7 Ways How Readers Can Find Your Book

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Bookstore .

… and How YOU Can Find Your Target Audience.
As an author you need to know the answer how to find your target audience and set up accordingly your professional marketing strategies.

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A Pew Survey Shows How People Find Books – in this Order:

  1. Search on Top 100 Bestseller lists
  2. Shopping for books written by a favorite author
  3. Trustworthy Media Recommendations
  4. Word of mouth – or word of mouse
  5. Book search by genre or keywords
  6. Meeting the author in person (or online)
  7. Deals, discounts or free books

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Bestseller Lists:
The most popular way to browse for books are Amazon 100 Sellers or New York Times Bestseller lists or the Bestseller section in bookstores on- and off-line. Many of these books are traditionally published and are written by popular authors. But more self-publishing authors are starting to show up in these lists, especially on Amazon. If your book can get into their top 100 lists, the exposure can catapult your book even further. However, you have to compete against established and popular authors

Perfect not only your manuscript, but also your books’ cover editing, and formatting. Give your readers a reasons to leave positive reviews and recommend the book to others. Build early buzz for your book with cover reveals, let others know you are writing a book, get feedback on cover, title, blurb, first chapter etc. on different occasions from different groups of readers.  Meet-up groups, book communities, contests, promotions, etc. can help you get people excited about your upcoming book.  Place it on Amazon’s pre-order program three months ahead of your book launch.
Research bestsellers covers in your genre. If you want a top seller, the cover has to proof that it is the kind of book that the reader is looking for. Create a professional-looking and appealing cover that will attract customers, but also a great blurb that will entice interest without giving too much away.
Start early to market your book. Once it is published, it’s almost too late. Find bloggers in your genre who also review books. Start half a year in advance of publishing, bloggers may have hundreds of requests and reading takes time.

What’s More:

– Arrange book signings and readings
– Join a dozen reader communities
– Arrange for pre-sales on Amazon
– Plan a book launch party
– Set up giveaways on Goodreads and LibraryThing
– Create a professional press release package (on your website and in print) and contact local media.

Find many more tips for book marketing and your book launch in former blog posts.

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Shopping for Books Written by a Favorite Author
This will help authors who have written more than one book. When readers like them they will often search for other books written by the same author and frequently sold this way. Write two or even better, more related books, or a whole series in order to benefit from this type of book sales. The first book of yours they read has to be good enough to make your readers want more.
The more followers who read one of your books and love it, the more of your other books will be likely sold. It also improves your sales rank, chances of getting reviews, and prospects for word-of-mouth sales.
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Trustworthy Media recommendations
Editorial reviews from The Guardian, The Globe&Mail, MacLeans, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times or Washington Post can have a positive impact. However it is most unlikely for independent authors to get a review there, also it is not impossible. Check out this article: Prestigious Reviews and How to Get them.
Try to get reviews from bloggers in your genre who review books. Regularly writing a blog and being active in Social Media might help to make valuable connections. But remember that some reviewers and book bloggers receive a very high number of requests and that it takes time to read books.

Another trustworthy source that’s very valuable is the retailer itself. Once a book sells a few times along with another book, it can show up on “Customer Also Bought” lists. The more frequently your book sells – and the more effective your marketing efforts – the more these lists can help give your sales a significant boost.

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Word of Mouth – or Word of Mouse
The easiest book sale is via word-of-mouth sales.  If it’s a great book, a percentage of the customers will recommend it to others, this can generate valuable sales. If only a fraction of those people recommend it to others, sales can really grow in the long-term.
But it might take some time, until it naturally comes up in conversations. They might not buy your book right away. It can take weeks after they hear about your book before they consider buying. It can take several months for word-of-mouth sales to build up. In the meantime you can write more books. And your books have to be good enough to receive those recommendations.
If someone very social (or on Social Media) loves your book, or if people who are really connected in the Social Media world enjoy your book, it will be recommended and sales grow over time.
If a book blogger falls in love with your book, or if a book reviewer for a magazine likes your book, or a customer who often reviews books on Amazon, LibraryThing or Goodreads enjoys your book… all recommendations help, especially when they come from trustworthy sources.

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Book Search by Genre or Keywords
Readers often go to Amazon and other online booksellers to search for books by keywords or just browse page by page through categories or search within a specific category. The problem is that there are tens of millions of books to search for. Books that show up on the first page of one or more keyword searches are much more likely to sell through keyword searches.  However, only a few books show up on the first page of very popular keyword searches.
The better your book is categorized (and sub-categorized) and the better your keywords are, the greater your sales rank and the more reviews you will draw, which in turn can help to improve your book’s visibility.

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Meeting the Author in Person (or online)
Many books sell through personal interactions with the author. It’s amazing to be able to read a book by an author you have personally interacted with. When people meet you and enjoy the interaction, they are much more likely to read your book, enjoy your book and review it.
Especially if you make each person you interact with feel special. Don’t interact with people just because you want to sell them something. Interact with them to get to know them. If you really care, this will show and can make a huge difference.

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Deals, Discounts or Free Books
Consumer love sales. But they have to know about the sale, which means that you have to promote your discount. And they have to want the book, it has to be a good fit for them. That means you have to find your target audience and market your promotion directly toward them!
Time-limited discounts, such as Amazon Kindle “Countdown”entices customers to buy before the sale ends. Contests and giveaways can help stimulate interest, too, such as the Giveaway program at LibraryThing or Goodreads.  How to run successful Giveaways can be found in a former blog post.

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Who is Your Target Audience?
These are the people you want to interact with you personally because they are many times more likely to buy your book than anyone else. If you write steampunk and market it mainly to people who never read books in this genre, your marketing will not be successful.
Think carefully where and how to find your target audience. Don’t go there or contact them just to sell your book. Attract your target audience, and let them discover that you wrote a book that may interest them.
If you have a large Social Media following, you can tap into this for initial sales. You can meet people anytime. If it comes up that you are an author, even if they don’t read that genre, they might have a friend who does.
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Find your target audience well before your write or finish your book. Networking takes time. As earlier you start as better. And later when your book is out, send a thank-you note / email to anyone who recommends or reviews your book. They took time reading and reviewing your work, writing an article and get back to you, so take five minutes and write them a thank-you letter!

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

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