The Stormy Seas Audience Plan

Calm seas make it easy to forget how much skill it takes to steer a ship. You have time to test new sails, take scenic routes, and work on long-term improvements.

But when the weather turns, the captain’s job changes. Every decision has higher stakes. The crew must work in sync. Priorities shift from exploration to survival — and the same is true for audience development right now.

This isn’t about panic. It’s about knowing how to navigate when conditions aren’t on your side. The strategies that work in calm seas won’t get you safely through a storm — and for many media operators, the skies are already darkening.

Editor’s Note
This post is not a silver bullet. I know many smart, capable audience professionals who are being impacted by decisions far beyond their control. Roles are being eliminated not necessarily because of performance, but because of shifting priorities, restructures, or misaligned expectations.

The goal of this post isn’t to oversimplify or offer false guarantees. It’s to share a practical framework for those still in the fight—to help you reframe your work, articulate your value, and push for clarity in a moment of confusion.

Every company is different. Every org chart has its own politics. But if this helps an audience lead reset their position and protect their role, it’s worth sharing.

The Audience Reset Is Real

A year ago, media operators were debating whether they needed a Chief Audience Officer.

Now they’re questioning core audience job responsibilities entirely.

It’s not just a budget reset. It’s an identity crisis.

Executives are scrutinizing every function. Growth is flattening. First-party data isn’t delivering fast enough. And somewhere along the way, audience development lost its seat at the strategy table (if it was ever truly there in the first place).

In theory, audience is the asset. In practice, audience roles are being cut, consolidated, or deprioritized across the industry.

The signs are everywhere:

• Audience leads being replaced with junior CRM or lifecycle marketers
• Merged audience+marketing orgs with no clear swim lanes
• Leadership teams unable to explain what audience development actually does
• Budgets shifting to demand gen or paid media because it’s easier to attribute

The job hasn't disappeared. But the definition of the job is collapsing under outdated expectations.

If you're an audience leader right now, this isn’t a time to drift with the tide.

It's time to reset how you navigate.

Calm Seas vs. Stormy Seas: What’s Changed

In calm seas, audience development was about:

• Growing the list
• Getting more emails delivered
• Hitting engagement benchmarks
• Supporting editorial or marketing goals

There was room to experiment. Time to build infrastructure. Cover to chase longer-term outcomes.

In stormy seas?

You need to prove that audience work:

• Drives monetization
• Reduces waste
• Accelerates conversion
• Protects the brand’s future value

And you need to prove it fast.

This doesn’t mean abandoning the mission. It means communicating your value in terms the business understands right now.

Step 1: Redraw the Map — and Take Ownership

Too many audience teams have been reduced to execution arms:

"Can you build this segment?"
"Can you resend the email?"
"Can you launch a new newsletter?"

You can’t earn a strategic seat if you’re treated like a support desk.

Stormy seas move: Redraw your charter. Show what you own and what you drive.

Here’s a simple model you can adopt:

The 3 Audience Motions:

• Grow — Identify and capture the right users (qualified, consented, reachable)
• Activate — Increase engagement and surface high-intent signals
• Convert — Turn audience action into revenue or strategic outcomes

Every project, request, or initiative should fall into one of these three categories. If it doesn’t, ask why you’re doing it at all.

Step 2: Make Revenue Tie-Backs Non-Negotiable

Calm seas audience work could hide in aggregate metrics: “List grew by 12%” or “Open rates are up.”

That doesn’t cut it anymore.

Stormy seas move: Make revenue attribution part of the roadmap — even if it's directional at first.

Some examples:

• % of qualified leads that came through known audience channels
• Audience segments that convert at 2x the baseline in campaigns
• Higher LTV or lower churn for activated subscribers
• Sponsor campaigns powered by first-party segments that outperform site-wide traffic

If you're not showing how audience drives dollars, you’re leaving the door open to be cut.

Step 3: Productize the Signal

You already have the data:

• Clicks
• Replies
• Downloads
• Time-on-site
• Form fills
• Unsub reasons
• Poll answers

But most teams don’t do anything with it.

Stormy seas move: Turn behavior into signal. Turn signal into segments. Turn segments into product.

Examples:

• Create monetizable (is that a word?) segments based on topic engagement and sponsor needs
• Build "next action" journeys tied to content depth or recency
• Develop internal dashboards to surface high-value audience activity across teams

This is not just about email. It’s about making your audience actionable.

Step 4: Build a Real Roadmap — and Defend It

A lot of audience teams are stuck in request mode. You get pulled into every campaign, launch, or fire drill. And the real strategic work? It never gets done.

Stormy seas move: Build and defend your roadmap.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with:

You can still say yes to help when needed. But now you have a plan that justifies your existence.

Step 5: Control the Narrative

This might be the most important one.

Audience development is often misunderstood because we let others define the work for us. We assume people "get it." They don’t.

Stormy seas move: Get loud and stay visible.

• Send a monthly internal update with KPIs and wins
• Present at GTM or exec meetings — not just data, but stories
• Align your success metrics to other teams’ outcomes
• Make your work impossible to ignore

If you're not telling your own story, someone else is. And they probably think you're just “the email person.”

Step 6: Rethink Team Structure and Skill Sets

The old-school “audience coordinator” role isn’t cutting it anymore.

You need operators who can:

• Work cross-functionally
• Analyze signal and turn it into strategy
• Build infrastructure that scales
• Speak both editorial and commercial fluently

Stormy seas move: Rescope your team for this moment.

You may not get headcount. But you can cross-train, upskill, and prioritize ruthlessly.

Who owns re-engagement? Journey design? Segment prioritization? If the answer is “no one,” start there.

This Isn’t a Crisis. It’s a Crossroads.

The job hasn’t disappeared. It’s evolved.

Yes, audience development is under pressure. But so is every part of the business. And the truth is, we’re better positioned than most to fix the gaps:

We sit between product, sales, editorial, and marketing. We hold the keys to first-party data. We know what the audience actually wants.

But only if we step up and lead.

This is the moment to stop waiting for permission and start setting the terms.

TL;DR — The Stormy Seas Audience Plan

• Redraw your charter (Grow → Activate → Convert)
• Tie audience segments to revenue and outcomes
• Productize the data you already have
• Build a roadmap — and defend it
• Own your internal narrative
• Structure your team for strategic execution

You weren’t hired to send email campaigns. You were hired to make the audience a competitive advantage.

Let’s operate like it.