Make the most of in-person opportunities.
For past week I’ve been preparing for an annual meeting of the group whose magazine I assemble.
One of my tasks will be to serve as a writer and photographer. While collecting material for a report in the next issue is important, it’s not at the top of my list.
My biggest job, in preparing the next year’s issues, is to make contact with the people the magazine serves. What are their concerns? Their plans and aspirations? What have they recently learned that others would want to know?
If I want the magazine’s articles to scratch where they itch, I need to sense their feelings.
So I’ll bring a notebook, a camera, and a voice recorder. And I’ll plan to go out of my way to meet new people, listen to them and learn their stories.
It’s easier to connect with a target you know.
