Having worked in audience development in the publishing/media/information services world for most of my career, people still don’t know what I do every day. Frankly, it’s hard to me to categorize what I do it changes so often! Rotating projects, technology, and departments that I interact with keep this job challenging and interesting.

For a media-related brand, here are a few of the major responsibilities that audience development professionals have today:

• Achieve BPA/AAM goals for audited brands.
• Maintain USPS goals for any magazines that mail at periodicals rates.
• Ferret out and consolidate customer data into a central location, where possible.
• Help other departments with marketing efforts to achieve attendance or participation goals. Can include helping to make list selects, research outside lists, marketing vendors, or execute marketing efforts.
• Assist the publishers in flushing out a comprehensive sales strategy.
• Identify “hot” areas on database that can help identify new products.
• Keep database current and with demos where possible. Helps to market smarter and for lead gen.
• Review customer touch points to 1—make sure our online web page flow is logical and correct. 2-ensure we have consistent, current brand messages.
• Manage the issue close process, including getting files to the printer and/or digital file sender.

Knowing the audience development responsibilities vary at different organizations, feel free to add other roles you handle in the comment section. All the items listed above are topics I will continue to explore on this blog, as well as the critical importance of the audience development specialist on your team.

The journey continues.

C