Info to gather
The person- SHALOM RI
- Sex– What is their birth gender? does it matter?
- Hobbies– What do they like to do outside of work/school? (Swimming? Play football? Read books? Go to museums?)
- Age– How old are they?
- Location- Where in the world are they? USA? UK? India? Singapore? Bristol?
- Online- If they use the internet, what websites do they visit?
- Married?- Marital status
- Real World– Where do they hang out with their friends? (pub? Cinema? Football stadium? What kind of places do they drive past? What radio station do they listen to?)
- Interests– What things do they read about or talk about with friends? (Sports? Movies? Art? News? Tech? Music?)
Their decisions/understand them- PAID BAIT PFW
- Problem- What is the problem they suffer with? Read this
- Awareness- Are they aware of the problem? If so how have they tried to solve it?
- Intention- When do they want/need the problem solved? Now? Month?
- Desperation- how badly do they need/want it?
- Budget- What is their budget?
- Adoption- How are they wanting to solve it? What kind of solutions will they adopt?
- Instinct?– How do they go about making decisions?(See bottom)
- Trust- how likely are they to trust you?
- Problem list– what further problems does the initial problem create?
- Feelings– what is their emotional reaction to the secondary problems?
- Wants– what would they say they want for themselves in the future
When you have an exact description of one ideal reader (this includes key demographics like age, sex, hobbies, interests, location, marital status, where do they hang out?(online, irl?) etc.), it becomes a lot easier to find similar people and expand your audience.
Use social listening
Social media is ideal for both understanding potential readers and connecting with them. While weāre primarily dealing with the former in this post, you can read this piece on the Reedsy blog to get an idea of best practices for authors on social media.
Facebook Audience Insights can give you incredibly detailed data on audience demographics and interests. By searching for people whose interests include Stephen King, we know their age and gender split, geographical location, as well as other pages theyāve liked.
Test
How would you find out whether a book will appeal more to fans of Lee Child or James Patterson? Create two Facebook ads with the same image and a similar copy (āfans of X will love this!ā) and target them at these two respective audiences. For example, if fans of Lee Child respond better to your ad (higher click-through rate), then you have your answer.
If you have tons of questions swimming in your head at this point, thatās understandable! Check out this insightful interview with author Mark Dawson on the Reedsy blog, for a fun and easy introduction to Facebook advertising for authors.
Whatās your niche?
Use forums like Reddit to reach people who fit the description of your proto-persona and expand your network to start conversations and get valuable feedback from real readers.
Promotional activities are mutually beneficial if you reach the right communities. In exchange for a gift, you can ask your newly found readers to review your thing.
What kind of thinker are they?
āProcess communication modelā
- Thinkers
- Lens = thoughts
- Currency = logic
- Car copy: think of a car, this car gets 50mpg, this car has the highest mpg rate compared to the other models in its class
- Pop %: 25%
- Persist-ers
- Lens = opinions
- Currency = Values/integrity
- Car copy: we believe this car provides more value to our customers in regard to what you’re going to pay for
- Harmonisers
- Lens = emotions
- Currency = compassion
- Car copy: it feels good, it looks nice, and you’re going to be so comfortable driving this car
- Pop %: 30%
- Imaginers
- Lens = inactions
- Currency = imagination
- Car copy: none for this because they are hard to speak to
- Rebels
- Lens = reactions
- Currency = humour
- Car copy: all of your friends are finally going to want to hang out with you because this car is so awesome
- Pop %: 20%
- Promoters
- Lens = actions
- Currency = status
- Car copy: bottom line it’s the best car on the market
The goal is to communicate effectively to all personality types. With a non-targeted campaign, you would writeā¦
āThink of a car, this car gets 50mpg, this car has the highest mpg rate compared to the other models in its class. We believe this car provides more value to our customers in regard to what you’re going to pay for. It feels good, it looks nice, and you’re going to be so comfortable driving this car. Bottom line it’s the best car on the market. All of your friends are finally going to want to hang out with you because this car is so awesomeā
Main personality typesā¦
HTR
Harmonises
Thinkers
Rebels