Welcome to the 81st episode of The Author Hangout, a podcast designed to help authors, especially self-published and indie authors, with marketing their books and improving their author platform. Authors struggle with various aspects of marketing and we are here to help!
How To Create A Reader Profile
In this episode, we took a different approach. Instead of interviewing authors, this episode is the start of a new series where we will share some of the key tenets of book marketing success. To start this new series, we show you how to develop a reader profile that will serve as the basis of your book marketing efforts.
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Outline/Notes
Introduction
- Avatar, Persona, Target Audience, audience profile, it’s the same word, just different ways to describe what a reader profile is.
- Classically speaking a reader profile is defined as “information gather, analyzed and then designed to give authors a picture of who their ideal reader is for their books.
- And today you are going to learn how to create a reader profile in just 10 minutes.
- Developing a reader profile is all about asking the right questions, being curious to unearth the answers and bringing together this information into a coherent profile.
Why would you and should you create a reader profile….
- Personalizes experience
- Influences writing
- Influences marketing
- Reveals needs
Step 1 – Identify the Key Demographics
- What is the typical age and gender of my reader?
- What is the typical gender of my reader?
- What do they do for a living?
- Where do they live?
- What are their hobbies and interests?
Step 2 – Identify Their Needs/Challenges
- Why do they read this genre?
- What are they getting out of it?
- What concerns, issues, or problems does your book address?
Step 3 – Social Assessment
- Where do they hang out online?
- How do they like to communicate?
- How often do they want to be communicated to?
- What formats of content do they like?
Step 4 –Write Their Name & Story
- Name your reader profile person.
- Create a simple story around their life.
Example from Book Marketing Tools.
- You are speaking to Sue, she is 42 a mom, wife, chauffer, active in her local community, and a self-published author. Her family of 3 lives in the burbs where she dreams of being a successful author from all the stories wrapped up in her mind. She recently published her book 12 months ago, but isn’t see the results she had hoped for. Her biggest pain point is not knowing how to market her book effectively, while having the time to do it right… So Guest, First Name. In the end we want her to gain the knowledge and insight into the best marketing that can be done, while still not losing her mind in the process.
Step 5 – Reviewing & Creating the Profile
Now it’s your turn…
- Step 1 – Answer the demographic questions quickly.
- Step 2 – Identify 1 major need that you want to solve for or you already solve.
- Step 3 – Assess where they are, how they communicate, and what formats.
- Step 4 – Name your reader and create a quick story…
And let’s remember why you are doing this:
- Personalizes experience
- Influences writing
- Influencers marketing
- Reveals needs
Reader Profile Hacks To Make Things Easier
- Create a list of the top 50 authors in your genre, review their social account, read their emails, read their blogs.
- Use Facebook Insights – https://business.facebook.com/ads/audience-insights/people?
- Review Amazon Reviewers
- Use Facebook Audience
- Ask your audience… more time, but more accurate.
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Other Episodes
Get caught up on the other episodes of The Author Hangout that you may have missed:
- Ep 145: “Million Dollar Book Business”
- Ep 144: “Network Net Worth”
- Ep 143: “Learning to Hack Learning”
- Ep 142: “Making Of The Perfect Optin”
- Ep 141: “Coaching Breeds Author Success”
- Ep 140: “Gumroad for Authors”
- Ep 139: “Above The Noise”
- Ep 138: “Goal Setting Check-in”
- Ep 137: “Relying On Others”
- Ep 136: “Honest Conversations on Book Marketing”
- Ep 135: “Recognition of Hard Work”
- Ep 134: “Improving Kindle Book Rankings”
- Ep 133: “Making Money Fast?”
- Ep 132: “Book Marketing & Book Launches”
- Ep 131: “Authors Answers: How To Get Book Reviews”
- Ep 130: “Author Answers: Author Street Teams”
- Ep 129: “Author Answers: Using KDP Select or Not”
- Ep 128: “Traffic, Subscribers, and Sales”
- Ep 127: “Book Marketing Tips from Experts (Part 7)”
- Ep 126: “Media Interviews & Book Marketing”
- Ep 125: “Book Marketing Tips from Experts (Part 6)”
- Ep 124: “Goal Setting for Authors”
- Ep 123: “Author Answers: Social Media Engagement”
- Ep 122: “Speaking, Podcasts & Mailing Lists”
- Ep 121: “Authors Answers: DIY Blog Tours”
- Ep 120: “Book Launches & Pay-Per-Click Advertising”
- Ep 119: “Author Answers: Choosing Comparison Titles”
- Ep 118: “Writing as a Career & Audiobooks”
- Ep 117: “Self-Publishing & Book Launches”
- Ep 116: “Podcasting for Book Marketing”
- Ep 115: “Author Answers: Best Marketing Activities”
- Ep 114: “Book Launches & Video Marketing”
- Ep 113: “Writing Faster, Marketing Smarter”
- Ep 112: “Book Marketing Momentum”
- Ep 111: “Building Book Launch Teams”
- Ep 110: “Book Launches and Distribution”
- Ep 109: “Email Lists & Facebook Live”
- Ep 108: “Facebook Ads for Book Marketing”
- Ep 107: “NaNoWriMo, Writing, and Marketing”
- Ep 106: “Book Marketing Success & Failure”
- Ep 105: “Telling Stories & Reaching Readers”
- Ep 104: “Connect With Other Authors”
- Ep 103: “Maximizing Your Book Marketing”
- Ep 102: “Audiobooks and Book Marketing”
- Ep 101: “Author Email Marketing Automation”
- Ep 100: “Looking Back, Looking Forward”
- Ep 099: “Maximizing Book Promotions”
- Ep 098: “Meta Data Is Your Brand”
- Ep 097: “Kindle in Motion & More”
- Ep 086 – How To Create an Irresistible Opt-In Incentive
