What is an Example of an Ideal Reader Profile Analysis?

Earlier this week, I put together a story synopsis for a story called Blood Bond. The purposes of the exercise was to provide an example in developing a digital marketing case study (See What is an Example of a Digital Marketing Story Synopsis?) The next step in the process (See Our Video on the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing) is to use the synopsis to define the ideal reader.

Form 2 of the Global Comix Digital Marketing Materials is Ideal Reader Profile Analysis Form. This breaks down the ideal reader into four segments: demographic, psychographic, genre and generation. Because the characteristics of an ideal reader can be found in your story (See Who is the Ideal Reader for Your Comic?), let’s break down our Blood Bond example and use it to define the segments:

Demographic: The setting, themes, and supernatural nature of the story define the demographics here. If you look back at the plot of Blood Bond, you’ll probably agree that it appeals to someone who likes stories set in urban settings (New York at Night), with conflicts rooted in current events (government corruption) and is also comfortable with religious history and Western society painted in an unflattering light (the alternative explanation of the Crusades). The fact that the protagonist is a woman and the antagonists are men is interesting, but doesn’t define any major aspect of the plot.

Psychographics: Ana’s personality drives the psychographics of the story. She has a strong moral code that is unwilling to accept dogma from either side. She holds everyone responsible for their actions, questions everyone’s version of history and is willing to fight for her position, even in the face of overwhelming forces. The protagonist appeals to the intellectual rebel who is willing to act, even if the right choice isn’t clear.

Genre: The tone of the story can be identified as noir (which is a sub-genre of crime) and the subject matter is well within the tropes of supernatural horror, so criminal horror is a fairly accurate genre definition. Some readers might see parallels with a superhero origin story (especially the open-ended conclusion), but I would avoid that conclusion because there are already so many other superhero books on the market.

Generation: The themes and violent content in Blood Bond push it outside of acceptable content for new readers and young adult and more into the comfort zone of millennial and Gen X readers. It could appeal to Baby Boomers as well, but they would probably be outliers for this kind of story.

So in conclusion, the ideal reader for Blood Bond is an intellectual rebel who enjoys criminal horror that tackles real-world issues.

Next week, we’ll look at what books this kind of person is already reading and where we might find them.

Have fun with your comic
Gamal