Tuesday, April 23, 2013

A to Z Challenge - Target Audience

For the A to Z Challenge, I’m posting promo and other tips for writers, along with a daily photo. (All photos taken by me.)


Authors need to write with a target audience in mind. We need to know who we’re writing for and how to find these people.

Some things to consider while writing and preparing for promotions:

• What shops and stores do they frequent besides book- stores?
• Where do they go for entertainment? Do they attend festivals? Sporting events? Museums?
• Are they involved in organizations or civic groups?
• What news broadcasts or magazines do they follow?
• What websites or blogs do they visit?
• Are they involved in community and social sites? Which ones?
• Are they involved in website forums or groups?
• Where do they shop online?
• Do they listen to podcasts?

Who is YOUR target audience?

Visit other participants in the A to Z Challenge HERE

We will be doing a reflections post again this year and invite all participants of the Challenge to join us.
What did you enjoy about the Challenge?
What could we do better next year?
What issues did you encounter? (Word verification, unable to comment, long posts, etc.)
Did you encounter many non-participants? (With help from our minions, we tried really hard to clean the list this year.)
Theme or no theme – what seemed to work better? Did you find any great themes?
Did you have fun and will you participate again next year?

Your Reflections can be posted anytime from May 3 through May 10. The Linky List will go live May 3 and we ask you to add the link to your post, not your website, once you have posted. The Challenge hosts read every one so we know where to improve for next year.



And your daily photo: "The Dreamer"



$14.95 Trade paperback ISBN 978-0-9827139-5-2
$4.99 Ebook ISBN 978-0-9827139-9-0

Purchase at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Kindle UK, and Powell’s.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yet more excellent tips and that picture is just awesome.

Yvonne.

Ella said...

Gorgeous photo and wonderful tips!
;D

A Daft Scots Lass said...

Target? anyone who will listen to my drivel.

Unknown said...

To know your target audience is so important. I love the questions we should ask ourselves.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'm really enjoying your pictures and you always give helpful tips.

Francene Stanley said...

I donb't think your list of target audience applies to people buying one of my books. However, I want to reach readers with my blogs. Perhaps if my writing is good enough, they'll purchase a test book.
Francene.
A - Z Challenge
http://francene-wordstitcher.blogspot.co.uk/

Unknown said...

I actually had a hard time with this one because I wrote the book without thinking about things like target audience or genre. I just wrote it. Which means in a lot of ways it's a marketing nightmare because the target audience is male/female age 14 and up. LOL.

Hart Johnson said...

Mystery readers are pretty easy to reach, but YA readers are a little trickier. I think it's because different YA readers like different stuff and I just haven't found my stream yet... I will get there...

Al Diaz said...

*Dragon raises claw* A question here, teacher.

"Who is your target audience?"

How or where do I answer that? The only thing I have certain so far is that women are the main audience for romance, but the rest, I don't have it clear.

cleemckenzie said...

Targeting your audience is uber important. So are those lovely horses.

Barbara White Daille said...

Love the photo.

Great food for thought with this. I plan to come back after the Challenge is over and make lots of notes.

Barbara
T is for Triple Play: Two Teasers and Time's Running Out
The Daille-y News

Laura S. said...

Your target audience is definitely important to consider when planning your novel.

And wow, that photo is gorgeous, Diane!!

Happy A to Z-ing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Lass - LOL!

Melanie, most writers do that, so don't feel bad.

Al, start by asking yourself those questions above.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Crap, I've never gone into that much detail on my target audience.
Very dramatic photo!

Jo said...

Lovely picture.

JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

Sherry Ellis said...

Beautiful photo! Target audience is definitely something to consider when marketing your book. Thanks for the tips!

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Not knowing your audience id a potential death sentence book wise.

Michelle Wallace said...

Love the horses!
It reminds me of a poem we used to study in high school.

klahanie said...

Hi Diane,

Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar has told me that her target audience is primarily those who understand the unconditional love that animals share with us.

Our reflective post will be done at a completely different time. What has really bothered me is the number of posts that are far too long. Even though you know I would never participate, I do try to be proactive and involved.

All the best and happy alphabeting.

Gary at the Z to A.

Heather M. Gardner said...

It sounds like authors always have their hands full.

I can't wait.

Pretty powerful picture.

Heather

Anonymous said...

These are all great things to think about in depth.

I love the picture.

Jai Joshi said...

The Dreamer is so beautiful!

Understanding our target audience is key. Great tip.

Laura Eno said...

Gorgeous horse!
Great list of items to think about for a target audience.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane .. the same applies to writing or blogging .. we need to be targeted .. You do this so well ..

Cheers Hilary

Anonymous said...

Hi, Diane. There are a lot of different things to take into consideration when trying to determine ones target audience.

Beautiful photo!