Market to your audience

When I am teaching about blogging, I often recommend that writers develop an editorial calendar to help guide what they want to write about and their writing.

Do I do that myself? Er… no.   

Maybe it is the entrepreneurial creative in me, but I hate to be boxed in.    So instead,  I write about whatever has happened that week or what I have learned, observed and sometimes, felt.

This week I am getting back to business and thought I would share my recent takeaways from a couple of webinars I attended.  One was delivered by a member, and the other by an “expert” from the UK.  Both were an hour long, and on the same day, which made comparison easy.

However, their delivery style was different.  My member gave a brief introduction on her career path and how she ended up doing what she does, while the other presenter took twenty minutes to talk about herself, before getting to the meat of what she had to share.  

While I was interested at the beginning, by the time she had finished her ramble,  I really didn’t care.  I wanted the goods. She also kept describing how she thought the audience was feeling and asked them to report in the chat box, and then she'd read the comments out loud.   Another ten minutes gone.

My member, on the other hand, leapt in with useful information, gave great analogies to help us understand. I took pages of notes, keen to implement some of her suggestions. 

Near the end, the UK speaker took a poll to see where people were at in starting their business – most were at the idea or start up stage.  And that, for me,  explained it all. 

I wanted tips and information, her audience wanted to be motivated and inspired.  This speaks to knowing your audience and how to market to them.  So in fairness, while my second presenter did not hit home with me, she likely did with most of the women in her audience.  

Note to self, read the write-up more carefully to make sure that what is being presented is what I need or want. And likewise, when I am writing copy for a webinar we are offering, make sure I’ve described it accurately and reflected on who would benefit the most.