| So, do you think every Christian needs to read your | | | | buyers? Another reason to get as specific as possible |
| book? If you do, let us stop for a moment and get | | | | is that you will find that the more specific the people |
| real. If you think your book is going to end up in | | | | group is, the easier it will be to find events and |
| WalMart, on Oprah, and on the NY Times Bestseller | | | | happenings where they might gather. Whether it's in |
| List...really, I hate to rain on your parade, but you | | | | cyberspace, or in your physical locale, people who |
| really are setting yourself up for a lot of | | | | share similar interests or challenges tend to gather on |
| disappointment. It will help from the start to have | | | | a regular basis. This is good news for you if your |
| realistic expectations and recognize clearly who your | | | | book is a resource that will meet their needs. |
| real market is. You must ask your self these defining | | | | Online |
| questions...who, what and where? Then you must | | | | - Message boards |
| prove the why. | | | | - Forums |
| If you cannot narrow down your who into a specific | | | | - Chat groups |
| people group, the narrower the better, the more | | | | - Opt-in newsletters |
| difficult you will find marketing and promoting your | | | | - Targeted websites |
| book. | | | | - Blogs |
| WHO? | | | | - E-Zines |
| If your who is all Christian, all women, all men, or all | | | | - Social networks (myspace.com; facebook.com, etc.) |
| teens, then we've got a problem. Your goal should be | | | | - Teleclasses |
| to target your message to a more specific people | | | | - Web Conferences |
| group, like: | | | | Offline |
| - New moms | | | | - Support groups |
| - Single moms | | | | - Seminars and conferences |
| - People in sales | | | | - Bible Studies |
| - Military wives | | | | - Book Clubs |
| - Cancer survivors | | | | - Conventions (annual, regional, etc.) |
| - Homeschoolers | | | | - Civic groups |
| - Christian writers | | | | - Churches |
| - Teachers | | | | - Monthly membership meetings |
| - The grieving | | | | - Christian workers conferences |
| - Bereavement counselors | | | | - Christian Education conventions |
| - Child abuse survivors | | | | - Street Fairs / Festivals |
| - Teens struggling with addictions | | | | You've zeroed in on your niche market, but now |
| - Women struggling with eating disorders | | | | begs the question...why should anyone buy your |
| - Christian counselors | | | | book? What do you have to offer them? |
| - Runners or hikers | | | | At this point the best thing you could do is get some |
| - Pastors or church leaders | | | | valuable feedback. Get a group of your supporters |
| - Wives of veterans | | | | together for a creative inspiration session. Brainstorm |
| - Parents of terminally ill children | | | | a list of places where you can find those who need |
| - Caregivers | | | | to hear your message. While you're at it, ask your |
| - Senior citizens | | | | focus group these important questions: |
| - Stay at home moms | | | | - What does your book offer? |
| - Dog lovers | | | | - What problem does it help the reader solve? |
| - Cat lovers | | | | Spend some additional time listing all the benefits of |
| - And so on | | | | the message and then take a break. After a snack, |
| The more clearly you can define your market, the | | | | come back together and go over the list, highlighting |
| easier it will be to find ways to advertise and | | | | the most compelling and exciting benefits. These are |
| promote to them. | | | | the ones you will want to use in your sales copy in |
| If you are a fiction writer, make sure you include an | | | | advertising, back cover copy, and a short description |
| issue in your story. Do not just have your main | | | | for a catalog. |
| character become a Christian, but create someone | | | | WHY? |
| struggling with abortion, infertility, domestic violence, | | | | The truth is, people are selfish. That's our sinful |
| infidelity, prodigal children, AIDS, homosexuality, etc. | | | | nature and there's no getting around it...that said, |
| This will help you niche market your fiction title much | | | | most don't really care why you wrote your book, |
| easier since there are many support groups in the | | | | what they really want to know is what is in it for |
| church and secular world reaching out to those | | | | them. Why should they take the time to read what |
| dealing with issues, giving you a greater potential | | | | you have to say? |
| reading audience, again, because it is targeted. | | | | Hopefully you've already gone before the Lord to |
| WHAT? | | | | make sure your message is His message, getting rid |
| Once you've determined the who and hopefully | | | | of anything that draws attention to yourself and |
| narrowed down your market to a niche group of | | | | embellishing whatever glorifies the Lord. With that |
| potential readers, it is time to take a look at the | | | | done, you need to clearly and articulately encapsulate |
| what: | | | | the benefit your book offers your reader. |
| - What magazines or newsletters or newspapers or | | | | If you cannot come up with sales copy of less than |
| catalogs might they read? | | | | 40 words, then you might be in trouble. Let's face it, |
| - What radio stations do they listen to? | | | | people are busy. If you meet someone in an |
| - What TV shows do they watch? | | | | elevator; you don't have 15 minutes to tell them |
| - What websites do they visit? | | | | about your book...you need a sound byte...a "bottom |
| - What keywords are they typing into an internet | | | | line" describing the problem that exists and the |
| search engine? | | | | solution you offer. |
| - What blogs do they read? | | | | You should be able to share your sales copy (or |
| These days you see magazines, catalogs, websites | | | | "elevator speech") one on one in 30 seconds or less. |
| and newsletters targeted for specific people groups. | | | | You've got to be able to communicate what's in it |
| Many support groups have newsletters to keep in | | | | for the reader and be ready to expound on that as |
| touch with their membership and typically the cost to | | | | the opportunity arises. Just make sure your copy |
| advertise is low. Also, the chances of getting your | | | | sounds natural when you say it...if it is too flowery or |
| book reviewed are much better in this type of | | | | technical it will sound canned. It needs to be natural |
| publication than in a huge, well known | | | | yet compelling to those who hear it without so many |
| publication...especially if your book offers great benefit | | | | words that your listener gets lost. |
| to their readers. | | | | As you consider the troubles you help others |
| All too often, authors gravitate towards the well | | | | conquer, as a Christian writer, you are able to offer a |
| known, full color, slick magazines like Christianity | | | | real and enduring solution for the trials of this life. It is |
| Today, Discipleship Journal, Charisma and the like. But | | | | true that the solution is surrendering ones life fully to |
| beware...to advertise in these publications is not only | | | | Jesus and becoming a disciple whose only goal is to |
| extremely expensive, but typically very unproductive | | | | do His will, but that does not necessarily mean that |
| because the audience is so broad. You could easily | | | | the Lord is going to solve all of our problems and we |
| spend thousands of dollars and get about as much | | | | will never have to suffer. |
| return as flushing your money down the toilet would! | | | | Readers are tired of trite, superficial answers to the |
| Take a few moments and come up with a list of | | | | challenges of this life. We must, as Christian writers, |
| keywords that relate to your topic. Then go to a | | | | give them an opportunity to go deeper and |
| few different search engines ( etc.) and type in each | | | | experience true life by the power of the Holy Spirit |
| one of the keywords on your list. You will be amazed | | | | as the only solution to the issues they face. |
| at all the resources you will find on the internet...and | | | | So what are you helping your reader to overcome? |
| many of them are looking for important books like | | | | Depression? Loneliness? Abuse? Unforgiveness? |
| yours to add to their list of links and recommended | | | | Anger? Betrayal or infidelity? Fear of the future? |
| reading. | | | | Grief over the loss of a loved one? Make sure you |
| The essential opportunities to look for are resources | | | | use this information in the back cover copy and all |
| that are focused on meeting the needs of your | | | | advertising and sales material so that your potential |
| particular people group. Whether it is a daily or | | | | readers will relate based on their felt needs and see |
| weekly radio or TV show, a catalog, or newsletter, | | | | that you may have some answers for them. |
| or an e-zine, blog or website, do some research to | | | | In conclusion, by clearly determining who your market |
| see what you can find that is dedicated to your | | | | is, what type of media they prefer, where they |
| prospective readers. Those are the kinds of | | | | congregate with others, and why they should buy |
| websites, publications and media resources that you | | | | your book, you have the basics that you'll need for |
| will want to prayerfully add to your marketing plan. | | | | success. Now you can create and launch a successful |
| WHERE? | | | | marketing campaign to get your message into the |
| So where are you going to find these prospective | | | | hands of those who need to read it. |