Writing for alumni magazines, I often get to profile some pretty interesting people. While the originate from the same high school or college or university, they may stand out because they’ve had an interesting or unusual career. I’ve interviewed inventors, music executives, lawyers who have contributed to groundbreaking cases.
While the magazine’s main audience is fellow alumni who are interested in learning where their classmates ended up, I’m also mindful of secondary audiences. In this case, the readers could be potential donors to the university. Current students who may be inspired to follow a similar career trajectory. So I want to keep them in mind as I tell these stories.
In other contexts, the secondary audience is even more crucial. We may write recruitment emails for students, but you know the parents are reading them. Board members approve decisions. Spouses weigh in on major decisions. So why spend hours profiling our primary audiences while skipping past the people who will also encounter, interpret, and act on our messages. Let’s take a moment to consider the secondary reader.
What do secondary readers do?
Secondary audiences don’t just read your message—they amplify it, reinterpret it, and share it with their own networks. They become the multiplier effect, for better or worse.
Think about the last time you sent an important email. Who forwarded it? Who quoted it in a meeting you weren’t in? Every message has a life beyond its intended recipient.
So with any communication piece, add a line item into your profile for the secondary reader. For a university program brochure, that might be parents, guidance counselors, and current students. For a nonprofit annual report, it’s not just your board—it’s journalists who might quote it, donors comparing you to other organizations, and staff who will appreciate their work being recognized.
Addressing the secondary reader directly
In some cases, you may realize the secondary reader is so important they may warrant communications of their own. Maybe a letter directly to parents would be helpful. Maybe a social media post might be a good way to get media attention for a stellar annual report that may otherwise remain internal.
Perhaps a secondary audience could be a gateway to a whole new market that you hadn’t been considering.
Maybe a message will land better if it is tweaked for both the primary and secondary message. Consider how easy this is to repurpose given that you’ve already crafted the first message.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁
Before you finalize your next piece of communications, don’t forget to consider secondary audiences. Keep a few questions in mind:
- What would happen if this got shared beyond its original recipients?
- Are there phrases that secondary audiences might misinterpret?
- Could this communication be repurposed to address the second audience directly?
The most effective communications don’t just speak to one audience—they anticipate the full ecosystem of people who’ll encounter and interpret the message.
Who’s the secondary audience you wish you’d considered earlier in a project?
I also share these blog posts on LinkedIn – visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbowness/ to connect with me there. Or hire me to help you profile your audiences and craft strategic communications!
