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Re: Re. Who's the Audience

I'd like to change angle here, slightly.

Maybe rather than "who's the audience" the deeper question is, "are we reaching the audience that needs us?"

Just one example. I gave a presentation the other night about heirloom veggies to a garden club. There were about 25 people in the room, ranging from beginners to Master Gardeners. On one hand, it was very gratifying, because they were on the edge of their seats, with lots of good questions. A half hour presentation stretched to three times that; with lots more discussion during the break.

On the other hand, the major group of questions actually fell into the category; "how come we don't read about this in the gardening magazines?....or see it on the gardening shows?"

I don't think this is an exceptional case, either. For whatever reasons, the mainstream gardening publications are out of touch with what the "to" gardeners really want.

This is, I believe, one reason the diversity of gardening-related websites---many of them poorly written---have so much appeal. They deal with the topics that hands-on gardeners really are interested in. The people who read them are concerned with the information; and don't care if it's presented in a less than slick manner.

I submit that when they can get both---well written stories that deal with the subjects they want to know about---they're as happy as a clam in mud.

Meanwhile, the mainstream gardening magazines continue their line-up of articles that merely say, "this is what your yard can look like; providing you have very deep pockets and a staff to do the work for you."

So, maybe, it's a chicken and egg situation. If the magazines write primarily to the "want" gardeners, then that's who their audience becomes. Meanwhile, the "to" gardeners are left in the lurch.

This syndrome is by no means confined to gardening. I've seen it happen over and over again in many of the fields I work.

The shelter magazines, of course, have been most guilty of this for a long time, acting as if anyone with a paintbrush and a little imagination can replicate the rooms they show. The truth, on the other hand, is that all it takes is a professional decorator and a second mortgage.

Two decades or so ago the outdoor magazines started emphasizing "how-to" stories, instead of the well-written "me & Joe" tales that had been their mainstay. Now, if you try and sell them anything that's not a how-to piece, they tell you that's all their readers are interested in.

Uh, huh. Maybe because you trained your audience to only expect that?

I believe one reason many of us are doing more speaking engagements, and less writing, is that it allows us to reach our real audiences.


Brook

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