Niche Marketing

I read agriculture magazines.

Swine Practitioner, Soybean Digest, and Dairy Herd Management are three of my favorites. I also like Drovers, Porker, Citrus&Vegetable, and Bovine Veterinarian. I started perusing these publications in the weeks leading up to Y2K. Figured the information would come in handy. It never did, but now I'm hooked.

I subscribe to Architectural Digest, but have yet to read an issue. This is solely a bathroom offering. Visiting guests love it because, more than any other magazine, it diverts their attention from where they are at the time. No subject is less related to efforts in a biffy than architecture. I think those who use my toilet are grateful for the attention-shifter.

I devour publications that target the African American community, such as Jet and Ebony. I'm not sure why, other than that, deep down, I believe I'm a black person. The notion first popped into my head when I was around 13. I'm not sure if it's accurate, but I've been suspicious of "whitey" ever since.

I like Martha  Stewart's Living magazine and Cigar Aficionado. I read Billboard and Dirty Linen and I swipe National Geographic from my barber whenever I'm in for a shave. He doesn't care so much because he's legally blind. In fact he's the last legally blind barber in Minnesota still using a straight razor.

I like all kinds of magazines. I like the feel of the smooth glossy pages, the splashes of color, I like plenty of photographs in my literature and I like to be able to tear out pages if I fancy some article or ad.

I read High Times magazine and one called Today's Zoologist. I'm also a huge fan of Teen Vogue, Tiger Beat, and Seventeen. I don't know why. I guess deep down I think of myself as a little girl, probably a little black girl.

I read Fortune magazine, The Economist, and most of the business publications. I've always thought of myself as a Wall Street person--a black, up and coming little girl, making it big on Wall Street.

There is a magazine for everyone it seems. Stop into any Barnes and Noble, or Borders, and you'll find scores and scores of titles. Every person in America can find a magazine targeted specifically to him or her. If you can't find one, you can start your own. I plan to.

It's easy really. You find a community under-served and you give them a voice. Personally, I believe African American Corporate School Girl will be a hit at the news stand.

Maybe it won't be your style, but some other magazine will. Keep looking. Tasty Cigar Recipes&Top Teen Fashion Tips For Stay At Home Woodworkers is just an idea in someone's mind right now, but next year it could outsell Men's Journal. It's just another niche market in search of its own periodical.

I subscribe to a magazine called Modern Mystic. I think of myself as a kind of Himalayan yogi trapped in a high-tech age. I need a magazine that speaks to that part of me. A magazine, ideally, that can say, "Hey you, Mister Himalayan, cave dwelling, young African American parochial school girl, let's make big coin on the Dow... and oh, by the way, here's a casserole recipe you might enjoy."

In todays world I can expect to find this sort of thing. It's out there, or soon will be. It's a wonderful time to be alive. The nation offers an all you can consume buffet of information. Slide your tray along and pick away at your passions.

Bon Appetit everyone ( and yes, I subscribe to that one too).