One of my favorite tricks for knowing what readers want is to start stalking them. (They’ll never know!!)
Here’s how to do it in a totally non-creepy way:
Search for 5-10 books on Amazon that are similar to yours. You want to find books that have a sizable number of reviews, both positive and negative.
Don’t just pick the good ones. You’re looking for reviewers with constructive feedback. You want to find out what readers WISH the author had discussed. Readers are likely to give you amazing ideas for improving your book. Whether they recommend more stories or examples, or give you topics to discuss that you hadn’t even considered, you’re gathering valuable intel on what they want.
Next up, make a list of the things you’re seeing over & over for each different book.
Use the intel you’ve uncovered to improve, add to, or even remove parts of your book. You’ll be addressing the exact needs of your ideal readers.
Add each item that you’ve improved in your product description. You want your readers to know, even before they buy the book, that it will cover the topics they said they wanted.
Look for places where your ideal readers hang out online. This could be message boards in your topic, Facebook pages or groups, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram. You might also check out authors in your niche online – take a look at their social media profiles and blogs and see what they’re discussing. If their readers have feedback or suggestions for the author, you could use that feedback to improve your book…or even for writing a new one. Consider keeping a list of suggested topics, books, or product ideas from your research into your ideal reader.
Knowing what your readers want – and where to find them – will make writing and marketing your book so much easier. The beauty of this approach is that readers ARE saying what they want, we just have to do a little bit of work to listen.