The Marketing Mindset Makes Writing So Much Easier!
It’s tempting to think that great marketing begins once your book is published. But it actually begins long before you start writing chapter one.
Why? Because any professional marketing whiz will tell you that the first step to successfully marketing a product is to know your audience.
And I mean really know them.
That means understanding inside and out whatever pain, problem, or puzzle keeps them awake at night, how your book will help them make that pain, problem, or puzzle go away, and how to communicate that promise in a way that makes sense to them.
What does that mean to you as an author?
You Need the Marketing Mindset at Square One
For you to successfully market your book, you need to understand your reader that well. And the sooner the better.
Wherever you are in your publishing journey, it’s never too soon—or too late—to spend a little time exploring and understanding who your reader really is and why they would agree that they, of all people, MUST buy your book.
Let’s get started!
Welcome to the Power Writers Report, our weekly update, packed full of powerful writing tips, productivity tools, platform-building strategies, author best practices, resources, and free stuff.
If you find this useful, forward it to a friend.
Click here to subscribe to the weekly Power Writers Report.
Click here to schedule an author strategy session with me.
This week’s post builds on last week’s, so if you haven’t read it yet, read it now by clicking here.
Okay, let’s dive in.
Here’s How to Know Your Audience
To get started, envision in your mind’s eye the kind of reader who would be thrilled to get your book—and who would get the biggest transformation out of what you have to share.
Do you see that person?
Now, write down several answers to each of the following questions:
- What keeps your audience awake at night?
- What are their pain points?
- What lies do they believe about themselves?
- What words would they use to describe themselves?
- How do they wish they could describe themselves?
- What do they long for?
- How do they desire to feel?
- What benefits would catch their attention?
- What words or phrases of encouragement do they long to hear?
The answers you’ve written to these questions are the keys to grabbing the attention and speaking to the heart of your reader.
Now that you have the keys:
- Write your title and subtitle to that person.
- Write your outline to that person.
- Write your chapter titles to that person.
- Write your chapters to that person.
- Write your social media posts to that person.
- Write your blog posts to that person.
- Write your marketing brochure or flier to that person.
- Write your website copy to that person.
And, of course, write your manuscript to that person.
Marketing your book doesn’t begin with a great headline or persuasive ad copy. It begins with your in-depth understanding of the pain points and longings of your reader.
When you’re writing to everybody, you’re writing to nobody. It’s difficult to write or market a book that is so broad in nature that everyone in the world will get the same benefit from reading it.
The best writers are more committed to writing to their audience than they are to writing their message or story.
Read that again.
Hear me out. If you’re more committed to your message or story than your audience, you’ll give them the whole thing–even the parts that don’t matter to them.
Remember, your audience is motivated by one question: “What’s in it for me?”
If you’re more committed to your audience than your message or story, you’ll only give them the parts of your powerful material that answers the aforementioned question.
And you’ll win the hearts and minds of your readers.
This is the Foundation of Your Transcendent Book
Whatever you’ve written, there is a certain kind of reader for whom your words will be transformational. Perhaps they are plagued with a particular problem that your book addresses and solves. Or maybe they are experiencing emotions—feeling lost or stuck, longing for freedom or identify or transformation—that will be assuaged or even transformed by what you have to say.
That’s the foundation of every transcendent book.
When you understand that reader, you’re ready to write—and market—a book that will truly make a difference for years to come.
Do you need help defining your audience? Let’s talk.
Click here to schedule a free, no-obligation strategy session with me.
Let’s bring your book to life!
Michael J. Klassen
President, Illumify Media
go.oncehub.com/MichaelJKlassen
P.S. We have coaches who will join you in doing a deep dive into defining the perfect reader for your book. Let’s talk: oncehub.com/MichaelJKlassen
Recent Comments