Select Articles for Targeting Special Interests of the People
1 Like archers who take careful aim with their arrows, many congregation publishers and pioneers are enjoying excellent success using selected articles from The Watchtower and Awake! to appeal to the specific interests of the people in their territory. They determine who most likely would want to read certain articles from the magazines. How do they do this?
2 First they read each issue from cover to cover. Then they ask themselves, What type of person would each article appeal to? Effort is then made to visit individuals who would likely be interested in reading that article. When anticipating that a particular issue should receive wide acceptance in their territory, they order an extra supply.
3 Our Magazines Are Well Respected: One of our subscribers who works for Nigeria’s most widely read international magazine said about Awake!: “Congratulations on the world’s best general interest magazine.” An avid reader of our magazines observed: “What wonderful gems of priceless wisdom! There is hardly a subject that interests me that I do not find discussed somewhere in the pages of one of these [journals].”
4 The magazines cover a wide range of subjects, including the Bible, world events, family concerns, social problems, history, science, animal and plant life, to list just a few. Certainly a person is more inclined to read something when it relates to his needs, circumstances, or profession. Since we speak to many individuals, each with their own particular preferences and problems, selecting articles specifically to appeal to the people we meet is very effective.
5 Notice what happened when two Witnesses offered the September 8, 1996, issue of Awake! to a newspaper columnist. He wrote: “Before I got a chance to say that I was not interested, one of them added: ‘There is an article on American Indians. We know that you have been writing a lot about the subject.’” He took the magazine and, during breakfast, read the material about Indians, later admitting that “it was excellent” and “honest to the core.”
6 What Interests People in Your Territory? What have you seen in the magazines in recent months that may appeal to storekeepers and professional people in your territory or to your neighbors, workmates, and classmates? What would be of particular interest to attorneys, educators, family and school counselors, youth advisers, social services providers, and health practitioners? Keeping the people you preach to in mind as you analyze each issue will give you excellent ways to spread the word of truth.
7 When you find a person who shows a special interest in a certain Watchtower or Awake! article and who accepts the magazine, you might say: “When there is an article in a future issue that I feel would also be of interest to you, I will be happy to bring you a copy.” You may be able to add the person to your magazine route, calling back every so often with the latest magazines. That is similar to what has been done in obtaining an open invitation to make return visits on individuals who may be especially interested in certain articles that appear in our magazines.
8 Have a Spiritual Objective: A few years ago, a career-oriented man obtained an Awake! magazine on a subject that interested him. However, this religious man also read the accompanying issue of The Watchtower, which contained an article that prompted him to scrutinize his lifelong belief in the Trinity. Six months later he was baptized! Hence, do not hesitate to engage the readers of our magazines in Scriptural discussions. You could introduce the brochure What Does God Require of Us? and offer to take just a few minutes to discuss one lesson each time you return with a new set of magazines.
9 Give careful thought to who among your return visits and business contacts would most likely appreciate having the current issues of The Watchtower and Awake! Then make an earnest effort to reach them. Contact as many as you can with these valuable journals. And never forget that as you strive to help more people read our magazines, you are ‘sending out your bread upon the surface of the waters.’ In time, you may have success in finding future fellow disciples.—Eccl. 11:1, 6.