Jade Bradley | March 5, 2021When writing for marketing, you know why you’re writing: to advertise the benefit of your brand, product, or service. But do you know who you’re writing for? Before you can create an effective message, you need to be able to properly determine who your message is for and why.
Writing with a specific audience in mind will not only give you some direction as the writer, but it will give your reader the feeling that you’re speaking directly to them. You understand what they need and are therefore the best person/ business to fulfill those specific needs. This creates a connection between you and your reader and is the best way to keep them engaged and for the message you’re delivering to really resonate with them.
So where to start?
The most straightforward factors you can begin with are determining simple things like their age, gender, and where they live. These are the basic demographics of your audience. While these are a start, to really know your audience you’ll need to look a little more in-depth into who they are. Ask yourself questions such as “what are they interested in”, “what is important to them in their day to day lives?”, and “what frustrations do they have and how are you going to ease them?”.
More often than not, when looking for a product or service there is some sort of problem that customers are looking at you to solve, so determining what that issue is and how you are the solution is a key part of writing for marketing.
Another great way to get to know your audience is directly from them! Read their reviews, ask for their feedback, etc. If you know exactly what your current customers are looking for when they come to you, you’ll have a great idea of the kind of person you should be targeting with your messages.
Speak their language
Now, you may know who you are speaking to, but determining how to speak to them is equally as important. Once you have established your audience you can ask yourself questions like “What kind of language will appeal to them”?
For instance, if you’re selling a beauty magazine and your target audience is young women between the ages of 15 to 25 interested in style advice, you probably don’t want to be using long, complex sentences with unnecessarily convoluted language in your ads. You would be much more successful in drawing their attention with ads written in everyday colloquial language. The kind of language they would use to describe whatever product or service it is that you’re offering.
Knowing your audience will also help you create content that is relevant to your reader. If you know that your target audience are people ages 55 and up, you probably shouldn’t be filling your writing with current pop culture and TikTok references. People are 100% more likely to engage with content that is relevant to them, their interests, and the things that are important in their day to day lives.
By knowing your audience your writing will not only be stronger and more effective, but you will create content that is engaging and will ultimately turn your readers into customers.
