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Whatever you write, whether it be emails to clients, copy for your website or a speech in front of your peers, one of the things you should get set in your mind is who you are addressing.
You need to check that what you write makes sense, is spelled correctly and is grammatical, but don’t forget to always think about the person reading/listening to what you’ve written. They’re not you, they don’t necessarily share your beliefs and won’t always easily follow your train of thought.
What’s the point of writing? To be read. Content that is irrelevant equals content that no one will read. So don’t waste your pearls of wisdom by misjudging your audience.
Get a picture of the reader in your head and write as if it were private correspondence between you and them. Once you start to think about who you’re writing for, you’ll actually find the process of writing itself gets easier and your focus will be better. I always try to decide the following before putting fingers to keyboard:
1. Age.
2. Gender (irrelevant? Maybe, maybe not).
3. Happy with themselves? Confident? Will they like you if you write well, or will they feel defensive and think you’re a bit pleased with yourself? In which case, you’ll need to adjust your writing style.
4. Job title and level of influence. A decision-maker? An influencer?
5. What they need from you. Information? A solution to their problems?
6. Frame of mind. Harassed? In a hurry? At home doing some weekend web-surfing?
7. Level of knowledge. Do they need everything spelled out, or can you assume some background knowledge?
You’re very welcome to reprint any of the Good Business articles on your website and/or newsletters free of charge, provided:
Daniel O'Connor is a website copywriter, advertising copywriter and marketing copywriter using the name Daniboy. He can be contacted in the UK on +44-1892-518269 or at mail@daniboy.com. Visit http://www.daniboy.com for further details of his services, including bespoke article writing, and more free reprint articles.
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© Daniboy 2008 Marketing Copywriter
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