This sneaky thing might be preventing you from attracting your target audience.

 

I recently had a client who was an indie author in a very specific romance subgenre. She came to me feeling stuck in her follower count and unable to break around 2k views in her reels. 

 

This holding pattern in her authorgram account meant missing out on finding her ideal readers and selling her books.

 

With a new book in her series about to be published, she decided it was time to dig deep and make some changes to help grow her following and build momentum for her launch. 

 

The first thing we did was pin down who her target reader was. Then we got to work on optimizing her bio and content to specifically attract her target audience.

 

And it worked. Before the month was out, she’d doubled her followers and vastly increased her reel views (with some of them getting over 100k views). And best of all, her sales on her past books shot up, leading to setting her up well for her upcoming launch.

 

This, my friend, is the power of understanding your target audience so you can attract your dream bookish community.

 

Who Is Your Target Audience?

 

Let’s talk about the why and how of narrowing down who you want to invite to the table in your bookish community. Because, as you know, you don’t just invite anyone to book club.

 

When you take the time to gather as much information as you can about your target audience, you end up with a clear path to reaching your people.

 

Remember: The type of content you create and the way you present it matters. 

 

So your first assignment is to take a moment to visualize your ideal bookstagram community. Now, narrow that community down to just one person. Can you see them in your mind?

 

Get to know this hypothetical viewer inside and out. Think favorite books, authors, genres, tropes, book boyfriends or girlfriends, Taylor Swift songs, ice cream flavor, side of the bed. (ok, maybe those last two are a little much, but you get the idea.)

 

The more details you know about who you are trying to attract, the more you will inherently know what kind of content is going to attract them. 

 

Remember, just as there is an ideal follower for you, there are also followers you don’t want to attract. It can be tempting to think that you should simply try to attract any reader. But as you know, readers love what they love, and not every reader is meant for your book.

 

This is why it’s important to know who you are not trying to attract. If you are a YA romance author, attracting exclusively dark fantasy readers will most likely result in low follower (and reader) conversion. 

 

So, don’t be afraid of being too niche. Yes, it may repel some followers, but it will attract the right ones who will buy your books, regularly engage with you, and sing your praises to other like-minded potential followers.

 

Attract Your Ideal Bookstagram Community

 

While visualizing your ideal follower is helpful, it is also important to do some market research. Here are a few specific questions to dig into when narrowing down your target audience:

 

• What type of content do they interact with? (Do they hang out on the reels page, their feed, stories, or the explore page? Do they prefer videos, images, or graphics?)

 

• What are some problems they are facing? (a never-ending TBR, a search for a very specific type of book or trope, what to read after that book that left their world in pieces, trying to find a dark gothic fantasy with no spice…)

 

• How can your content solve those problems or directly speak to their deepest reader desires? (Tips on chipping away at that TBR, niche book recs, the tropes or a quote from your book that specifically hit on what your reader is looking for… you get the idea)

 

 

Creating Content For Your Target Audience

 

Once you have a clear picture of your audience in mind (and on paper), you can start to ask yourself more specific questions about the type of content you can create to reach and attract these wonderful people to your account. 

 

Basically, what do your book club invites look like? What do they say? Are they e-vites or cardstock with gold foil? Have I taken this illustration too far?

 

Here are a few key things to think about. (And if you get to the end and want to dig deeper into target markets, branding, and content creation, Bookstagram 101 takes a deep dive into these topics.)

 

Brand Voice

 

This can also be thought of as your tone or your vibe. Essentially, brand voice is all about word choices. it is the way you present your content copy (or text). This includes bio copy, caption copy, reel copy, memes, CTAs…) on your bookstagram or authorgram account.

 

What vibe do you give off in your copy? (fun, carefree, professional, warm, expert, casual, quirky, or any combination of these) Does your current brand voice match the tone you are aiming for?  

 

Are you showing off your unique personality and speaking in a tone that allows your ideal audience to trust you and feel connected with your content?

 

Knowing your brand voice is so important as a guide for staying true to who you are and the brand you’ve created. It is also key to attracting your ideal follower because the right people will be naturally drawn to your voice.

 

Branding

 

Branding is the external visual elements that represent your brand message. So, this is where you can get creative with colors, styles, and themes. One key thing to think about here is what colors/styles/themes represent your brand and your niche. 

 

For example, if your brand revolves around gothic romance books or dark academia novels, you might consider avoiding traditionally cheerful colors like hot pink and neon yellow. 

 

Of course, the right graphic designer could totally work hot pink into a gothic romance brand. But a good rule of thumb is to stick to the tones generally associated with your niche.

 

The main idea here is to send a clear message to potential followers about what they can expect from your content.

 

Content Value

 

Once you are well acquainted with your target audience, you will know the pain points and problems they face. 

 

This is important because it becomes a guide to creating content that speaks directly to those problems and offers useful solutions.

 

Maybe someone is looking for a book rec that is a cross between Alice in Wonderland and Stranger Things. If you just happened to have written or read something perfectly fitting that description, you have just solved their problem. 

 

Odds are, if they love that rec, they’ll be thrilled to hear whatever other book recommendations you have to offer or read other books you’ve written in a similar niche. 

 

Go Build Your Bookish Community

 

Now that you’re armed with a better understanding of your target market, it’s time to start making content that is curated to attract your dream bookstagram community. 

 

You’ve got this, my friend! If you have questions, feel free to start by reaching out through my website or connecting with me on Instagram.