Part 2 of 3

In last Monday’s post, we discussed how to target the WHO – the niche group of potential readers. Today, we look at the WHAT.

• What magazines or newsletters or newspapers or catalogs might your target audience read?
• What radio stations do they listen to?
• What TV shows do they watch?
• What keywords are they typing into a search engine?

Magazines, Web sites, newsletters, and sales catalogs are increasingly becoming targeted towards specific groups. Many support groups have newsletters to keep in touch with their membership and typically the cost to advertise is low. Also, the chances of getting your book reviewed are much better in this type of publication than in a huge, well known publication… especially if your book offers great benefit to their readers.

All too often, authors gravitate towards the well-known, full color, slick magazines. But beware… to advertise in these publications is not only extremely expensive, but typically very unproductive because the audience is so broad. You could easily spend thousands of dollars and get about as much return as flushing your money down the toilet would!

Take a few moments and come up with a list of keywords that relate to your topic. Then go to a few different search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) and type in each of the keywords on your list. You will be amazed at all the resources you will find on the internet…and many of them are looking for important books like yours to add to their list of links and recommended reading.

Look for resources focused on meeting the needs of your particular people group. Whether it is a daily or weekly radio or TV show, a catalog, or newsletter, do some research to see what you can find that is dedicated to your prospective readers.

In next Monday’s post, we’ll discuss WHERE to find buyers