Do you refuse to speak the language of your biggest fans?
Creating Passionate Users’s Kathy Sierra has a great post on the benefits of using jargon. As you read it, substitute your art form of choice for “Web 2.0.”
Usually we try to expunge jargon from our marketing copy – newbies are already intimidated and one of their top fears is that they won’t understand what is going on. But Kathy makes the case for the kind of discussion that happens with deeply involved patrons, in which jargon makes the conversation richer and more rewarding. Says Kathy,
…in our quest to cut the jargon and perceived (or even real) elitism, we risk ruining one of the biggest benefits of sticking with it. Not only should we allow domain-specific jargon or expert-speak, we should be driving it! We should help invent short-cuts and specialized words and phrases to make communication among our most passionate--our experts--even more stimulating and useful.
She suggests a safe zone for newbies, perhaps a separate site or forum as part of your online presence.
Many times I’ve heard arts marketers say something to the effect, “We have such a small budget that we’ll just create one brochure or postcard or fill-in-the-blank for everyone.” Inevitably that means removing a level of sophistication from your communications. Try a different approach for your longtime subscribers than for your efforts to reach first-time buyers. You can test it for little or no money on your web site or in email communications.
Sophisticated commercial sites and databases lead people to expect an extremely customized buying experience. Yes, it’s a challenge, but the opportunity exists to wow all levels of your audience by meeting that expectation.
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