Courting the Consumer

Sep 18

An Insight to the different facets of the Romance Readers’ Buyer

What is a Buyer Persona

Those in publishing, self or otherwise should carefully consider the buyer persona when doing market research. A buyer persona is a the ‘ideal customer’ crafted from primary and secondary research and unique to every company or in this case, literary genre.

How to Create a Persona

Circana list romance as the bestselling genre. Using this information, you can gather further data such as the primary consumers of romance which are women and additional information as the persona is created.

Try to include…

Schedule and communication - Reading preferences, Popular advertising, Reading hours
Background - Job/career, Lifestyle, Spending habits
Traits and Personality - Habits, Qualities, etc.
The Outlook - What is the projected growth, What are the current numbers
Demographics - Age, Income, Gender identity, Race, etc.

Why a Buyer Persona Matters

In literature, considering the audience is a critical component of both writing and selling, and translates into creating the persona as it is a useful tool to understand the market.

Knowing a single aspect of your buyer provides much insight, for example knowing women are the primary consumers of romance literature allows inferences to be drawn from the information listed at sites like Forbes, which writes that women are the primary breadwinners and that they are a major contributor to consumer spending with regards to buying and influence power. They control 51% of personal wealth which is prevalent when considering the ideal buyer.

Analyzing the Persona

The buyer persona of an ideal romance novel consumer will list relevant information that will affect marketing methods. The example persona, Aliya S. emphasizes the average female romance novel reader and the research associated with that demographic because knowing the ideal romance novel persona tells a publisher who the clientele is and what sells. This impacts what novels should get chosen by publishers for print or what is popular for a self-publisher to focus on.

In the example persona, the common themes alert publishers that a young adult love story with a slight to significant age gap, favoring the man, in a leadership or powerful position, will sell. The novel should include personal turmoil and societal commentary.

This example persona helped create this analysis. In a way, it mirrors the buyer themselves as they are most likely; a young adult facing trials in romance and conflict with a sense of self - and, or - a established married women that can connect with the character and where they ultimately end up.