How to research the market for your book - and why it's so important

How do you know you’ve got the right idea for your book?

How do you know people will want to read it?

In most industries product developers do vigorous market research to make sure they create a product that’s going to appeal to their audience. And yet so many authors fail to do the same.

If you view your book as a product, before you write it you should be finding out how to make your reader want to read it. And that means researching the competition.

Learning as much as you can about other books on your subject will not only help you find your unique selling point but will show you exactly what your reader wants. And the more you know about your reader, the better your book will be.

So here’s a 6-step plan for how to research the market for your book.

1. Find other books on your subject

Browsing a bookshop is great when researching your book, but there’s one place you can start from the comfort of your own home: Amazon.

Whatever your thoughts about the online supergiant, it has something you need, and that’s data. Within its pages Amazon has details of virtually every book published. That means it will show you exactly what other people have written about your subject—whether it’s a Sunday Times bestseller or a self-published ebook.

Start by typing the word or phrase that best describes the idea behind your book. That could be ‘web design for beginners’, ‘snakes as pets’ or ‘creative social media’. You’ll soon see whether you’re on the right track, as books like the one you want to write will populate the search. Now scroll down until you find a book that’s similar to your own. Expand your search by looking at the ‘Customers who viewed this item also viewed’ and ‘Customers who bought this item also bought’ recommendations. This will take you down a rabbit hole of books until you come up with a list of four or five that are closely related to your own idea.

2. Look at the package

Now click on one of the books you’ve found and bring up its book page. Hidden on this page is a wealth of information you may never have noticed, but it’s all valuable data when it comes to refining your book idea. The first thing to look at is the cover. What’s the title and subtitle of the book? Which key words does it contain? What does this tell us about the focus of the book? Is this the same as your own?

3. Read the blurb

Now read the book’s blurb—the description on the main book page that tells you what it’s about. Who has the author aimed this book at? Is that the same person as your reader or a different one? Can you pick any holes in their approach?

4. Look at the detail

Now scroll down again to the ‘Product details’ section. How many pages does the book have? When was it published? If all the books on your subject are 400 pages long, you might be able to offer a simpler solution. If all the books are ten years old, it might be time for something new. Keep looking for anything you can offer that the other books don’t.

5. Look inside

Most books on Amazon have a ‘Look inside’ function, at least on the Kindle version. Open the book and look at the contents page. What’s in the book? What aspects of your subject are covered? Is there anything missing? Would you do things differently?

6. Read the reviews

Now look at the reviews for the book. What positive things do readers say? What did they like? The more you read, the more you’ll know what your audience appreciates and the better able you’ll be to deliver those things yourself. What did readers criticise about the book? You may be able to identify a gap in the market by seeing what readers felt was missing.

And that’s what this process is all about—finding a gap in the market. The more you know about your reader and what they want, the better you’ll be able to deliver it. And the better your book is at solving your reader’s problem, the more likely you are to win in the fight against your competition.

Conducting market research is about learning from others’ mistakes, honing your idea and understanding your reader. If knowledge is power, you’ll never regret knowing how to make your book better than the rest.

If you’d like more help with researching your book, find out about my one-to-one Book Planning Day or my Book Proposal Service.

What will writing a book do for my business?

Daniel Priestley built his first multi-million dollar business by the time he was 25.

He then went on to found Dent Global, a business accelerator programme for small enterprises. He’s helped build and sell businesses in the UK, Australia and Singapore. Today he’s a professional speaker who shares his wisdom and experience around the world.

But being successful isn’t enough to make you a household name. So what’s helped Daniel become the expert in his field? The answer is simpler than you think.

He writes books.

What Daniel Priestley understands about marketing is that it’s all built on trust. A tangible asset like a book is the ultimate way to get readers to trust you—and to turn them into clients.

He knows that the time (and money) he invests in writing a book will be more than repaid in benefits to his business, and that a business book earns its keep more than any other marketing asset—short-term, medium term and into the future.

A book is the most powerful way to connect with your audience—whether you use it to share your business philosophy or create a rousing call to action that inspires readers to work with you.

Here are some of the things writing a book can do:

Broaden your reach

Daniel Priestley uses his books to communicate with potential clients he’s never even met—and you could too. Sharing your thoughts and experiences in a book is a powerful way to build brand awareness and broaden your reach, and it makes you more discoverable in a saturated digital world. By making you visible to a wider audience, a book helps you connect with more potential customers in a meaningful way.

Harness your thoughts

Planning and writing a book is a clarifying process in itself: it’s your chance to think deeply about what you and your business have to offer.

To write a book you need to be clear and structured in your thinking. Otherwise how can you share it with your readers? By putting pen to paper to explain your values and processes, you’ll learn to articulate your core business more succinctly in person. And when it comes to selling your services, pitching for work or applying for funding, that’s an important skill to have.

Become the expert

A key benefit of producing a well-crafted business book is that it showcases you as a thoughtful, valuable contributor to your industry. Remember: short, snappy e-books can have just as much impact as longer printed publications—what’s right for you depends on what you want your book to do.

If you want to share bite-size information quickly and easily via your website, a free downloadable booklet could be just the ticket, as it’ll position you as someone who’s always ready with easy-to-digest tips. If you want to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, sharing your expertise through detailed research and case studies in a full-size book might be the better option.

Start a conversation

Once you’ve published your book, you open yourself up for conversations about the topics it covers. This can be used to your advantage; being a published author gives you the perfect way in to speak on expert panels or at industry events. This can put you in touch with new potential clients or lead to conversations about partnerships with people you’d love to work with.

Writing a book could be the strongest marketing move you make this year. If you want to kickstart your book with an intensive two-week course on planning and writing, I’m launching The Business Book Kickstarter this September. See here for more information.

What should I write my book about?

Content is king.

As a business owner, you know that. You also know why a book is the ultimate piece of content—one that will position you as an expert, make you stand out from the competition and reach more potential clients. You’ve even had a go at writing a book yourself.

But how do you know which of your ideas is the one you should write about? Where do you even start?

I regularly work with authors who know they want to write a book but don’t know what it should be about. And every time I tell them this:

Write about your reader’s problem.

If you know who your ideal client is—the person you most want to work with—you’ll know a lot about their problem already. So the next question for your book is: how can you describe that problem to them in a way they’ve never been able to articulate?

Resonating with your reader is the first thing your book should do. If they know you understand, they’re more likely to trust you to help them solve it.

So think deeply about your reader’s problem. Where does it come from? What’s stopping them from solving it? How does it affect their daily life?

If you’re struggling to see what your reader’s problem is, think about it like this: What does your reader search for or share in their area of interest? What question or scenario do they have that you could be a part of?

For example, if you run a vegan street food company, you may think your reader doesn’t have a problem at all. They eat because they’re hungry; they choose your food because it’s delicious. But a little bit of research might uncover that your reader struggles to think of everyday vegan recipes they can make at home. So a vegan street food cookbook might be the solution they’re looking for.

Think about the lifestyle your reader has and the things they aspire to.

On the other hand, your reader’s problem might be all too obvious. In this case, your next job is to narrow it down. Spreading the subject of your book too wide will make it difficult to write and leave you struggling for market share. Focus on one aspect of the problem you can solve in your book.

So here’s a recap—some of the things to think about when deciding what subject to write about:

• Who is your reader?

• What is their problem?

• What are they searching for and sharing online?

• What inspires them?

• What related industries or subjects are they interested in?

• How can you narrow down your subject to appeal to a specific need?

If you want to write a book but don’t know what to write about, the Business Book Kickstarter is a great way to get going. It kicks off on the 1st of every month.

Or if you’d prefer to work with me one to one to plan your book, check out my in-person Book Planning Day.