As a writer, we research. It’s what we do. We research settings. Disorders. Things that go bump in the night. Urban and suburban legends and the occasional garden gnome murder spree. We know what the height of fashion was in 1723 and who wore it best. We know our guns. Our poisons. And the quickest way to a man’s heart, which is usually a knife and not food as we’ve always heard.
We KNOW this because we’ve researched it.
Okay, maybe not the last thing, but the rest of it.
So what do you know about the/your reader?
The being a general reader in your genre, and then more importantly, the reader of your books. How old are they? What do they do for a living? How do you gain more of people like them and keep those you have?
Now many authors might not care, but not you, you smart and very attractive author. You know that the reader is the very reason you publish books. Without him or her, you might as well daydream, and avoid those pesky plot holes and dialogue tags.
The best way to research who your reader is and where to find them is by asking your current ones. I have a survey on my monthly newsletter. I can change it depending on what sort of marketing I’ll be doing and what burning questions I have about my readers. This works two-fold, I get promotional insight and I also invite my readers to engage with me.
It shows that I am genuinely interested in them. In who they are and how we can interact. Basically, I am totally nosy. If you aren’t or you don’t have this kind of time, which is fine as you can still gain the insights you need, I suggest sticking with the more generic version of demographic stats each genre has on the reader. Just google Romance reader statics and you’ll find plenty of info.
We have the how, but what about the why? How does knowing what platform a reader prefers will sell more of my books? If you’re self-published the answer might be apparent, publish to that platform. If you’re traditionally published, it’s a little harder to see.
According to Nielsen data, Amazon holds a 61% share of the ereader market. Now you as an author don’t have much say in where or the platform your publisher chooses. But you can use this information to limit your marketing scope. Why not try placing ads targeted to your reader demographics on a Kindle? I don’t suggest it though, as another stat comes into play. Most people aren’t reading on the ereader itself, but using an app on a mobile device. Wasted ad dollars, all found out because of reader research!
See, I saved you a few bucks right there.
I hope you see the value of reader research and will become a fellow stats geek with me, as I hate to geek out alone.
What type of reader research do you do? How have you used it in the past? I have plenty of ideas, so let’s talk readers!
I’ve been very negligent about doing reader research. Unless someone posts a review or sends me an email, I have no idea who’s buying my books. I guess I should do something about that…if I can figure out where to start.
Here’s a good link to start. It’s 6 years old http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.sistersincrime.org/resource/resmgr/imported/consumerbuyingbookreport.pdf
I actually interact in the same communities my readers do. I think you learn more about really identifying your market when you write non-fiction. Fiction can be a little harder because your demographic isn’t nearly as precise usually – unless you have a niche. But since I write a lot of paranormal and esoteric, and I interact with those communities of readers online (not just with my own books, but with what I’m reading, too), it makes it a little easier to see what’s going on and to target my readers directly.
I always follow Pat Stoltey’s lead and I, too, am ignorant of reader research qualities. I infuse my work with lots of stick figure drawings in case my readers are actually non-readers.
LOL, Dean! The RWA stats have been helpful for me, but I could sure do more research for women’s fiction, especially since I’m hoping to release my first WF novel this year. I know beach and lake scenes–tranquil, rendered in pastels–are popular for covers but not much beyond that. Interesting topic, Julie, thanks!
I, too, need to do much more of this. Thanks for the boost, Julie!