‘I want my book to appeal to as many people as possible.’
It’s not uncommon to hear new writers express this desire. Reach is important: of course you want your book to sell well – who wouldn’t!
But when it comes to publishing successfully, trying to get your book to appeal to the world and their husband/wife/beloved pet is counterproductive, for several reasons:
- It lacks focus and purpose
- It doesn’t identify who the audience is
- It doesn’t speak to their specific needs or pain points
- It can’t provide directed, practical solutions.
The problem with trying to speak to everyone in a book is that it can end up not speaking to anyone at all.
And as mentioned above, it can create real issues with trying to decide on, write and organise your content well to meet the market.
You don’t need to write for everyone.
That’s right! Everyone is not your reader.
This revelation might come as a surprise, but it should actually be a relief because it will make your authoring life so much easier.
Instead, you can concentrate on what you do best: share your own fantastic, specialist expertise with your tribe, and start growing a loyal and happy readership.
Business books and practical guides often work best when they focus on one type of reader, covering one subject within a larger book market segment. When readers are shopping for a practical book, they’re usually looking to solve a particular problem, so directing your content to them achieves that.
For example, if you want to write a career guide for school or university leavers, why produce yet another generalist book that’s going to sit alongside the thousands of others out there in that sector – many of which are already well established, and have become the go-to canon?
Say you’re an experienced graphic designer. Instead, you could write one specifically for graphic design graduates who want to enter your field, or to uplift early-career designers considering their next options, guiding them on how to move up the industry ladder successfully.
Or if you’re a business consultant, rather than writing a book on general workplace productivity, you could share your expert knowledge of implementing Agile in organisations to help readers create top-drawer project management and high-performing teams.
In marketing, customer identification starts with creating an avatar for each target, and finding the right audience for your book is no different.
Ask yourself:
- Who is my ideal reader?
- What’s their demographic? Really drill down into what defines them.
- What’s their knowledge level – what gaps in the existing book market does mine need to fill?
- What do they need from me – what expertise, advice and practical pointers will specifically help them?
- What great value-add takeaways can I deliver?
If you’re in business – consultancy especially – your ideal reader may well be the kind of clients you’re already working with. Or the ones you want to work with, if your book is acting as a lead magnet and calling card.
Niche is good. Directing your copy is good. Being confident of what you’re writing is good too.
The one place you can leverage your offer and knowledge successfully is a book. The big advantage is that it expert positions you as a go-to in your field. You become the person people want to seek out precisely because you’re so good at what you do.
Generalist books are already flooding the market in multitudes, you don’t need to add to them.
Step away from that sector, serve the niche and allow your unique gifts to shine!
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Lisa Cordaro Publishing Services 