Podcasts like Novel Marketing tend to get more advanced as each episode builds on previous episodes. That’s why I occasionally like to go back to the basics.  Many marketing classes begin with the 4 Ps of marketing or what is sometimes called McCarthy’s Marketing Mix. (Seth Godin added a fifth P-Purple Cow-to the marketing mix about a decade ago). If you wonder why something isn’t selling, you’ll find the answer in the 4 Ps. If you want something to sell like crazy, the 4 Ps have the power. The Five Ps of Marketing * Product (this post) * Price * Place * Promotion * Purple Cow In this article, we will focus on the first P of McCarthy’s Marketing Mix: Product. Get “product” wrong, and your book won’t sell regardless of what tactics you employ. Get “product” right, and everything gets easier.  If marketing your book feels exhausting, understanding what makes a product “good” may change your life.  An author’s primary product is a book. If you are a public speaker, your primary product is your speech. A podcaster’s primary product is their podcast. You may have multiple products to sell, but we’ll focus on your book in this discussion.  Product (Book) Of the 4 Ps, product is most important because, as David Ogilvy says, “Good marketing helps a bad product fail faster.”  Sadly, most authors find Ogilvy’s statement irrelevant because they believe their book is already a good product.  We must stop asking, “Is this book good?” and start asking, “Is this the kind of book people would want to buy and want to read.” Sometimes, a book is so good that it overcomes bad marketing and becomes popular because of word-of-mouth recommendations. But no amount of good marketing can save a bad book.  What makes a book a good book?  Many wrong answers to that question lead authors to poverty. Those wrong answers include: * Your Publisher * Your Mom * Your Agent * Your Editor * Your Friends * Your English Teacher * Critics * Writing Award Voters * Book Store Owners * Writers Contests * Future Generations The Audience Determines Quality  If you want your book to sell, the only opinion that matters is your reader’s.  Your reader determines the quality of your book. But not all readers are the same.  One key step to writing a good book is identifying your target reader. Once you know who you are trying to thrill, you can write a book to thrill that specific person.  A product is “good” only if it is good, according to the consumer. A book is good if the readers love it.