Finding Your Audience Among 8 Billion
The joy of shared interests
In a growing population of around 8 billion people, there are surely many like-minded souls who share your interests. As a writer, I have to constantly remind myself of this truth. It can sometimes feel as though you are shouting into the void.
Each of us, as humans, are multidimensional with regard to our thoughts, core beliefs, and morals. While two people might align on most matters, it is rare for two people to agree on all things. This is especially true the more deeply we discuss those matters.
This can lead one to believe that they are alone. At the very least, it can cause you to feel like you have a small tribe. The truth is that there are likely many people in the world today who hold the same ideas and concerns, at least to some degree.
In this post, I will share some tactics that you can use to build or grow your audience as a writer. There are a number of directions you could take. Consider the following, but understand that you ultimately have to do what makes sense to you.
Keep it conversational
One way to build an audience is to attempt to keep content at a high level. This allows for a small investment of the readers’ minds and mental capacity. Just keep your content small, shallow, and easily digestible.
This approach might allow you more freedom to explore topics. Since you will never dig too deeply into any topic, you will need more of them. If you want to keep the focus narrow, then consider hitting some of the same topics from different perspectives.You might not please readers who are looking for more depth and discovery around your topics if you write this way. This approach might work well if you have a lot of interests that you want to share. There is less chance of alienating readers with this method as you would avoid getting too specific.
One way to approach this style of writing is to lead your readers to an idea or thought process and let them provide the detail in their own mind. This requires less investigation and more creativity. You can touch lightly on topics that are generally interesting without pushing your opinions or agendas.
In this conversational tone, you can try to keep things positive and up-beat. This will not be enough to satisfy many readers, but it might be less polarizing and allow you to draw more readers. Less depth allows you to be more generalized and cover more topics.
Dig in and divide
Out of the roughly 8 billion people across the world, only 63–67% percent are Internet users. That leaves somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 5.5 billion potential interested parties. The deeper you dive into your topics, the more chance there is that you might alienate some.
Going too deep into singular topics might cause some people to lose interest. If you are specifically targeting only people who want to know everything about that topic and dig deep, that may not be an issue. Otherwise, you may want to provide some alternate content to keep those others interested.
Ultimately, you have to decide if you want a wider audience, or a more focused audience. For each writer, that decision might be different. Consider your motives for writing content and what you are trying to accomplish. Which approach seems most fitting for you?
If you choose the route of diving deeply into one or more topics, you will likely find that you reveal more of your authentic self to your readers. Investigating, exploring, and teaching your readers will reveal your true passions. This could allow you to develop deeper relationships with your followers.
Do not be afraid to take this path. There is a danger of losing people who are not as interested or passionate on a given topic, but those who stick around will likely be more loyal. A handful of loyal readers can be more supportive than scores of people who have not invested much time or mental capacity into your work.
Be true to yourself
This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. — William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
If you have read many of my posts, you might have heard me mention the fact that I am naturally a people-pleaser. It is not a trait that I admire about myself. While it may seem a worthy goal not to offend others, there are times when I must speak my mind for the betterment of others and myself.
In a world full of disingenuous people, it can be so satisfying to listen to someone who is real. We may not agree with every statement, but we can sense the passion. As a people-pleaser, some of the people that get my attention most are those who can just be real.
Being true to ourselves allows us to show our authenticity to others. This really must guide our writing if we want our works to have any power with readers. We can never fully integrate ourselves into our writing if we have not decided who or what we want to be.
Have you taken time to consider how you want to be viewed as a writer? I am not referring to your style or niche. Will people see you as a leader, a student, or a philosopher?
When someone reads your writing, what do you expect to happen? You might desire them to give you feedback and teach you something. Or, you might just be writing to get some stuff off your chest.
Whatever your purpose for writing is, let that be a part of everything you write. Be consistent. Readers will be more apt to follow you and come back for more if they know what to expect.
Conclusion
Getting an audience is hard. Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose, and of action over a long period of time. — Bruce Springsteen
Over time, your audience will begin to discover you and be drawn to you. I believe one of the most magnetic traits is authenticity. In a world where people will say whatever it takes to get your attention, an authentic soul sticks out among the crowd.
People are looking for something, or someone, real. It is difficult to find someone you can trust and believe in this world. Allow readers time to find you, digest your content, and decide if you worth their time.
Never forget that there are 8 billion people in this world. Some number of those, probably a large percentage, share at least some of your views and concerns. Don’t give up writing before your crowd finds you.
