What authors can learn from President Obama, Two Ferns, and Zach Galifianakis

To reach your target audience, you have to get in front of them.

That’s what President Barack Obama did today when he appeared on the fake online talk show, “Between Two Ferns,” with host Zach Galifianakis.

As he struggled not to laugh, President Obama eventually pitched the Affordable Care Act to the show’s fans — the young viewers who need to sign up for health care coverage so the system works properly.

He took his marketing message directly to the people he needed to reach where he knew he’d find them — at FunnyorDie.com.

“The point is, a lot of young people, they think they’re invincible,” President Obama told his host.

Authors can learn a lot from this brilliant and laugh-out-loud funny interview:

Your goal with book marketing is the same as the president’s for healthcare.gov: You want to get your book title in front of your target audience.

Follow the White House’s lead: Use the media outlets, social networks, websites, and events that your audience uses to get your book title in front of them. You’re wasting your time if you’re not where they’re at.

What’s your book’s version of Funny or Die? Where is your book’s audience spending time online?