Fiction with a touch of the fantastic…
On Marketing Monday this week, I’ve got a bit of advice for writers: engage your target reader.
Many writers find themselves talking to other writers when they blog, perhaps using writers’ jargon or handing out writing advice.
What’s wrong with that? It’s quite possible that other writers can make up a good chunk of your readership, but that’s not the best thing. The best thing is to find and please those readers who love what you write and will recommend it to their friends. That’s how books get “big.”
So, who is your target reader? That would be the person whom you have in mind when you write the book. You could have several in mind. Is this person male or female? What age range? Most important, what books is this person reading now, before your book comes out?
You could spend a little time on Amazon locating books something like yours and checking out the section that identifies what readers of those books also bought. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to read some of these books, just to make sure you’re not spending a lot of time creating a book that looks dated to the modern reader.
Next, how do you please that target reader? Figure out what he or she might like to learn more about and write about it. If your book has angels in it, discuss reports of angel sightings. If it contains time travel, discuss legends or even physics. If it contains reports of science experiments gone awry, discuss other cases such as Frankenstein’s monster. You get the idea.
Also, don’t just write on your own blog. Offer to write guest posts on other blogs that might address your target reader.
Note: don’t drive the reader away with constant sales pitches. Readers will put up with some sales pitching only if they are already feeling indebted to you for entertaining and informing them on other topics. Maybe every seventh blog post could contain a bit of a sales pitch, at the bottom. Gently nudge them to be curious about your book.
So, what are you waiting for?