How To Define The Compelling Need Of My Reader
I am in the process of revising my book and I started reading a little about marketing. I got this wonderful e-mail by Jeff Bullas, who explained to me the basics of selling:
It is not trying to convince someone to buy something they do not want. Selling, true selling is about giving the people what they want. It’s about making their lives better, making them happier. In short, it is about finding a connection and building trust.
In order to find out how my book can serve people, I first need to be able to research and define the compelling needs of my readers.
Here's where I am stuck. Anyone with an idea?
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1) Marketing a product is not "convincing someone to buy something they do not want" or "giving the people what they want." It is creating a need in the buyer which s/he either didn't have or didn't realize was there before. That's what ads do: convince people "You NEED this!"
2) Selling a story is not like selling toothpaste. You have to create a blurb which makes the reader want to find out what happens next. That's your hook.
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I have worked with NYTimes Best Sellers. I know many authors. If the writer is bored so will be the reader. You cannot market your book to fame. It doesn't work. What you have to do is create something someone wants to read, and once having read, want more. Compelling characters, interesting plot, well rounded world building. You can spend a million dollars on marketing but if no one buys it is waste. There is no formula for success. I thought Fifty Shades of Grey was one of the worst written things I ever read. Badly written, badly plotted, horrible dialogue and astoundingly tacky. And it sold millions. Mostly on word of mouth. That is, one person told another how great it was and they bought it too. Word of mouth is still the best marketing tool ever. And that you cannot buy. Now ask me about the books I loved that didn't sell well.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/28690. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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