Book Marketing

Target Marketing [Dynamic Book Marketing 2026]

Ideal Client

Your Audience

All of us have an audience, which is a group of people we follow along with and interact with in one another’s lives. The easiest place to start is with your audience. Walking out the back door and yelling over the fence is the place to begin? Start where you are and work from there. You will have the most success—just like Jesus and the disciples, because these people already know and trust you. They probably have been hearing about the book for some time and are waiting for its release.

Find Your Ideal Client

When I graduated with the Social Media Marketing Diploma, one of the assignments was to identify my ideal client. To figure it out, you need to clearly identify what you are offering. Let’s take a few examples so you can insert your service or product into the matrix. 

What does Glorybound Publishing offer? Here is my spiel. (A “spiel” is a short, concise, prepared, often rehearsed, speech or monologue.)

Glorybound Publishing has been my company since 2005, publishing over 700 books. Presently we are publishing four books per month. We focus on what I call difficult books. These are picture-intensive, full-bleed books, like history books and children’s books, because we work with Adobe software, which includes InDesign and Photoshop. All of the books are put together in live sessions with the authors, and we charge by the hour, so authors have complete control over the expense and outcome of their books. We have a sound room for making audiobooks. We can have authors Zoom in to record their own books or help with setting up their own equipment to record in their homes. Then they send us the audio files for edit and upload to ACX. And, finally, if someone already has a book but needs a little extra push with marketing, we have 11 topic-specific book marketing websites. 

This incorporates several elements: It shows longevity of the business, indicating we have a proven track record, so we can be trusted with their book. Although we have worked on many books, we value each author as an individual, providing personalized, highly skilled services. We respect everyone’s time and money, refusing to take advantage of anyone. We set ourselves apart, indicating that we handle projects other publishers cannot because of our education, skill, and experience as a business. Then I cap off the spiel with a final note—that if someone has already published their book, we can help to sell it with marketing websites. The spiel starts out impressive (with publishing over 700 books) and ends up impressive with a passing comment that we have 11 book marketing websites. 

Now, let’s go over a few titles, so you get the idea on how to incorporate your own into the process. 

Yes Lord Yes Lord with a subtitle Songs and music for children ages 0-12 by Marcy Lehman

Sample spiel: Yes Lord Yes Lord is a book of 40 songs and music for children ages 0-12. I have been writing lyrics and songs for over 50 years and love sharing them with others. The book is perfect to share with Christian schools, Churches, and camps. The songs are simple, and the music is uplifting, provided in piano lead sheets, chords, as well as ukulele. As a special bonus, I have released each song in video, which is perfect to follow along for beginners. Why continue to sing those tired, worn-out songs when there are fresh ones? 

This incorporates several elements: Marcy is experienced in music and lyrics. I go on to describe the book and then say who is the best customer for it. I focus on NEW songs and even give a little nudge at the end to instill guilt in those who continue to use worn-out material. People always migrate to something new, but you must build trust for them to switch from what they already know is proven. By telling them there are videos, they have an opportunity to ‘test’ the songs before using them with children. 

First Day of School by Karna Peck. It is a children’s book appropriate for ages 4-7.

Sample spiel: The book, First Day of School by Karna Peck, is perfect for ages 4-7 years old. It is colorfully illustrated with delightful characters and available in paperback, Kindle E- book, audiobook, and video. The story is not merely for entertainment, but to teach children to notice other children (at school) who are less fortunate and offer to share whatever is needed. In the story, a child (on his first day of school) has no one to help him get ready for school. A (child) angel sits next to him on the bus, sharing a snack, socks, and a comb. Karna Peck is a professional artist. Some time back, she worked as a homeless advocate, which touched her heart to reach out to children in need. The book raises awareness in the child (who is reading it) to look around and notice others in need—and help in simple ways. Who will teach the children to care? Why not begin with the first day of school? 

This incorporates several elements: I introduce the author with information that she is a professional artist with a heart for homeless children. The book is not for entertainment, but to teach a valuable lesson. I go into a few details about the book and give a challenge to purchase the book which will help raise awareness for children to help one another. 

In your spiel, tell who you are, what you are doing, and why others should listen to you. 

People are constantly bombarded with information. So, to get them to stop long enough to read yours, it needs to be catchy. What makes your book (or company) stand out from the rest? In all of the spiels above, I give enough information so that if the person reading the spiel does not need the item or service, he/she has what is needed to share it further. 

Authors need to take time to gather their project up, like folding the dishes into a tablecloth so that others can get a hold of it. If you weed out the fluff and the bright lights for someone, it really helps to provide an opportunity so they can make their own decision about whether it is worthwhile or not. Many sales promotions “cram it down their throat” and are quickly refused. 

So, who is your ideal client? Who is the best one to purchase your book? 

Glorybound Publishing’s ideal client is a 78-year-old guy with two houses and a flip phone. 

What that means is he is well retired and probably has something to say (a manuscript in the drawer). Having two houses shows he has expendable income (enough to be able to afford to publish a book). But he is digitally challenged—being raised in a non-digital world. 

The ideal client for the Yes Lord Yes Lord song book is a 36-year-old music teacher at a Christian elementary school. 

What that means is she is young enough to want new songs, has students who can use them, and wants a Christian music slant. 

The ideal client for First Day of School is a 40-year-old male kindergarten teacher. 

What this means is that he cares about young children, is within the environment, and understands the needs of those who do not have someone to help them get ready for school. He is tired of books that simply ‘entertain,’ and is looking to feed the young minds with moral fiber. I think this book can also be used in home-school programs. 

Find Your audience

First, you need to figure out what you have, why it is valuable, and who else would consider what you have valuable as well. The next step is to map out a route to bring the information to the ideal client. Where is he or she? 

The first sample (my business) is looking for an older guy with money and a manuscript, but he is not on social media. It would do no good to run a media blitz on Facebook because many of these types are not on Facebook. If, perhaps, I had a cookbook with an ideal client profile being a 70-year-old woman, I could find her on Facebook. Elderly women generally keep up with the grandchildren using Facebook. So, where can I go to find such a guy? 

I joined Alignable (a small business social media site) a few years back. What I found is there are many who have already retired and are tinkering at home-based businesses. They are done with the general workforce.

Alignable is a fairly easy-to-use digital network that offers several interactive meetings, the goals of which are to link with other businesses. You sign up for a meeting, and during the hour, they put you in 6-minute breakout rooms with another person. The breakout connections are based on the keywords (this should start sounding familiar) you put in on your profile indicating who your ideal client is. 

I said that I am looking for authors. Consequently, each time I sign up for an Alignable connection meeting, the matrix pairs me with authors. Perfect. This is crazy, but nearly every time I go to one of those meetings, I obtain a new client! 

What I have found is that many have a non-published book in the drawer and if they found someone they could trust, they would be happy to publish the book. It seems to me they have entered into their profile somewhere that they are authors, otherwise they would not be connected with me in a session. 

Publishing is difficult today because most is done online, working on a screen, and with people you are not sure are located in the United States or not. (Again, notice that I have honed in on their insecurity with the internet. They want to work with someone they can see. I promise to do the books in live sessions, so they immediately jump onto the deal.)

Yes Lord Yes Lord audience. Finding a Christian School Music teacher is easy. Contact the schools in your area—or beyond. This book can also go to churches and Christian camps. I think mailing a flyer or offering a deal when the book is free can be helpful. 

The First Day of School audience is at a school, a home-school situation, or a homeless center. All of these places would be interested in the book. Because Karna is a professional artist, perhaps some budding artists may be interested in using it as a reference to create their own pictures. She is an art teacher, so she can encourage her students to purchase the book. 

Now…insert your own title, figure out what the message of it is, and who your ideal client is. 

Press Release

A press release is one page of information which includes:

· Author biography with something unique about him/her

· Summary of the book

· Book cover and price

· Where it can be purchased from (local or on-line)

· May include a QR Code

The press release can be changed up along the way according to events and distribution points. The idea is to work with a local distribution option, make sure they have some books, and send potential buyers to them. They benefit, and you obtain sales. 

I develop the author’s single page press release, including all of the above information. Then I save it as a PDF so it can be printed to hand out at events. I shrink it and make 2 per page so the authors can save on ink and space at their events. Then I put the PDF into Photoshop and convert it to a JPEG, keeping all of the links live. As a final step, I reduce the file size, making it 5in by whatever, with a resolution of 200dpi. This format is the best option for releasing on social media because it opens quickly. I create the press release in InDesign, but I am sure it can be created in other software, such as Canva or even Word.