Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "demographic"
Proceed With Caution When Choosing a Review Service
If you are an unknown author and spending money on advertising, here is some invaluable advice. When you're shopping for companies that offer legitimate reviews by readers who are genuinely interested in your book, ask these questions:
• Where are they located
• What is the members’ average age, and which genre are they interested in
It may not seem like these things have anything to do with the quality of the service, but they do. First of all, if your book is going to be offered to people worldwide, you must make sure that there are enough members of the community who speak fluent English (or whatever language your book is written in) so that you can be sure of getting accurate reviews.
Age is also important, because depending on your genre, the company may not be able to get anyone interested in reading your book. That recently happened to me when I did a secret shop: my book is historical fiction. It’s a murder mystery/romance set in 1600s England, and it is definitely not a Beach Read. Rather than being heavy on sex and weak on plot, it’s the exact opposite. It’s heavy on the plot and character development and it’s full of historical facts.
For this reason, my demographic is typically people 35 years of age or older who live in the UK or America. This ensures that they are mature enough to be interested in the book and can fluently read it in the language it is written in. Naturally, there are people all over the world who speak English, but if your book is written in English, you’re better off marketing to America and the UK simply because there will be a greater number of English speakers in those areas.
The Independent Author market has been flooded with fantasy and science fiction over the past 10 years. For this reason, many “review services” have communities made up of young adults who are interested in this type of book. That’s fantastic if that’s what you’ve written. For someone like me, it equates to spending a lot of money to get very little interest and not many reviews. So always check with the company to determine if they have members who are interested in your genre, whatever it may be.
I recently had a disastrous experience with the review service that I did the secret shop on. I found out to my dismay that the company was located in Egypt. Well, it was no small wonder that they couldn’t get much interest in my book. I wouldn’t choose a book either if it was in a language I didn’t speak! That’s not the members’ fault, that’s the person’s fault who signed me up for not disclosing that the company was located overseas. So asking those two simple questions can help immensely when you’re searching for legitimate review services. Find out if your book will be offered to the appropriate demographic and find out the location of the company before you dive in! Write on.
• Where are they located
• What is the members’ average age, and which genre are they interested in
It may not seem like these things have anything to do with the quality of the service, but they do. First of all, if your book is going to be offered to people worldwide, you must make sure that there are enough members of the community who speak fluent English (or whatever language your book is written in) so that you can be sure of getting accurate reviews.
Age is also important, because depending on your genre, the company may not be able to get anyone interested in reading your book. That recently happened to me when I did a secret shop: my book is historical fiction. It’s a murder mystery/romance set in 1600s England, and it is definitely not a Beach Read. Rather than being heavy on sex and weak on plot, it’s the exact opposite. It’s heavy on the plot and character development and it’s full of historical facts.
For this reason, my demographic is typically people 35 years of age or older who live in the UK or America. This ensures that they are mature enough to be interested in the book and can fluently read it in the language it is written in. Naturally, there are people all over the world who speak English, but if your book is written in English, you’re better off marketing to America and the UK simply because there will be a greater number of English speakers in those areas.
The Independent Author market has been flooded with fantasy and science fiction over the past 10 years. For this reason, many “review services” have communities made up of young adults who are interested in this type of book. That’s fantastic if that’s what you’ve written. For someone like me, it equates to spending a lot of money to get very little interest and not many reviews. So always check with the company to determine if they have members who are interested in your genre, whatever it may be.
I recently had a disastrous experience with the review service that I did the secret shop on. I found out to my dismay that the company was located in Egypt. Well, it was no small wonder that they couldn’t get much interest in my book. I wouldn’t choose a book either if it was in a language I didn’t speak! That’s not the members’ fault, that’s the person’s fault who signed me up for not disclosing that the company was located overseas. So asking those two simple questions can help immensely when you’re searching for legitimate review services. Find out if your book will be offered to the appropriate demographic and find out the location of the company before you dive in! Write on.
No–It’s Actually NOT Just a Numbers Game
Beware when you first publish a book, because promotional offers will come out of the woodwork from far and wide. One of the most popular– probably because it’s the easiest for merchants to push– is the classic “I will tweet your book to 500,000 people,” or “I will advertise your book on my Instagram account to 5000 followers.”
It sounds great, right? Getting your book in front of all those eyes? Unfortunately, those ventures rarely work out. Here’s why:
It’s NOT just a numbers game. The issue is, who and what makes up the database? Many times, the followers to whom your book will be advertised are primarily other authors who want to advertise THEIR books. Well, you don’t need me to tell you that that particular demographic is NOT the one you’re looking for.
Unknown authors are the worst offenders when it comes to turning up their noses at OTHER unknown authors’ works, so you definitely don’t want to waste your time and money advertising to that demographic.
Before you get involved in any venture like that, ALWAYS ask the person soliciting WHO your book will be advertised to. The merchant should be able to show that they can target your demographic, whether you write fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, sci-fi, romance or any other type of book. It’s not just getting it in front of a lot of people, it’s getting it in front of the RIGHT people.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and demand that they pinpoint the type of market to which the book will be advertised, and if they can’t answer that question, you should consider it a red flag. Write on!
It sounds great, right? Getting your book in front of all those eyes? Unfortunately, those ventures rarely work out. Here’s why:
It’s NOT just a numbers game. The issue is, who and what makes up the database? Many times, the followers to whom your book will be advertised are primarily other authors who want to advertise THEIR books. Well, you don’t need me to tell you that that particular demographic is NOT the one you’re looking for.
Unknown authors are the worst offenders when it comes to turning up their noses at OTHER unknown authors’ works, so you definitely don’t want to waste your time and money advertising to that demographic.
Before you get involved in any venture like that, ALWAYS ask the person soliciting WHO your book will be advertised to. The merchant should be able to show that they can target your demographic, whether you write fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, sci-fi, romance or any other type of book. It’s not just getting it in front of a lot of people, it’s getting it in front of the RIGHT people.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and demand that they pinpoint the type of market to which the book will be advertised, and if they can’t answer that question, you should consider it a red flag. Write on!
Maybe You Don’t Need ‘Em After All
One of the first things people tell newly published authors is to get their book on every social media site on the planet. Well, I’m not saying this is bad advice, but something that, in my humble opinion, gets overlooked significantly, is pinpointing your demographic and focusing on the social media sites where that demographic is likely to be on a regular basis.
In other words, instead of spreading yourself so thin over every social media site in existence– and wearing yourself out keeping up with it all– it might be better to research where the demographic for your book actually hangs out. If you’re writing fantasy and sci-fi, you have a broad audience, but those genres are extremely popular with younger people right now. Therefore, if you want to target readers in their late teens and early 20s, Instagram, Pinterest, MeWe, Tumblr, Tiktok, etc, are great options.
If you write historical fiction, suspense, crime dramas, self-help manuals, business related works, you may find more of your demographic on Facebook, Twitter or even LinkedIn.
Naturally, before anyone feels the need to make the point, readers do not always fit neatly into profiles and there is no way to know exactly where you might find a new fan. However, there is a lot to be said for patterns, and statistically, the patterns show that certain age groups gravitate more to some social media platforms than others.
If you have the time and energy to advertise in ALL of them, then go for it! However, if you have limited time or you plan to spend money on ads, it is a good idea to research and hone in on a handful of your best choices, rather than spread yourself too thin! Write on!
In other words, instead of spreading yourself so thin over every social media site in existence– and wearing yourself out keeping up with it all– it might be better to research where the demographic for your book actually hangs out. If you’re writing fantasy and sci-fi, you have a broad audience, but those genres are extremely popular with younger people right now. Therefore, if you want to target readers in their late teens and early 20s, Instagram, Pinterest, MeWe, Tumblr, Tiktok, etc, are great options.
If you write historical fiction, suspense, crime dramas, self-help manuals, business related works, you may find more of your demographic on Facebook, Twitter or even LinkedIn.
Naturally, before anyone feels the need to make the point, readers do not always fit neatly into profiles and there is no way to know exactly where you might find a new fan. However, there is a lot to be said for patterns, and statistically, the patterns show that certain age groups gravitate more to some social media platforms than others.
If you have the time and energy to advertise in ALL of them, then go for it! However, if you have limited time or you plan to spend money on ads, it is a good idea to research and hone in on a handful of your best choices, rather than spread yourself too thin! Write on!
