Hitting Targets in a Saturated Market
Quarantine has been a time of Netflix, baking, and home-schooling. But as social media posts confirmed, those stuck at home read more this year than in recent memory. I’m seeing many Facebook Live Q+As with authors and frequent end-of-year lists about favorite books.
But…there’s a lot of product out there. Many authors wonder if they can reach audiences within a saturated market. With so many forms of entertainment vying for audience attention, it’s important as a writer, especially a non-fiction writer with a message to impart, to remember why you’re writing. Without a clear and focused agenda, your subject matter may not hit audiences and media as sharply and engaging as it could.
My latest book, The Big Solution, is slated to be released this spring and I’ve had to contemplate these very issues when planning its format and marketing strategy.
How to pack the most punch? Ask yourself these questions.
- Why am I the best person to shout this message/story from the rooftops?
- 2. What about my perspective and background is different than other writers/entrepreneurs?
- 3. How do I hope readers respond and/or utilize the message/story?
- 4. When is the best time for audiences to hear this message/story? Season, month, during pandemic quarantine or after?
- 5. Why is this a perfect time for my message/story to reach audiences?
- 6. If non-fiction, have I considered my audience’s frame of reference and provided necessary background info to help understand?
- 7. Can I elevator pitch my thesis/idea into 2–3 sentences? (This will show if your message is its most clear, coherent, and interesting.)
- 8. Which media outlets contain my most engaged followers? If, for example, your Instagram followers leave comments, questions, and mention having bought your book — focus on this audience with which to share news of Q & A’s and upcoming releases.
- 9. What’s meaningful to you about the story/message? Why do you need to write it and get it in front of audiences?
Standing out in a saturated market, especially if working with independent publishers, is about more than having a good book or promising idea.
To locate target readers, writers must consider the how’s and why’s of their unique appeal in order to create a clear, identifiable product easily found and promoted by audiences and media.
