Defining the Target Audience for Your eBook

Often, when we try to be everything to everyone, we wind up being nothing to anyone. This is particularly true when it comes to authoring a book. Modern life is all about niches and specialties. There is simply too much to know and learn. To compensate, readers tend to focus on topics that spark their interest. Authors tend to write about whatever inspires passion and authority within them.

Defining the target audience for your eBook will help you cater to this. Which of course, begs the question: How does one go about doing so?

What Makes Your Book Unique?

Yes, your book is unique because you wrote it, but you’re going to have to think outside of yourself if you’re going to appeal to others. Maybe you’re putting a new spin on old information; perhaps you found the secret to eternal life. Whatever it is, you need to be able to say it in a couple of sentences or less. Then, determine the advantages of traditional publishing vs. self publishing for your eBook. Which route should you take?

Who Would Benefit From Reading It?

What is your book intended to do—and who would be most likely to gain something from it? How old are they? In what field are they likely employed? How much education do they have? What’s their family situation? Do they live in a city, the suburbs, or a rural area? What else are they reading? How often do they read? How do they spend their leisure time? How do they decide which books to buy? What social media platform(s) are they most likely to use? Where do they shop? Are they active in online forums?

Target Lookalike Readers

If you have a popular blog in the same vein as your book, the answers to those questions are just a few keystrokes away. Conduct a survey among your followers to find out who they are by asking the questions above. If you have a Facebook page or a Twitter profile, those platforms offer insight tools to help you learn more about the people interested in what you do. Once you have a clear picture of your “typical” reader, you’ll have a better idea of how to sell eBooks on your own website to attract others like them.

Who Reads Books Like Yours?

With the internet as your ally, you can easily see what your competition is doing and to whom they are marketing. Amazon’s “Customers who bought...” feature is a great tool for learning what appeals to groups of readers. Armed with this information, it becomes easy to focus your messaging to charm this audience. Sometimes, you’ll find an unexpected group as well. The “Harry Potter” series was initially intended to appeal to children, but found ready acceptance among a much broader base. Rather than boxing yourself into a preconceived set of readers, look to see how broadly your appeal can carry.

What Are They Seeking?

Once you know who your audience is, you can pinpoint the search terms they use to find things on the internet. Google Trends can help you research keywords among specific demographic groups to gauge interest levels. Google’s AdWords tool will also help you learn which keywords are generating the most interest among certain groups. Once you find the keywords holding significant relevance for your target audience, you can fashion your marketing efforts around them. Another way to gain insights into this is to harvest oft-repeated terms in the comments section of your blog.

Armed with this information, you are now prepared to market your existing book. Or—better still—write a book crafted to capture this specific group of people.