How to Position Your Book Like a Pro

When it comes to writing a book that will get excited readers to hit that ‘Buy’ button on your book’s landing page, there is nothing more important than market research.

It’s quite true that some of the most important work for a new or aspiring author actually happens before even one word is ever written!

It’s called Book Market Research, and it is crucial to avoid that inevitable feeling of disappointment that happens when you finally launch a book that no one seems to want.

In this article, we are going to teach you how to position your book for success by performing easy-to-do book market research that will make readers want and crave your masterpiece before it’s even released.

What is “Positioning”?

Positioning is a marketing strategy that helps market and sells a product, in this case, your book.

Positioning is an important part of developing a book before you even write one word. The goal of positioning is to tap into already-existing interest in the marketplace so that your book can appeal to readers in your chosen niche.

So, you’d better take time to position your book, otherwise, you may end up writing the best book in the world that no one reads. And the key to positioning is taking the time to do lots of book market research.

Do Your Book Market Research

The market research you do before writing a book will be the most important thing you ever do.

It’s not enough to know what your market is, or even who it is. You need to what they want and where your expertise helps them solve a problem that’s already keeping them up at night.

One way to do this is to interview your current clients or customers. Put another way, consider your ideal reader. Tap into their hopes, dreams, fears, and desires.

You also need to know what other books are already out in the marketplace, what they’re saying, and more importantly, what they’re not saying that you can add to the conversation.

One way to do this is to go to a bookstore and pretend that you’re looking for your book. Obviously, you won’t find it, but you will find lots of other books that might be attempting to fill the need, or provide the solution that your book will offer.

When you’ve narrowed it down to the closest 5 books (all published within the past 5 years), take some time to compare and contrast what these books are saying against what you intend to say. Find the golden nuggets that you have to share that no one else does. This is where you can focus your book and make a big splash.

You don’t have to read the book cover-to-cover to get the intel you need. You can skim key areas of interest, and read readers’ reviews. These can provide excellent insight.

Go through books in your market that are already popular and analyze which attributes of the book make them successful.

Another Tactic…

Look for books that are doing well on amazon and analyze their performance. The lower the rank, the better the book’s sales. Then check out certain key traits and see which of these you believe contributed to the book’s success. Take into consideration things like…

1) The book’s title and/or subtitle

2) Its cover design (colors, fonts, mood, etc.)

3) The description text (format, tone, structure, etc.)

4) The book’s early pages (table of contents, foreword, introduction, first paragraph, etc.)

Exclusive Tips for Awesome Book Market Research

Remember the golden rule of writing is to focus on your audience. Before you write your book, take time to understand the people who will be reading it. This way, every word you write will be tailored to your most beloved readers…and they’ll love it so much that they’ll help you market your book simply by telling their network about it!

I wish I could tell you exactly what to look for; that depends on your niche! But I can say one thing, once you delve in, you’ll begin to see patterns for yourself. It takes some time, but after a while you just start to “get it” and your brain starts drawing all kinds of conclusions for you. Start with the questions: “who is my audience, and what do they already know that they want most?”

The Bottom Line is This:

The process of writing a book begins long before you even begin writing the actual book. If you are thoughtful and diligent in your book market research, you’ll dramatically improve the positive reception your book gets on launch day and beyond. Tailor your message to the audience that will be reading it. Take this research seriously and you’ll be poised for success!