It’s all about marketing—meaning knowing who will read your book and who will buy your book. These are not always the same people—think children’s books, which are purchased by parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, and others—not the children themselves.
The time to think about your market is NOT when you have a thousand books piled in your garage or basement-
Before you even write your book, it’s important to know who your reader is. It might be a good exercise to create a [tippy title=”mind map”]A mind-map is a diagram that starts with a center concept and branches out with details. It’s a quick way to get your thoughts onto paper in a fun, creative, and intuitive way. That is a topic for another blog.[/tippy] or vision board about your ideal reader. Include age, gender, preferred way to “read”—meaning as an e-book on a Smartphone or iPad, listening to audio books, or prefer printed books. My philosophy is to make your book as accessible as possible—you’ve made the effort to write it, so get it out there in as many formats as possible.
Where does your market hang out? Today, Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as YouTube and other social media avenues are favorite ways to spread the word about your book. Maybe you give workshops or teach classes on the subject matter. Or offer a day or two of free downloads of your e-book. There are truly countless ways to market your book—and marketing is the key to good book sales.
