The Noise Reduction story: Does it match you?
I've been working on who reads, and who might want to read my newsletter. Let me know if this reflects your interests - or have I got you completely wrong?
I’ve been invited to a Substack program called Substack Grow, which is — unsurprisingly — about how to accelerate the growth of Substack communities.
One of the exercises I have found really interesting and useful is asking myself as a writer:
Who cares about what you write about today?
Who is important to the future of your work?
And to dig a little deeper:
Describe your readers in 1-2 sentences.
Here’s what I came up with
Who cares about what you write about today?
This might be too granular, but here goes
Mid-career / Early- to middle aged people looking back on their lives, figuring out where to go next
People trying to optimise their mental and physical wellbeing but don’t have serious mental health or physical concerns in general
People who are on their own fitness journey who are interested in sharing mine
Busy people who are engaged with the news and staying current but who are looking for summaries and interesting takes
People who like trying new things, but not too far out of their comfort zones
Interested in tech and new developments, but don’t live completely online. Interested in having a b
Interested in popular culture: what to read, watch, listen to, go to
Psychologists, counsellors and other professionals interested in supporting their own wellbeing as well as their clients and teams.
Who is important to the future of your work?
Writers / influencers working in similar fields in differential international time zones who already have an audience I could be introduced to
CEOs / leaders who have the ability and motivation to share my writing with their organisations and network.
1-2 sentences? Let me make it 4.
My readers are thoughtful about what they want to get out of life, and where and to whom they give their energy. They want to look after themselves and their community. Though they have full lives they may experience an underlying sense of loneliness and disconnect and crave community with like-minded, calm and centred people. They want someone who is knowledgeable and relatable to help give them the low down on things to be thinking about, and who is willing to share their own experience and model vulnerability too.
So, have I got this right at all? Did I miss you? Am I covering things I haven’t articulated in my analysis?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so feel free to get chatting in the comments. I’ll be reading and joining in too.
Thanks Sarb. Your four sentences resonated with me. My summary sentence would be: I’d like to be part of your informal community on Substack where we share our mid-life stories with the hope of finding connection and ways of thinking and living that feel thoughtful, useful and human. For example, I’d like to hear how people carve out or create time and space for themselves for restoration and reflection.
Hmm Thank you Sarb, I’ve just spent ten minutes trying to work out if I am early or middle aged! Is that mentally or physically? I live in Auckland but I am currently in West Sussex in the UK. Re- connecting with my elderly parents 90+ and trying to get my head round why they have so many medical appointments? I am on week four and I am cognitively exhausted. Gosh I’m the guy who thinks wow you’ve got this far what are you going to do for the next 43 years? I say 43 as that’s the general age when the older members of my Irish family ‘push up daises’ . In fact a first cousin on my mothers side just traveled to Ireland from NYC she’s 97! At that age it should be free travel ha. The last 2.5 years have being a bit of a blur so my priorities are: reconnecting with family in person, looking after my physical and mental health, update my LinkedIn profile, learning new skills, understanding the NHS, Stop buying Le Rustique Camembert it’s only £1.60 for 250g! Farro $18.00! Oh and trying to enjoy life a little.
I have to stop writing, appointment No. 14 Skin and Laser Clinic with Dad. Ho Hum.