Why Test Marketing is Important

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At the International Miami Book Fair I began phase II of the test marketing for my new book Body in the Trunk. With thousands of prospective buyers in which to gauge reactions, I watched body language, listened to comments, and took in overall response. My goal was to refine the book until it's ideal to begin the official release.

I discovered a few important things:
  • The cover works: it pops and attracts attention
  • The back cover copy first paragraph needs to be rewritten. It wrongly positions the book as a romance novel when it is not. I need to emphasize the mystery elements.
Those two pieces of information can make all of the difference when selling the book. People look first at the cover and then glance at the back cover. An ineffective piece of copy that positions the book incorrectly can kill sales. Romance readers are very specific, and I don't want to position the book as a romance novel in a largely mystery-oriented crowd. Now the book has romantic elements, but it's not strictly romance. The story revolves around the mystery of the body in the trunk ... hence the title. If nothing else, I learned what I needed to learn about the book for the best possible official release this spring.

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