Misty M. Beller - How To Market a Book Release: Develop Your Best Marketing Strategy for Each Launch

Prerequisite: Finding Your Target Reader

It was a dark and stormy night, but the lights shone brightly in Kelly Authors suburban bungalow. A yawn crept through her, breaking her focus on the laptop screen. Lifting her bleary gaze, she raised her arms in a stretch. What she wouldnt do for a bar of chocolate right now. Or maybe a cup of hot tea. The breakfast blend, because she still had so much to do on this manuscript before she turned in for the night.

Refocusing stinging eyes on the monitor, she read the scant plot shed outlined so far.

Ryan returns to the university from spring break, but is barely there a week before the trouble starts .

But what trouble? No matter how many times she started a list of possible plot points, her mind began to wander. But she had to focus here. Book 2 wasnt going to write itself, and shed promised readers theyd get Ryans story, the younger brother of her hero from Book 1.

Hed seemed like such a great guy when hed been Darrens sidekick in the first book. Readers had loved him. But now, the bio shed created for him reminded her of the cardboard racing star propped up at the hardware store. Flat and obviously not a real person. The setting didnt even seem right. He was supposed to be finishing his sophomore year at the university, but the last thing she wanted to write about was a major university nestled smack dab in the middle of a huge city. It was more than enough that she had to fight Atlanta traffic herself. She sure didnt want to describe pent-up emotions of sitting in rush hour, the choking exhaust fumes, the faceless commuters all stuck in the rat-race.

As if the mouse moved of its own accord, the cursor floated up to her internet browser. Wonder of wonders, the open tab was marked by the Amazon icon, and the sales page for her debut novel stared back at her. Such a familiar site, it sent warm tingles through her chest. So much work shed put into this story. Then months of editing and tweaking and killing her darlings.

She moved the little white arrow to rest on the row of yellow stars. Ooh, the rating had risen to 4.8. She clicked, completely ignoring the urge to X out of the screen. She knew better than to read reviews, but it was like an addictive drug. Besides, these latest two were both five-star. How much could they hurt?

Yep, she loved the Alaskan wilderness setting, too. It was one of the things that made that book so much fun to write. She skimmed down to the next new review.

Hmm Both reviews mentioned adventure and the wilderness setting. Well, they were going to be sadly disappointed when they read Ryans story.

Butwhy did they have to be?

Her pulse thrummed in her ears as her adrenaline took charge. She called up the half-filled white page, then positioned her fingers on the keyboard and started typing.

The storyline spewed onto the screen as images flashed through her mind. Ryan and his buddy spent the last few weeks of school planning the trip of a lifetime, hitting the top five most thrilling sites in Canada. Yep, Canada.

Theyd be ziplining through the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, biking part of the Trans Canada Trail, rafting the Shubenacadie tidal bore, and if they made it all the way to the West Coast, theyd kayak with the killer whales. But neither of the guys planned for the mysterious woman who dogs their trail from the moment they cross the border at Niagara Falls. Nor do they allot time in the schedule for the murder Ryan is almost certain he witnessed. Or did he?

Kelly leaned back from the computer, cupping the stress ball in her hands as she rereads her notes. Yes, this is exactly the kind of story those reviewers will love. She could just imagine Adventurous Soul perched in the recliner of her Colorado chalet, following Ryans exploits and urging him to search harder for the woman after he thinks she was pushed over the cliff to her death.

Yep, not only did she know what she was going to write, she also knew exactly who was going to read itand love every word.

* * * * *

Who is your target reader?

The more I delve into marketing and ways to find new readers, the more important its become for me to understand who my target reader is. What kind of people tend to fall in love with my books? (Not just those who can tolerate them.) Where do I find those people?

I know I promised a book on all the best methods to market your new release, but so many of the most important strategies require you to know who your target reader is, or else your time will be wasted.

The deeper I go in this topic, the more Im intrigued by it. The more I understand the freeing power of knowing my target reader, the more it influences my story lines, the types of characters I write about, the settings in each book, my book covers, back cover blurbs, types of advertising, you name it!

Good marketing starts with knowing who you want to reach.

In other words, almost everything I do related to books centers around my target readermaking sure they can find my book, and then making sure they love it!

So how do you find that elusive person?

Is it a demographic (for example, women from ages 35-60)? Im going to push you to go deeper than that. Is it a lifestyle? How can you possibly know?

Its possible that each author comes to their understanding differently, but Ill share some tips that might help you take a more direct route to your ah-ha moment.

Technique #1: What stirs emotions in you?

This technique works best if you write the kind of books you love to read (and in general, Id recommend that you do write in the genre you enjoy reading). If, for example, youre a 50-year-old writing middle grade (childrens) books, you might try asking a middle grade student what they enjoy most about the books they read.

Also, this technique works for both pre-published and published writers.

Think about a location or setting that stirs you. What ignites a spark in your soul? Maybe it gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, a yearning, or makes your pulse race.

For me, I love mountain settings. The beautythe majesty. Standing on the edge of a peak looking out for miles and milesI come alive in a way thats almost intoxicating. And my favorite season in the mountains is winter, when snow paints the landscape in sparkling layers. Some of my happiest times have been spent in a mountain cabin, hiding away from the world as the snow covers the peaks in a soft blanket of white. Just thinking about it fills me with an intense craving to be there.

That, my friends, is a setting that stirs me. It stirs a whole audience of people. I can write with passion, helping others experience the same gamut of emotion that I experience when I imagine those scenes.

Technique #2: What do people talk about when they post a review?

If you already have a book published, read through your Amazon reviews, looking for consistent themes. What did people love about this book? Was it the heros tragic past, and how he learns to forgive himself? Was it the fact that heroine came from a wealthy upbringing, yet had the tenacity to learn the skills needed to survive in a wild, barren country?