There’s a new term I’ve been seeing used throughout the Internet. It’s “audience development.” Have you heard/read it? Do you know what it means? It seems to be a marketing term implying the process of creating buyers for your products.
When I first saw the term, I thought it referred to public speaking and/or perhaps one’s readership. And it might be slanted that way. I mean, when you are speaking in front of a group, you want to develop that audience into one that is interested, attentive—eating out of your hand, as they say. And your readers—you want that audience to fall in love with your characters, to hang on your every word, to enjoy the reading experience. You want to develop your reading audience, right? You want to create an audience through your amazing promotional efforts and you want to grow that audience and then develop that audience into one that thoroughly enjoys and/or appreciates your book, right?
How do we do that?
I’m reminded of the “Dora the Explorer” educational cartoons that I get to watch over and over every Wednesday when our 3-year-old granddaughter is here. These programs are amazing. They have elements of education, reasoning, understanding, community (working together), ethics, principles and problem solving, for example. There’s always a challenge, a plan and 3 steps to resolving the issue. I’d like to provide 3 steps to audience development. Now that’s a challenge for me. If you’ve been reading my books, the articles at my website and this blog for very long, you know that I like to give long lists of ideas.
1: Identify your audience.
2: Locate your audience.
3: Attract your audience.
4: Develop your audience.
Well you can see that I failed in my attempt to keep the steps to 3. I have 4 of them here for you to consider.
How many of you ever put this sort of thought into your audience when you decide to write a book, while you’re writing it, when you are going through the publishing process or even once the book is completed? You know intellectually that your book sales depend on readers/customers. But do you think about “audience development” in any sort of real sense? Do you spend time considering the individuals who make up your audience—their reading pleasures, their reading needs and desires?
Do you know where to find your potential audience? If you watch Dora with your children or grandchildren, you know that she relies on “The Map” to lay out the steps to her destinations. You may need help along the way, too. And there are numerous avenues you can pursue to get that assistance. Your well-thought out, well-researched book proposal is an excellent starting place.
Next, you must attract your audience. Now how do you do that? Typically through promotion, exposure—getting word out about your book. No one will buy it if they don’t know about it.
And then we come to audience development. That, too, is up to you. And you can go back all the way to square one with your book in order to start developing that audience. Yes, this is something you should be thinking about even before you start writing the book. Forget about Field of Dreams—“build it and they will come.” That concept is pure fantasy, especially in the highly competitive bookselling industry.
If you want to soothe your literary itch by writing what’s in your heart and/or on your mind, go for it. But don’t NECESSARILY expect it to be of interest to others. And especially don’t attempt to go out and find an audience after the writing is done.
As authors, we are at liberty of writing whatever we want. As authors whose goal is to be published, we must, at some point in the process, trade in our writer’s heart for an entrepreneurial head and replace our muse with strategy.
Some of you have published books. Are they selling well? Are you completely in-tune with your audience? Are you marketing to the right audience? Or are you still puzzled by the concept of audience development? Tomorrow is the deadline for joining in on my online Book Promotion Course (in progress). Sign up NOW at
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm