Becoming a Christian fiction author is a goal to which many authors aspire. Many issues factor in regarding what makes some writers more successful than others. Those who aren’t getting the sales they’d hoped for often have not identified their target audience.
You could be the world’s greatest writer; if no one knows about your books, however, it wouldn’t make much difference from a sales perspective. Marketing and promotion are key tools that “get the word out” and stimulate interest among avid readers. Fine-tuning these tools includes identifying your target audience.
Who is your target audience as a Christian fiction author?
Within the Christian fiction genre, there are many subcategories, such as romance, mystery, fantasy, historical fiction and more. Here are several ways to identify your specific target audience before writing your next book:
- Make sure you have clearly defined your novel’s genre, as mentioned in the previous section. Some readers may enjoy Christian romance novels while others are seeking suspense or mystery.
- Searching for book titles on sites like Amazon will help you determine the genres of those books, which can, in turn, help you clarify which category best fits your own novel.
- Conduct marketing research for the book titles you have entered in a search to learn more about who is buying and reading those titles, including average age of the readers, demographics (where they live and work), their hobbies, lifestyles, and more.
- Use beta readers to test your theories regarding who your target audience might be.
Finally, there comes a time for every Christian fiction author to “step out into the deep.” Once you launch a book and promote it, you can track sales and reviews to determine whether you have connected with the right target audience.
Tap into helpful resources
There are professional book coaches and launch specialists who can provide support while you’re planning your marketing campaign. Developmental editors are also a great asset to have onboard because they can provide insight regarding which type of audience might best fit your novel. Trusted friends and family members might be willing to read your manuscript and offer feedback on who they think your target audience might be.
Identifying a specific reading audience enables you to craft your novels to satisfy their interests. It can also help craft a high-quality marketing and promotion strategy to ensure that news about your latest book is reaching the people who are most likely going to purchase it. The more you know about your readers, the greater chance you might have of achieving a best-seller status.
