All readers are not created equal

How to find your superfans

There are so many marketing paths recommended to authors to help find large amounts of new readers. Every new platform that pops up promises bold, impressive numbers…usually for a heavy cost. Most of these marketing opportunities focus on quantity of reach. How they can get the maximum number of eyeballs on your book (or purchases of your book… or subscribers to your newsletter…etc.)

But there's a metric that's more important than quantity, which is quality.

The type of reader you find for your book often matters more than the number of readers. Think about how much you get from a loyal reader who engages with your content, who regularly purchases every book that comes out, buys extra copies to gift to their friends, and leaves reviews on Amazon. A handful of these readers are worth more than an ad that is seen by 3,000 people…a small fraction of whom even buy your book, and that fraction mostly forgets about you after they’re only two chapters into your book. They never engaged with your content. They never leave a review because they didn't even finish reading your book.

When setting up a marketing strategy, it's important to aim for good quality readers that are the perfect fit for your book. They are the ideal audience for your genre, your tone, your style, as well as your author brand. They're just a good fit for you as a person—maybe they really relate to you or feel like you're a friend. Maybe you have the same sense of humor as they do. Stuff like that.

So how do we get these good quality readers? Unfortunately, there's no magic bullet. You have to simply do what you can to set up your author career in such a way that you attract them.

But there is one method that seems to result in retaining the most loyal fans. And while you can't necessarily recreate it at will, it is nonetheless an important aim. You need to generate word of mouth buzz. In other words, you want people to talk about your book.

But I don’t mean paid influencers on TikTok or media heads your publicist begged a mention out of. Those are great strategies, too. But I am referring to something else. The people you want talking about your book are just “normal” readers. Just one reader sincerely telling their best friend or posting on their platforms organically about how much they enjoyed your book today. When their friends see that sincere post, they trust their friend. They are more likely to buy your book. And they are more likely to like your book and become superfans fans themselves.

Just yesterday, as my husband and I got supper ready, he raved to me about a new audiobook he had been listening to during work that day. (My husband is a woodworker by trade. Oh, to have a job where you can listen to audiobooks while you work, right?!) Guess how he discovered this new book? An old friend, whom he hadn’t seen in several years, posted about it on Instagram. (This was a personal social media page, the friend is not a bookstagram content creator in any way!) My husband and this friend have similar hobbies. Guess what this novel’s characters do? Those same hobbies! Because of the instant nature of downloading books these days, my husband had downloaded the book from our library audiobook app within one minute of seeing his friend’s post about it.

How do you recreate unplanned, organic interest like that? There are a few things to consider (and you should start thinking about them while you are still writing the book!)

1. Does your book touch the pulse of the current cultural moment in such a way that people will quickly relate to it?

2. Make sure you target your marketing to the exact right audience that the book was written for and don't shoot too “broad.”

3. Consider readers who are similar to your characters when thinking about your ideal reader. Does your character have a fly fishing hobby? Then target fly fishers! Go on podcasts about fly fishing or be a sponsor of a fly fishing tournament. Include “fly fishing” as a target keyword in your social media ad. It doesn’t matter if fly fishing was not a primary plot point in your book—readers like to see themselves (even in small ways) in what they read. (i.e. Moms of special needs kids want to read about other moms of special needs kids and their mom group is likely to share it with each other.)

4. This one is important: Write The Best Book You Know How To Write. What makes someone pick up the phone to tell their mother, “Oh my gosh, you will never believe this book I just read!!” A book that takes a reader’s breath away. A book that compels them so much that they, as we say, “couldn’t put the book down.” Of course, we all want this for our books, but sometimes the publishing schedule rushes an author’s process. Resist the rush. Do what you need to do to make your content sing.

Have you ever received feedback from readers who say they found you because of a friend’s recommendation? Tell me about it in the comments!