By Arielle Bailey, April 11, 2024
I know it’s tempting to groan at the idea of an Ideal Reader and hate it. After all, it sounds like a lot of work to define someone nebulous, and it can sound elitist.
Here’s why it’s not: an ideal reader is not about excluding your stories to everyone but an ideal reader. It’s also not about creating a dream reader out of thin air with no data.
Why Finding Your Ideal Reader Matters
Authors need readers. They write for readers. But when it comes to marketing their story or telling others about their story, it can be hard to figure out exactly how to talk about your story. This is where an ideal reader comes in.
What is Your Ideal Reader?
In marketing terms, an Ideal Reader is the reader who will love your story. That’s it. Depending on what you write, your Ideal Reader may like all of your stories or you may have a different Ideal Reader for every story or series.
It’s a person who likes or is drawn to your story because they connect with it. But why do people connect with stories? Because stories speak to us, usually because we have something emotional or experiential in common with the author.
Your ideal reader is almost always going to have something in common with you. Whether it’s the kinds of stories they like to read, the kinds of shows they like to watch, their social outlook on the world, or a favorite of some kind.
If you write urban fantasy similar to The Vampire Diaries, your ideal reader will likely also like that show or they’ll love urban fantasy with strong romantic subplots that focus on vampires. They probably also like urban fantasy with a strong theme of family.
Think about the story you want to market. Think about what inspired you to write the story, think about other stories like yours, and make a list of five things your Ideal Reader will have in common with you.
How Does Your Ideal Reader Help You in Story Marketing?
If you know who your Ideal reader is or you have a good idea, then making a list of the things you have in common gives you a starting point for what to post about on social media and in your community.
How Does It Help You in Subscriptions?
The readers willing to subscribe to you are very likely to be your ideal readers. They’re there for the stories or they’re there for you. Either way, they’re your ideal reader. So knowing what your ideal reader has in common with you allows you to target them more specifically instead of throwing open a door to a house they know nothing about and saying “hey, come hang out with me.”
How Do You Find Them?
Remember that list you made? That’s the starting point. Your community posts and social media posts should center around these topics. But you should also look into what those readers are reading and see if there are topics about those stories that you also have in common and can post about. It’s like discussing mutual interests at a picnic.
But Isn’t that Artificial?
No. It’s no different than going to a fantasy themed night at a local bar because you like fantasy. You go because you want the experience but you probably go because you will also meet other people who like similar things to what you love, and you’ll be able to hang out with them and starting conversations is much easier when you know you have that common ground.
It’s the same thing here.
But I want everyone to read my stories! I don’t want to exclude someone just because they’re not my ideal reader!
You’re not. Making a list of what topics you have in common with your Ideal Reader has nothing to do with excluding people who don’t have those things in common with you. Your stories are still there. If someone finds them and likes them enough to join you, they’re going to do so because they like your story, and you posting about related things that they might be uninterested in is unlikely to scare them off.
Remember: shared interests build connection. And a list of shared interests is the first step to finding your Ideal Reader, or even finding any of your readers. So focus on what interests you and your readers share, based on the stories you write, and you’re off to a great start!