aim not to please all of the people, all of the time. Don’t settle on pleasing some of the people, some of the time. Seek to win over a majority of people, the majority of times.  That still means you’ll fail to get millions of people to take your side, but it also means millions could follow and support you (if you can reach that many people).

When you look at the image/message that you seek to share or show off, start to ask: Who will love it vs. hate it? Who will understand you and who won’t?  Who will need such a book – and who won’t?

Start by looking at a variety of obvious demographics and see where people fall into categories that will be drawn to or repelled by the sight of you. Likely, these factors will be important:

·         Race

·         Age

·         Wealth

·         Sex (gender/sexuality)

·         Religion

·         Region

·         Political party

·         Pet owner

·         Health

·         Intelligence/education level

Just those above-mentioned 10 areas will define who is open to your message, who is closed, and who is on the fence. We can’t predict all outcomes based on single characteristics, but when you holistically examine criteria for judging/ranking people by their variety of affiliating milestones, and characteristics, we see some huge patterns form in an undeniable way.

So test your message and look against these demographics. Will black, younger women be as enthusiastic as older, white males? Will well-educated fat, dog-owners feel the same as well-educated, skinny cat-owners?  Can you win over soccer fans as easily as those who like to go to church regularly?

An author is almost like a politician. You have to appeal to those who naturally will find you appealing. That’s your base.  Speak to them so that you win over a lot of them. But then expand beyond that and see who else would be open to your book.  Don’t waste time on those who need a lot of convincing or are harder to reach and influence. Remember, perfection is not your target – just to win over majorities in the majority of places you appeal to.

It’s not easy for authors to admit failure, but they need to, at the start of their campaign, to promote a book. Instead of believing their book is for everyone or that tons of people will enjoy their book, they need to say: "Ok, I know more than 90% of the country won’t buy or read my book, no matter what I say or do. Let me focus on those who, if they hear about it, will buy the book.”

Predict who to appeal to, dismiss the rest, and you’ll succeed wildly!

See These Great Resources:

Can You Follow The 3-Minute Book Publicity Rule?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-3-minute-rule-for-book-publicity.html

Is Some of Book Promoting Like Job Hunting?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/is-book-promoting-like-job-hunting.html

How Could Authors Maximize Attending A Conference?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/how-authors-can-maximize-attending.html

Top All-Time Posts of Award-Winning Blog: Book Marketing Strategies & Book Publicity Resources

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-best-100-book-marketing-pr-blog.html

Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.