Which approach is going to strike oil? Of course you go ten miles deep and a foot wide with your digging. A book gives you the same choice, and almost all authors are better off putting their book into the “foot wide, miles deep” category. Why go niche with your audience instead of broad? First, it’s very hard to write a book with wide appeal. Even professional writers who sell books for a living don’t try and write overly broad books. They define a clear audience and then go after that audience. The second reason is that attracting a wide audience doesn’t help you. If you’re like most nonfiction authors (and all of our clients), your goal is to use your book to establish your legacy, impact others, increase your authority, raise your visibility, drive new leads and clients, and possibly get you speaking engagements or other opportunities. Your book is a marketing tool of sorts, not the product or service you care about selling. You can absolutely appeal to multiple audiences, but generally speaking, the more audiences you try to reach, the worse your book will perform. A focused book that appeals to a small audience is much more valu- able than a broad subject book that is only marginally appealing to many audiences. This is because broad subjects, like general life advice, tend to not only be well covered already, but also tend to not be very actionable for people. Most people read nonfiction because they expect it to provide a positive impact or ROI in their lives. They know it’s specifically for them, and directly actionable for their lives. figUrE OUT yOUr AUDiENCE · 65