In the last segment we talked about basic branding techniques that you can use to make your career as an author more successful. In this segment we are going to go over some of the reasons why your audience is everything.
Audience is everything when it comes to branding your name and establishing your career as an author. If you don't know the audience that you are targeting then you cannot begin creating a brand for your name and promoting your books. There are many reasons that audience must be considered first and foremost and will become paramount in your overall book marketing and promotional efforts..
Your audience is the targeted customer base that you are hoping to reach out to for purchasing your books. Audience may include gender, age, geographical regions, book genre preferences and and more.
The age of an audience must be considered when branding occurs. This is because if you are targeting a younger and more hip crowd they may want to see a brand that is vibrant and more hip. If your audience is older and more sophisticated then they may be looking for a brand displaying more professionalism.
Here are few somewhat exaggerated but quick examples, if you have others please feel free to comment below. If your genre is sweet historical romance, don't feature half naked people on your book cover. If you are marketing erotic romance, don't decorate your website with a pink and pretty flowery template. If you are publishing international thrillers or hard-core Westerns don't blog about the ten pounds you are trying to lose to look good at the beach or your son's wedding.
Gender of an audience is almost always going to be an important factor. Personally I love the international thrillers of Clive Cussler, James Rollins and Matthew Reilly; but I'm willing to bet that I and most of their other female fans make up the minority of their audience. However, when you create a brand for a traditionally male genre, remember that you can create ad campaigns that includes the women who enjoy them as well, plus you can target the women that purchase books as gifts for men--and vice versa.
Income isn't something that many people think about when they consider an audience when developing an author's identity or book brand. This is often where authors go wrong. If you are a new author and try to price your books in the same range as the bigger and more established authors you've just made your work of selling your books and building your reputation much more difficult. This is especially true with e-published products since there are literally a hundred thousand or more classic books online that can be read for free--not to mention all the free books offered by your competitors who are also trying to build an audience.
You cannot sell an expensive product to a cash poor audience, this is another reason for doing your research. While every reader is different, research will show you certain demographic trends for your particular genre. Also, people with a very high income may not consider purchasing a very cheap product. You may have written and hand illustrated the cutest ABC book every written, but families with small children may have other financial priorities then purchasing your adorable picture book when they can pick up similar ones at yard sales for .10 cents a piece. The value of your brand must match the income of the people you think will be your primary target as customers.
If you do not have a clear understanding of your audience and their particular tastes, purchasing motivations and marketing triggers, there is an excellent chance you will fail.
When you determine your audience it is important to narrow it down based on the age, gender (only if specific), geographical region (only if specific), income levels, and more. Your audience will be defined, for example for a book on horse stories, as something like 10-18 year old, females, high functioning literate, horse-lovers, and to that list you can probably add to the fringes unicorns, cute dogs, cats, sweet romance.
Some brands may not be this specific. However, the more you can narrow down your audience the more your brand will separate you from the competition. This means you will have less competition to worry about also.
Branding by your audience will allow you to be more successful with sales and develop long lasting customers that are dedicated to you. Targeting the wrong audience can cause problems with credibility, trust and reputation.
So, especially if you are just starting out, brand by audience narrowly at first and then gradually expand. Find out what is a motivational or emotional trigger for your target audience and play to the strengths that your writing experience has given you..
Make sure you look for your next segment soon.
Smiles and Good Fortune,
Teresa Thomas Bohannon
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It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent.
– W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915
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