Understand your target audience and his needs
Do you really know your reader? Certainly there is not a precise method to know him exactly, but you can know your reader by meeting him, again & again.
Don’t assume his needs nor visualize him sitting on your comp… Just talk to him! This will help you to understand his current content needs as well as the dynamic shift in his requirements also!
Ask yourself (and answer to yourself only)-
- Can you identify your reader in the crowd of 20 odd people?
- Have you met around 50 of your readers personally (who were not known to you before you met neither they by themselves landed up to you)?
- Have you called up your around 100 readers from your subscribers database?
- How long was your discussion with him?
- Were you talking to ‘a reader’ or a representative of readers?
- Did you talk about your magazine or about him?
- Have you converted them to your friends?
- How many of those are regular in touch with you?
- What kind of story ideas/clues do you take from those friend-cum-readers?
- What are personality traits of your reader?
- What he eats?
- Where he goes to shop?
- What kind of clothing he wears?
- Which brands he buy?
- What is his income?
- What is his disposable income?
- How much cash you can expect in his pocket at any given point of time?
- Who are the other family members of your readers?
- What vehicle he own?
- Which mobile model he own?
- What is his education level?
- What is his intellectual level?
- What are his other areas of interests?
- What is his best time pass/Hobby?
- What kind of content need brings him to your magazine?
- What kind of satisfaction he feels from your magazine?
- How emotionally he is connected with your magazine?
- What kind of sacrifice he can for your magazine?
- Where does he look for the rest of his needs?
- How does your magazine help him?
- Which other competitive magazines does he read?
- Which other interest magazines does he read?
- Which are the other mediums he uses for the information?
- Which kind of movies he like?
- What kind of music he like?
…and many more things…! Whatever you always want to know about your boyfriend or your girlfriend! Try to dig him up to his soul… up to his mind!
And then, no need to create a log sheet or analytically chart out all this… just sink with this understanding and then write for your reader!
Happy Reading!
– G S Virdi
Editor and Magazine Consultant