Perception is Truth

I know, I'm being a bit philosophical for a Monday, but let me explain. I am currently reading three business books. One of them is on presentation skills. In this book, the name currently escapes me, the author makes the assertion that our marketing is skewed because we think that the facts will win out.

That was startling to me...of course the facts will win out.

He went on to say that rather than the facts, a customer will purchase based on perception.

And I realized he is right.

Imagine I cracked two eggs in a bowl. Which would you perceive to be the healthier, the one with a pale yellow yolk or the one with a deep yellow yolk?

What if I presented you with two apples, one is shiny and red the other is dull yellow and pink with a bit of green. Which would you determine to be the best to eat?

What if two men walked in for an interview, one with a scruffy beard, the other clean shaved.

Do you perceive your brand of toothpaste to be the best?

I started thinking about this idea and I realized how much we are driven by our perceptions rather than facts. It is actually a bit scary!

However, armed with this information we can design a marketing strategy for our books and stories that will reach to our target reader. That is why knowing your reader is so important [look at last weeks blog for more on that.]

Look at the websites of other writers and see which appeal to you and which do not. What do you want a reader to feel when they read your books? They should feel that when they visit your site.

Their perception of you will be shaped by their contacts with you. Most of their contact will be through your website and your books.

It doesn't matter who you are or what your writing actually is. The perception a potential reader has of you will determine whether they give you a shot. Then their perception of your writing will determine their opinion of you overall.

And no matter what writing contests, experts or facts say...the perception of the readers IS the truth.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Learn more about Tiffany's Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.
Read Tiffany's award winning manuscript "A Face in the Shadow" on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer's Rest.