You want to write a book, but . . . .

Who will read it?

And if you’re thinking everyone — well, I’m going to burst your bubble. Your audience is very rarely everyone. Whether it’s Girl Wash Your Face, 12 Rules for Life or How to Be an Anti-Racist, even bestselling books don’t appeal to everyone.

You — and every other author out there — needs to know who your ideal reader is, inside and out. Is it women, men, both? Younger, older, middle-aged? A specific generation, like Millennials or Gen X or Gen Z or Boomers?

And most importantly — does that group buy books? How many books does that demographic buy? The number and type of books that a 30-year-old female entrepreneur tends to purchase is totally different from what, say, a 65-year-old retiree buys or a 19-year-old frat guy buys.

(The only exception to this rule are hugely popular and timeless books with mass appeal like StrengthsFinder or The Seven Love Languages. But the sales for those titles were supported by corporate buys and Christian church bookstores, respectively — and are actually the exceptions that prove the rule for everything else.)

The lesson is: you need to know your audience.

Entrepreneurs, experts and thought leaders already have a jump on this work because engaging with people is part of their day jobs. Entrepreneurs…