D is for Demographics, and today we take a look at how you can use demographics to focus in on one type of reader first before widening your reach.

Why Do We Need To Focus On Only One Demographic?

Over the years, I find that there is always one answer when we ask a new client who they market their products to. “Everyone!” they say, usually accompanied with a chuckle. It stands to reason. If your target market is “everyone,” then you get “everyone’s” money. Not so fast, though. My mentor and friend, John from The Lean Marketer, explained it to me and I’m going to put this into my own words. 

Imagine a stereotypical target for archery or darts, complete with that red bullseye in the middle. There are rings spreading outwards. See it in your mind? The red bullseye is your ideal reader. They are the ones who not only know about you, but they are also salivating at the thought of you releasing another book. These are the easiest people to market to, and your marketing efforts will be minimal since they’re already looking for you. You only need an online presence for these readers. 

The next ring out are people who are reading your genre of books, but they don’t yet know about you specifically. Your marketing will be a little different to reach them but they are still easier to sell to since they already want to read what you write. 

After that will be people who read, but they don’t necessarily read in the genre you are writing. As you can imagine, they are not as easy to sell your books to and will need a lot of marketing to give you a chance to wow them with your awesome stories.

The last ring out are people who don’t read, will never read, and don’t even want to know that books exist. Converting these types of leads into book sales will be near-impossible.

Where Do Demographics Come Into Play?

Picture the person you write for. Is it a 40-year old woman with two kids and a busy husband who just wants to read romances where the spunky girl catches the eye of the stunning hunk while she’s trying to save the world? Or is it a young boy who wants to read about a kid like himself battling monsters with magic, having high adventure on the seven seas, and finding treasures to build the ultimate castle? Maybe you write for an up-and-coming business person who wants to know how to improve their productivity. Really picture this one specific person, understand where they are in their lives, what they really want from your writings, and how they spend their free time on the internet.

You can create a whole “character” persona of your ideal reader by answering questions such as: 

Relationship status;
Age;
Gender;
Kids or no kids;
Location;
Career;
Etc.

Really dig deep, find out who they are, and build your first marketing campaign around this person. 

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