Taking Note from Garden & Gun CEO Rebecca Darwin.
Garden & Gun President and CEO Rebecca Darwin was just profiled in Publishing Executive on how she “created The New Yorker of the South.” I encourage you to read the full article here.
As a loyal Garden & Gun reader + passionate marketeer, this piece captivated me — and also led me to Google her name to see if there were any other interviews/features of this extremely talented publisher (yeah, may have stalked her a little bit).
She simply and pointedly conveyed the heart of the Garden & Gun brand and its readership.
Here are a few excerpts from the interview that I connected with and ones to keep in mind:
“To bring the advertisers along, it’s taken some time. But advertising is still about making the calls and convincing people why your audience is so important to them.”
One of the marketing initiatives she introduced is hosting Garden & Gun events and programs that “brings you closer to your reader.”
The magazine does a wonderful job of being personal, friendly, and relatable to its followers by connecting through events and “touch points” where they can interact and engage in dialogue. Her statement has me thinking about ways I can engage our customers by inviting them “in”…how can I connect in a personal way…
Let me also add that the magazine’s online presence is inviting and dynamic which engages its subscribers and beyond.
“I think every magazine, whether it’s big or small, needs to have a particular niche. And I do think that’s kind of the sweet spot in publishing at this point — to not try to be all things to all people, but to really appeal to a core group of people.”
How true is that in all aspects of business? I think her statement applies to a foundational business principle and one I emphasize strongly: know your target market and how to reach them. One of the reasons the publication excels is due to their combination of knowing their demographic + producing content that connects and relates.
One of my favorite lines from the article: “But at the heart of this brand is this very strong, old-fashioned print magazine. So I do believe that personal contact is very much a part of what our brand is about.”
When I read that, my love of Garden & Gun went to a whole other level. There’s nothing like a hard copy, in your hand, magazine you receive in the mail and I think their readership craves just that. When the magazine arrives, it calls for sitting in a rocker on the front porch while sipping a sweet tea…and enjoying the Southern way of life.