Case Study:
Bridging Audiences Through Writers Who Run
Authors often focus their marketing efforts on the most obvious audience: readers.
But this approach overlooks the powerful role niche communities and cultural trends can play in amplifying a book’s reach. One example of Read & Run Tours’s creative marketing strategy taps into exactly that — an unexpected intersection of two passionate groups: people who love stories and people who love to run.
Opportunity
According to Statista, an estimated 50 million Americans run regularly, and that number continues to rise. Many of these runners are also dedicated readers who obsess over process. Just as they love hearing how elite athletes train, they’re equally eager to learn how their favorite writers create.
On social media, we’ve seen casual runners, everyday readers, “bookstagrammers” and more go viral by showcasing their routines, creative practices, and daily habits. This growing crossover signals an untapped marketing opportunity for authors: connecting with a niche, values-aligned, and highly engaged audience that may not be reached through traditional book promotion.
Creative Approach
Created and helmed by journalist and author Malissa Rodenburg, Read & Run Tours’s column Writers Who Run showcases a variety of writers – poets, novelists, nonfiction writers – who have different relationships with running.
In a saturated digital landscape, Writers Who Run offers something rare: content at the intersection of two trending – and growing – communities. This angle allows authors to stand out, deepen their storytelling, and resonate with a high-quality, organically targeted audience of readers & runners.
Writers featured on this column are showcased as unique examples for our audience of readers & runners and include at least three Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok posts after the interview is published.
Past columns feature award-winning authors like:
Dr. Eve Ewing
Sandra Steinbrecher
Ben Tanzer
And more
These features introduce authors to engaged followers who share, save, and discuss the content, strengthening both brand awareness and personal connection.
Results
Many writers with an existing running practice have never considered how this part of their life can support their book marketing. Writers Who Run bridges that gap by highlighting an authentic, humanizing dimension of an author’s journey.
By bringing together two seemingly unrelated passions, Read & Run Tours turns a niche intersection into a meaningful channel for heightened visibility, connection, and community building — ultimately helping authors reach new readers in a fresh, memorable way.