{"id":80,"date":"2009-04-08T12:02:05","date_gmt":"2009-04-08T12:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp\/2009\/04\/while_the_recession_might_be\/"},"modified":"2009-04-08T12:02:05","modified_gmt":"2009-04-08T12:02:05","slug":"while_the_recession_might_be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/04\/while_the_recession_might_be.html","title":{"rendered":"The Romance Of A Really Big Audience"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the recession might be hard on some publishers, the romance novel genre is booming, reports the NYT<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Harlequin Enterprises, the queen of the romance world, reported that
\nfourth-quarter earnings were up 32 percent over the same period a year
\nearlier, and Donna Hayes, Harlequin’s chief executive, said that sales
\nin the first quarter of this year remained very strong. While sales of
\nadult fiction overall were basically flat last year, according to
\nNielsen Bookscan, which tracks about 70 percent of retail sales, the
\nromance category was up 7 percent after holding fairly steady for the
\nprevious four years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What the story doesn’t say, is that eHarlequin<\/a>, Harlequin’s website, is one of the best-thought-out commercial social networking sites on the net. It turns out that a significant <\/p>\n

\"harlequinfeature.JPG\"<\/span><\/p>\n

number of romance novel readers believe that they too could write a trashy book. Rather than just treating these people just as book buyers, Harlequin built a community around them and turned eHarlequin into the go-to site for romance novels. <\/p>\n

There you can meet Harlequin’s editors and see what they’re looking for. You can meet other readers, have your writing critiqued, learn how to write compelling characters, about plot development, network with fans, meet and chat with your favorite writers. You can’t be interested in this genre and not go to this site. <\/p>\n

eHarlequin isn’t just interactive in that its staff responds to readers, it takes the interaction steps further by making it possible for readers to meet and interact with one another. This is where people make friends. This is where talk about things that are of interest to them. Instead of just producing a lot of content for the site, Harlequin relies on the community to <\/p>\n

\"harlequinchat.JPG\"<\/span><\/p>\n

create much of it. eHarlequin is less a producer of online content than it is a facilitator of social interaction.<\/p>\n

So what? The so what is that Harlequin has turned consumers into community, one that builds and strengthens an audience for the company’s books. Harlequin isn’t just a consumer choice for these people, it’s something they’re a part of and that they have loyalty to. They’re ambassadors for it.<\/p>\n

Contrast eHarlequin to the way most arts groups market. Their websites are little more than electronic brochures. They sell tickets in an increasingly crowded marketplace as a commodity rather than a lifestyle choice. They think of audience members as interchangeable; a ticket sold is a ticket sold. <\/p>\n

In fact, a ticket sold is not just a ticket sold. Successful web companies today think of themselves less as producers of content than facilitators of community. The definition of success in the new web economy is not in attracting eyes for content, but in getting the people behind those eyes to create something in response. If they do, they’ll surely be back. If they do, they’ll bring other people back with them. If they do, they’ll expand the base that supports the community.<\/p>\n

\"harlequinblogs.JPG\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing new here. Amway, Mary Kay, mega-churches, and more recently the Obama campaign have understood the power of building communities around you. Harlequin understands that if it can build and energize a community, it has expanded its market. And (and this is no small thing), by being part of the community itself, Harlequin comes to understand its audience better and gets to see what matter to them. This is market research gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the recession might be hard on some publishers, the romance novel genre is booming, reports the NYT. Harlequin Enterprises, the queen of the romance world, reported that fourth-quarter earnings were up 32 percent over the same period a year earlier, and Donna Hayes, Harlequin’s chief executive, said that sales in the first quarter of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-80","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ePZm-1i","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2007\/11\/a_low_pressure_air_mass.html","url_meta":{"origin":80,"position":0},"title":"A Low Pressure Air Mass…","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"November 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"If the power of mass culture is based on the ability to attract a mass audience, then perhaps it's worth looking at the size of the mass. Magazines: People magazine is solidly mass market. In 2006 it had a circulation of 3.8 million. Its rivals Us Weekly sold 1.8 million\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1296,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2017\/01\/are-orchestras-a-ticket-or-an-art-maybe-were-thinking-about-the-made-up-model-wrong.html","url_meta":{"origin":80,"position":1},"title":"Are Orchestras A Ticket Or An Art? Maybe We’re Thinking About The (Made Up) Model Wrong","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"January 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As recently as 1990, American symphony orchestras accounted for an average of 60 percent of their budgets in earned income. This meant, at the time, that if you weren't selling enough tickets (and other services) to make 60 percent, then you weren't considered healthy. A report in 1991 - The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "culture business models"","block_context":{"text":"culture business models","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/culture-business-models"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/orchnumbers.png?fit=959%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/orchnumbers.png?fit=959%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/orchnumbers.png?fit=959%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/orchnumbers.png?fit=959%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1151,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/09\/some-of-our-orchestras-seem-to-be-thriving-is-this-a-new-trend.html","url_meta":{"origin":80,"position":2},"title":"Some Of Our Orchestras Seem To Be Thriving – Is This A New Trend?","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"September 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"There's been a change in the news coming out of symphony orchestras over the past summer. Usually there's a background drumbeat of struggle as orchestras fight to stay alive. But for months now, the beat has shifted, and we're hearing about orchestras that are not only surviving but thriving. 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