I missed posting this thought for Monday Moment so it will have to be a Timely Tuesday post. Your focus matters when considering audience development.
This concept may sound a little new agey to some of you, but I am a firm believer that what you believe in and what you focus on will be what comes to you. You know the saying, “If you know you can or you know you can’t, you are right.” I also love, “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
To me this means that if you are a “yes, but” personality or always looking for what is going to go wrong, you will probably be right. The people that are focused on building positive connections with people and have the will to create programs that will build audiences, and will do whatever it takes to make this happen will probably succeed. You can either pick it apart or build it up. These are your choices.
There are so many excuses out there and so many fears of going in a different direction. Your chance for succeeding in building your audience starts with your focus. If you think you don’t have the time, the money, the people, then you will be right. If you think you can make the time, reallocate the money and find the people you need, you will also be right.
What’s your choice?
Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana
Shoshana Fanizza
Audience Development Specialists
https://www.buildmyaudience.com
“Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.”
~James Stewart
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Let’s be honest, anyone who spends all their time making excuses will not grow. However, there is a careful line between the “yes buts” and the “I’m going for it” that we have to walk. Success in the arts, especially in community theatre, can depend on what we produce and who we produce it for. So, maybe the majority of our shows are considered safe, but some of them are not. Those are our “I’m going for it” moments.
The Minion from
Spokane Civic Theatre
http://www.spokanecivictheatre.com
Hi “The Minion,”
Thank you for stopping by. Interesting, I was not thinking about the types of productions when I wrote this, more along the lines of the spirit for audience development initiatives. I feel that the “safe” productions could still be used as vehicles for building audiences if you take the incentive to put into place audience relations programs. Not all arts have to be the push the envelope kind to build an audience.
You can still “go for it” concerning audience development during your regular productions.
Thanks again for your comment – it is much appreciated!