Get started! Finding your audience

Think of your book as a business. Your customers are your readers. Your key to success is identifying who your readers are and how you will reach them.

Writing the book is just the start. You'll need to be the number-one promoter of your book, and the marketing of any successful book continues long after it's published, notes Scott Allen in a new post on About.com.

Even before your first draft, market research is key. Answer these questions:

• Who is your target market? Who will buy the book? "Everyone in the U.S.A." is not a realistic answer. " More realistic is: "People in the U.S.A. who collect stamps." Or: "Recent college graduates who are starting their own business."
• Where is your audience and how can you reach them? What stores do they shop in? What movies do they watch? What blogs do they read? You must have a way to promote the book through one of these channels, so your target market can discover your book.
• What new can you offer? It's hard to say when the market for a book has been saturated. Good competing titles can both do well if the product is good. But focus on how can you make your book a cut above the rest.
• Study your competition. What books are competing for your readers? Run a keyword search on Amazon.com and find every book available on the topic. Research the sales ranking of each book. Read them all, and decide what you like and don't like about each. How can you make yours better?
  
• What is your marketing plan? Since you're self-publishing, nobody is going to force you do this. But whether you enjoy selling or not, to move your book, you'll need a marketing plan. Press releases, radio interviews, and direct mail (if the book is priced high enough) are possibilities.

New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)