Over the next three blogs, we’ll be looking at three great questions to ask about your audience. They’re questions that can help you work out what you want to say. After that, the rest is easy.

Let’s get started with the first (and most obvious) question:

‘Who are your audience?’

When you meet someone in person, the way you speak will depend on who they are and what kind of relationship you have with them.

For example, you might talk in quite a formal way in a meeting with a solicitor, but it would be weird to talk like that with your brother or sister.

It’s the same with writing. Identifying your audience (the people you’re writing for) is a really important step. The better you understand them, the more effective your writing will be.

To get to know your audience, spend some time thinking about

• who exactly you’re writing for

Your audience might be a very specific group of people.

If you’re a school receptionist writing a termly newsletter, your audience is parents of children who attend that school.

With this audience in mind, you will probably want to write in a polite and friendly tone. You know that parents are usually busy so it will be best to keep the newsletter short and sweet.

Your audience might be a much broader group.

If you’re a pilates instructor and you’re writing an advert about a new Wednesday morning beginners’ class, your audience is anyone who’s free at that time in the local area. They’re likely to be new to pilates and might be looking for a way to do more exercise.

For this audience, you want to be enthusiastic and encouraging in the way you write. You want your readers to know they’re welcome to come along, whatever their previous experience.

• what their wants and needs are

If you can provide your audience with what they might want or need, make that really clear.

School parents need to know about school events, like non-uniform days. There’s a lot to remember as a parent, so they’ll want a school newsletter that makes key dates easy to read.

The key dates for your diary this term are Thursday 17^th June (sports day) and Tuesday 2^nd July (parents’ evening).

Potential pilates class members might want to get fit and meet new people, so an advert that mentions this is going to get them interested straight away.

• their relationship with you

Even if you don’t know your audience in person, they may already have assumptions or opinions about the company you work for or the kind of people you represent.

For example, some people might be a bit intimidated by the idea of doing pilates and assume that you’ll be just like their scary sports teacher from school. By writing in a friendly, approachable tone of voice, you can show them there’s nothing to worry about.

This gentle class for complete beginners will take you through the basics of pilates step by step. It’s a fun, relaxed environment and you don’t need any previous experience.

 

So, how well do you know your audience? A bit of empathy and imagination is all it takes to tailor your writing to your readers and get your message across effectively.

Next time we’ll be looking at another important question to help you write well for your audience.