How do you find an audience? Some people manage it. Others don’t. Is it luck? I don’t think it is necessarily talent – although my perceptions of talent my not be your view. I have blogged and written pretty much twice or more a week on this and other blogs since about 2004 or around 10-years. I don’t have much of an audience. My books don’t sell well. I have failed to find an audience. The hint though on how to build an audience was always right there. My single blog post about sex in the Czech Republic still gets more traffic than all my other writings put together. Is that a sad indictment of me or just a sad indictment full stop? Maybe I should give up? When I first started blogging there were many millions fewer blogs less than there are today so it has become much more competitive hasn’t it. The same goes with books… it is hugely competitive.
Which really brings you to a couple of questions. The first is why do I bother? You know I don’t really know but I don’t think I could stop writing articles about life and the world as I see it even if I wanted to. A few people read the articles. You never know, I may still find an audience. More importantly, I probably enjoy talking to myself and better I do it this way than in public where people might believe me to be a nutter. The second is why haven’t I found an audience? Well, in some ways I have. On the energy and commodities side, my writings do sell and are somewhat in demand. I am recognized as an expert and I make a reasonable living talking, writing about and discussing the energy and commodities industry. Its a niche and its quiet small but I have an audience and I have a voice. As for my view on what’s right and wrong with the world – well, maybe I’m old fashioned and out of step. I still believe in manners, politeness and decorum. My poetry may sometimes be good and rarely if ever better than that but everyone writes poetry and poetry doesn’t sell – not anymore. As for writing about the esoteric – well, if you take it seriously as opposed to sensationalizing it into something its not, its also a very small niche. If the truth be told, its a whole group of related niches that are all very small.
On the other hand, maybe I am simply kidding myself. Maybe my blinkers simply don’t let me see that no one is really interested in what I think – about anything. Everyone is so full of themselves they have no interest in anyone else. Maybe I am just the same pushing myself relentlessly to a bunch of others who are pushing themselves and on and on. If so, then plainly, I have yet to identify my audience because there are consumers out there – masses of them. People who take what is put in front of them and consume it. So how do I get my stuff in front of them? Are we back to blogging about sex again I wonder……
I am finding exactly the same, Gary – and rewrote a post about this kind of thing yesterday. I wish I had a solution. Luck does seem to play a large part in success or lack of! I guess you and I, and the thousands of other writers like us, just have to keep believing in ourselves, supporting one another and WRITING! xxx
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.
Someone once said to me that overnight success takes about 15 years Gary, maybe it’s 30. Bieber has an audience of millions but I doubt he will ever have a voice offering substance authenticity or depth. You offer these qualities. It would be a mistake to consider a trade off in my opinion.
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.
I appreciate that very much and thank you. However, I would ultimately like to write for a living….. you know I guess I do already….
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.
Again?!? 😮
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.