Do readers actually want to read what you’ve written?

This is a controversial question at best. I’m sure there are many of you out there thinking, “It doesn’t matter if people want to read it! Write for yourself” 

And there’s nothing wrong with that statement. BUT…

If you plan on writing for a living, or at least making some money doing so, you’ll need to spend time thinking about what readers want to read. It’s a harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless: If readers aren’t interested, they won’t buy. Plain and simple.

But that doesn’t mean you have to abandon your creative license. You may just have to look at things from another angle. The truth is, there are proven techniques you can use to generate book ideas you’re confident will succeed.  

See What Already Works

One of the best ways to generate a strong idea is to draw inspiration from something that has already proven itself to work. For instance, after Dan Brown released The DaVinci Code, a massive amount of religious-based thrillers hit the market. And guess what? Many of those sold extremely well. 

Does that mean they were direct rip-offs? Not at all. They simply further explored the genre. 

So, why not take a look at your potential competition? Especially if they’re selling well. At least you’ll know you have a market to sell to. 

Analyzing your competition takes time. It entails a large amount of research to determine how well an idea or topic is doing — unless you have a tool that can do that for you. I’ve created one such tool in Publisher Rocket. With just a few clicks, you can determine how well your competition is doing and whether or not readers are actually interested in the subject.

Analyze Amazon Keywords for Ideas

Analyzing Amazon keywords is a great way to get in touch with the reading community’s wants and likes. But why specifically Amazon?

Think back to that statistics class in college. You probably remember your professor saying something about sample sizes. The bigger the sample, the more accurate the result. And that’s entirely true when it comes to the book marketing world. So what better place to draw a large sample from than Amazon?

Amazon alone makes up over 80% of all eBook sales. So if you’re looking for an ideal sample, you aren’t going to find one much better than that. That’s why analyzing keyword searches on Amazon is so important. Keyword searches are what Amazon shoppers are typing into the search bar on their computers or their favorite eReader devices. It’s what readers really want to read. 

Just as with competition research, manually gathering info on keywords is an absolute pain in the backside. It can take days or even weeks just to narrow down a few specific keywords. But this process is once again made easy via an Amazon SEO tool such as Publisher Rocket.

Find the Right Niche for You

This is similar to examining the competition above, but with a slight twist. Instead of looking into entering an already successful niche, look for one that needs development. That’s right. Be a pioneer within the writing community. 

This may seem a little scary, boldly going where no writer has gone before. But it doesn’t have to be. As a matter of fact, if done properly, you can be confident in your chance to succeed.

This boils down to analyzing niches and determining which already has a dedicated audience with minimal competition. For instance, let’s say you really want to write a ninja book. There are a ton of ninja books out there. From historical texts to fictional accounts, there’s a ton of competition. 

But don’t get disheartened right away. What about ninja books for kids? Certainly there are a few out there, but not nearly as many as the ninja books niche as a whole. Do you think you could write a children’s book? If so, maybe that’s the best way for you to go. And as mentioned before… Publisher Rocket can help you do this by giving you competition scores for each of your ideas (or potential keywords).

Finding a Money Making Idea Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult

When it comes to finding your golden ticket idea (or at least one that turns a profit), it doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. You can make wise predictions as to whether or not your book will succeed. Mind you, it does take a bit of research. But it’s worth it to have a book you’re confident will sell. 

Cheers!

Image by SincerelyMedia on Unsplash