Why Men Don't Read: How Publishing is Alienating Half the Population

Madam Broshkina · 04-23-2010, 07:26 PM

Interesting article on how the publishing industry is ignoring men.

Quote:

Men read. Tons of them do. But they are not marketed to, not targeted, and often totally dismissed. Go to a book conference, a signing. Outside of a Tucker Max event, what percentage of attendees are men?

I thought about this while watching the first television ad for the Barnes & Noble Nook. The ad itself, I think, is quite well done and effective. It tells a story, hits strong emotions. But notice something odd? It markets itself solely towards women. What about the Kindle? Amazon is a brilliant, juggernaut of a company, but the ads for Kindle with their twee music would make any guy groan. Why would men buy an e-reader, considering the takeaway from these ads is you can a) learn about your pregnancy after falling for Mr. Darcy, or b) become Amelia Earhart or Holly Golightly?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-..._b_549491.html

Joebill · 04-23-2010, 09:55 PM

Interesting. Doesn't match my experience though.

At all the book stores I have been to, over the past 40 years, both men and women bought books. I have seen women buy books on WW2 history, and men buy cook books. No, not barbeuqe, nor grilling.

Any publisher who thinks men don't read for real, should find work doing somethnig else.

cheerio6414 · 04-23-2010, 10:12 PM

I agree. There are books out there for men, but not as many that are made for women

GA Russell · 04-23-2010, 11:40 PM

A few years ago I read that men nowadays read very little fiction.

Considering the popularity of Tom Clancy and James Patterson, I find that a little hard to believe. But maybe the percentage of the male population that reads those authors is minuscule.

I for one have never challenged Steve Jobs' assertion that people don't read anymore. I think I know a lot of men whose reading is limited to work-related material - How to be a Better Executive, or Salesman, or what have you.

stargazertony · 04-24-2010, 08:06 AM

Please don't lump all of us men into the non-reader group. I've read for recreation all my life, (and think millions of other men do too) and usually have several non work related books going on at the same time. We are the smaller end of the market, however I think it's true that effective advertisement isn't directed to us. Most book marketing is geared to women. Even accessories are geared to women. Go to most e reader cover websites and try to find something for a man's tastes. It's usually buried somewhere.

Falbe Publishing · 04-24-2010, 08:39 AM

Maybe B&N and Amazon think that men are already adopting ebook readers and that women need to marketed to more? I don't know. I do believe however that women buy a lot of gifts for people, so marketing to them is always a good bang for buck. In general marketing data shows that women are the deciders in 70 percent of all purchases. Also I think women buy more books because they buy so many for other people.

Men definitely do read. My customers tend to be men somewhat more often than women.

poohbear_nc · 04-24-2010, 10:31 AM

Perhaps this is a result of the overwhelming ownership of game devices by boys & men as opposed to girls & women - games targeted towards female players lag greatly.
Publishers may regard men as already either tech-savvy or gadget-crazy and feel they don't have to make a special marketing effort for male buyers.
An old-fashioned outlook, but as we are seeing, publishers seem to be hopelessly out of date with their customer base.

Didn't the Sony reader commercial have Eli Manning and Justin Timberlake?

kindlekitten · 04-24-2010, 07:18 PM

I'm not sure how representative it is, but I don't think I've ever dated a non reading man, but have had on the other hand a fair amount of non reading female friends. they always claimed that between work and family they didn't have time... I know that certainly never stopped me, and more often than not kept me rational!

recluse · 04-25-2010, 12:08 AM

Speaking from personal experience, I've noticed that women are the primary target when it comes to book advertising. Walk through any B&N, almost all the special displays are female reader orientated.
I'm a big reader, male, and a horror fan, and I've seen that genre hijacked by Romantic Suspense, Supernatural Romance and whatever the Hell "Twilight" is.

Sparrow · 04-25-2010, 04:41 AM

Maybe they think women are more influenced by ad campaigns than men are.

GA Russell · 04-25-2010, 01:09 PM

I was thinking the same thing, Sparrow.

stargazertony · 04-26-2010, 07:28 AM

How would they know that women are more influenced by ad campaigns than men. They don't market to men at all to compare. Go into any Barnes & Noble or Borders and the first third of the store are tables and shelves of books geared to women. Then one has to search through the CD's, movies, children, young adult, coffee shop, publishers clearance, magazines mostly geared to women, puzzles, and accessories sections of the store to find the hidden place for books for men. Go the the place where they sell the Nook at Barnes & Noble and it looks like a boutique for women. /rant off. Sorry

Moejoe · 04-26-2010, 07:42 AM

I thought it was common knowledge that women dominate purchasing in all fictional genres barring Science-fiction/fantasy (which is still male dominated). Most advertising across the board targets women as they do more purchasing (on average) than men. It's no secret, it's been that way since the early days.

simplyparticular · 04-26-2010, 08:31 AM

I haven't read the article yet, but I ran a Waldenbooks for two years. We were told that men were more likely to go in knowing what they already wanted, and women were more likely to make an impulse purchase, so to focus faceouts, endcaps and displays on women-oriented titles.

And frankly, this seemed to be true based on my customer's actions. Men went straight to the book they wanted, no matter the section. The only time a man ever asked for help was to check if we had stock in the back, or if they were buying for a female or child.

ShortNCuddlyAm · 04-26-2010, 11:00 AM

Interesting article. I would go further and say that publishers are mostly only actively targetting a subsection of female readers, at least in store - posters on the underground seem to target both genders. Do they see most of their sales coming from women, and if so, is it a vicious circle - are the sales larger because they're the ones targetted?

I've never been aware of any real difference in the numbers of men and women either browsing in bookshops or reading(*) on the train

(* Fiction, not work materials)

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04-23-2010, 09:55 PM	#2
Joebill Fanatic Posts: 517 Karma: 459442 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Alpha Centauri's Library of Alexandria Device: Pandigital Novel	Interesting. Doesn't match my experience though. At all the book stores I have been to, over the past 40 years, both men and women bought books. I have seen women buy books on WW2 history, and men buy cook books. No, not barbeuqe, nor grilling. Any publisher who thinks men don't read for real, should find work doing somethnig else.

04-23-2010, 10:12 PM	#3
cheerio6414 Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 36 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kindle 2	I agree. There are books out there for men, but not as many that are made for women

04-23-2010, 11:40 PM	#4
GA Russell Stampeders are hot! Posts: 7,692 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	A few years ago I read that men nowadays read very little fiction. Considering the popularity of Tom Clancy and James Patterson, I find that a little hard to believe. But maybe the percentage of the male population that reads those authors is minuscule. I for one have never challenged Steve Jobs' assertion that people don't read anymore. I think I know a lot of men whose reading is limited to work-related material - How to be a Better Executive, or Salesman, or what have you.

04-24-2010, 08:06 AM	#5
stargazertony Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 906 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: SouthWest Pensylvania Device: Kindle 3, iPod Touch, Pre-electronic devices	Please don't lump all of us men into the non-reader group. I've read for recreation all my life, (and think millions of other men do too) and usually have several non work related books going on at the same time. We are the smaller end of the market, however I think it's true that effective advertisement isn't directed to us. Most book marketing is geared to women. Even accessories are geared to women. Go to most e reader cover websites and try to find something for a man's tastes. It's usually buried somewhere.

04-24-2010, 08:39 AM	#6
Falbe Publishing Gadget Slave Posts: 264 Karma: 600001 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Battle Creek, Michigan Device: Sony PRS505SC	Maybe B&N and Amazon think that men are already adopting ebook readers and that women need to marketed to more? I don't know. I do believe however that women buy a lot of gifts for people, so marketing to them is always a good bang for buck. In general marketing data shows that women are the deciders in 70 percent of all purchases. Also I think women buy more books because they buy so many for other people. Men definitely do read. My customers tend to be men somewhat more often than women.

04-24-2010, 10:31 AM	#7
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 63,381 Karma: 135239851 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	Perhaps this is a result of the overwhelming ownership of game devices by boys & men as opposed to girls & women - games targeted towards female players lag greatly. Publishers may regard men as already either tech-savvy or gadget-crazy and feel they don't have to make a special marketing effort for male buyers. An old-fashioned outlook, but as we are seeing, publishers seem to be hopelessly out of date with their customer base. Didn't the Sony reader commercial have Eli Manning and Justin Timberlake?

04-24-2010, 07:18 PM	#8
kindlekitten Professional Adventuress Posts: 13,368 Karma: 50260224 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: The Olympic Peninsula on the OTHER Washington! (the big green clean one on the west coast!) Device: Kindle, the original! Times Two! and gifting an International Kindle	I'm not sure how representative it is, but I don't think I've ever dated a non reading man, but have had on the other hand a fair amount of non reading female friends. they always claimed that between work and family they didn't have time... I know that certainly never stopped me, and more often than not kept me rational!

04-25-2010, 12:08 AM	#9
recluse Banned Posts: 3,724 Karma: 535488 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: the Mortuary Device: Kindle 2	Speaking from personal experience, I've noticed that women are the primary target when it comes to book advertising. Walk through any B&N, almost all the special displays are female reader orientated. I'm a big reader, male, and a horror fan, and I've seen that genre hijacked by Romantic Suspense, Supernatural Romance and whatever the Hell "Twilight" is.

04-25-2010, 04:41 AM	#10
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	Maybe they think women are more influenced by ad campaigns than men are.

04-25-2010, 01:09 PM	#11
GA Russell Stampeders are hot! Posts: 7,692 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	I was thinking the same thing, Sparrow.

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04-26-2010, 07:28 AM	#12
stargazertony Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 906 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: SouthWest Pensylvania Device: Kindle 3, iPod Touch, Pre-electronic devices	How would they know that women are more influenced by ad campaigns than men. They don't market to men at all to compare. Go into any Barnes & Noble or Borders and the first third of the store are tables and shelves of books geared to women. Then one has to search through the CD's, movies, children, young adult, coffee shop, publishers clearance, magazines mostly geared to women, puzzles, and accessories sections of the store to find the hidden place for books for men. Go the the place where they sell the Nook at Barnes & Noble and it looks like a boutique for women. /rant off. Sorry

04-26-2010, 07:42 AM	#13
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	I thought it was common knowledge that women dominate purchasing in all fictional genres barring Science-fiction/fantasy (which is still male dominated). Most advertising across the board targets women as they do more purchasing (on average) than men. It's no secret, it's been that way since the early days.

04-26-2010, 08:31 AM	#14
simplyparticular Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 1395952 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New York Device: Oasis 3 & GlowLight 4	I haven't read the article yet, but I ran a Waldenbooks for two years. We were told that men were more likely to go in knowing what they already wanted, and women were more likely to make an impulse purchase, so to focus faceouts, endcaps and displays on women-oriented titles. And frankly, this seemed to be true based on my customer's actions. Men went straight to the book they wanted, no matter the section. The only time a man ever asked for help was to check if we had stock in the back, or if they were buying for a female or child.

04-26-2010, 11:00 AM	#15
ShortNCuddlyAm WWHALD Posts: 7,879 Karma: 337114 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mitcham, Surrey, UK Device: iPad. Selling my silver 505 here	Interesting article. I would go further and say that publishers are mostly only actively targetting a subsection of female readers, at least in store - posters on the underground seem to target both genders. Do they see most of their sales coming from women, and if so, is it a vicious circle - are the sales larger because they're the ones targetted? I've never been aware of any real difference in the numbers of men and women either browsing in bookshops or reading() on the train ( Fiction, not work materials)