Nobody actually reads National Geographic

BUT THEY STILL BUY IT

There’s a phenomenon happening right now. Music fans are buying vinyl records even if they don’t have a record player. And not just some people. Half of the purchasers of vinyl don’t have a record player. Another percentage admit to not listening to the vinyl at all.

So why buy it?

As I’m writing this now, I have stacks of National Geographic magazines piled up on my bookshelf, on my coffee table, and anywhere else in my apartment I can find space. I get a new one every month and add it to the pile. Do I read them? Yes. I’ve loved National Geographic since I was kid. Do I read as many of them as I want someone who comes into my home to think I do? No chance.

So why do I continue to buy them? There’s even an option to purchase a digital-only subscription but that won’t cut it. I need my magazines on display. The presence of those magazines mean something to me just like those vinyls mean something to the music fan. As writers, we need to understand why.

That’s why I’m here, so let’s break it down.

There are two things at play here. The first has to do with superfans and the second has to do with a different kind of phenomenon that I will explain as best I can.

A recent study of the music industry by Goldman Sachs showed that there’s a $4.2 billion superfan market. Superfans will spend twice what the average fan would spend on an artist they like, and Goldman’s study reveals that approximately 20% of music listeners are superfans of at least one artist.

The book publishing industry is about three times larger than the music industry, and while I can’t find research that outlines the precise size of the superfan opportunity in publishing, it’s safe to presume that they exist and that they represent a significant opportunity for authors.

Superfans in our world go to conventions and author signings. They buy every book in your series and read it twice. They listen to all of your interviews and talk about your book to anyone who would listen. They purchase the signed copy of your book even though they already have that book. This is typical superfan behaviour, but it doesn’t fully explain why people buy vinyls or why I have stacks of National Geographic scattered across my apartment.

To explain this phenomenon, I’ll use another book example. In 2022, actress Ashley Tisdale let Architectural Digest tour her home. When they got to her bookshelf, Tisdale admitted that she made her husband go out and buy 400 books because just days prior, the bookshelf “did not actually have books.” It was so important for Tisdale to give the impression of someone who reads that she didn’t really see a problem with this and later said in a tweet that it’s a common thing to do.

I actually don’t have a problem with Tisdale doing this. As writers, this is a learning opportunity. We don’t need to be criticizing Tisdale, we need to understand that books — similar to vinyl records or classic magazines — are status symbols. People buy books because it says something about them or they want it to say something about them. However you feel about that, it doesn’t change the reality.

So what do we do with this information?

Well, if you’re feeling especially ambitious, ask yourself these questions: how can you be the type of author that people want to display on their bookshelves? How can you be the type of writer people talk about to their friends like they’re in on some cool new club that only a select group of people know about?

Being an authority in your field is one way. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told someone about Jane Friedman or attended one of her events or reshared one of her posts. I subscribe to her paid newsletter and am a true superfan. That’s because Jane knows her stuff and I trust her.

Another path to earning your way onto someone’s bookshelf for show is to create a story so memorable that FOMO takes over and people start buying your book so they can be part of the cool club. This tactic is especially subjective, but that’s the ambitious approach.

That said, there are other ways to apply this information. The one that most stands out to me is simply understanding that there are superfans in your community right now. There are people reading your books or even your newsletter who will spend twice that of the average fan for whatever content (or product) you provide.

You need to speak with these people. Understand what it is about your work that connects with them so deeply. When you speak to them, you’ll start to notice a prototype of what your superfans look like. Once you’ve obtained this information, you can make decisions on how to potentially cultivate more superfans or how to better serve the ones you already have. At the very least, knowing that your book can be bought as a type of collector’s item should give you insight into the motivations of an audience that you’re not currently tapping into.

Because even though no one actually reads National Geographic, they still buy it. Remember that.