Hey, you! Yes, you. How’s it going? I’m excited you’re visiting the Post Launch blog today. Hopefully, we can teach you something cool, and you know, not waste your time. Today, we’re discussing the rewarding concept of writing for an audience of one.
Our buddy, John Steinbeck, (author of Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men if you weren’t an English major) let us all in on a great secret to motivate your writing, no matter what or why you’re writing:
“Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person—a real person you know, or an imagined real person and write to that one.”
With our content marketing, we like to take an audience-centric approach, by considering our reader before we come up with content topics week after week. Find out why it’s beneficial to focus on one reader, as opposed to a crowd of people.
Why It’s Beneficial to Write for an Audience of One
When you think of your “ideal customer,” what does he or she look like? What does he or she do for a living? For fun? What are his or her struggles? Considering your target audience and creating buyer personas is the first step to building a strong marketing strategy. Then, once you focus your efforts on your target audience, your results will be more successful.
But let’s take that one step further. Instead of concentrating on a group target audience, why not just focus on the individual?
We love people here at Post Launch. And we especially love the one person in our audience who is always the first to check out the newest blog post, who stands for us through and through. And that’s you.
Even if you do have a massive audience consuming your content, you still have to recognize that your audience is made of individual people. Each of them is different from the another and needs different things from you. Instead of exhausting yourself trying to please each person in your readership (which is damn near impossible), think of one person specifically who will benefit from your content.
TL;DR Contrary to popular belief, your content is not for everyone—it’s for that one person who will actually buy your product or service.
While you’re trying to impress and appeal to everyone, you may lose focus on the topic at hand. When you create content for your one ideal customer, however, you can stay zeroed-in on one specific point or piece of information to relay. Your message will be simpler, clearer, and more concise.
Also, when you’re speaking to one person (kinda like I’m writing for you), you can use a more familiar and conversational tone. Talking to your best customer buddy will help you decide where to start and what information they need the most. You’ll have a lot more freedom because you know that person, what they’re looking for, and what you can provide for them.
Engage your reader with these tips
Content marketing and audience go hand in hand. Once you learn who your reader is, you can create a better strategy to engage that one person.
First, think like your customer to understand their struggles. Using “I” statements can help you create an idea of their thought process and search intent. For example, a mother might say, “I have three children of different ages, and I always feel frustrated having to go to multiple dentist offices.”
Your dental practice would then come in, providing content for her, describing the benefits of visiting a family dentist’s office. Writing for this mother of three (instead of a large group of adults who may or may not have kids) will point an ideal client to your business and encourage her to convert.
Avoid “writing to impress.” When you use big words and phrases full of jargon, you’ll lose some people in your audience. No one really cares about your SAT word expertise, sorry. They just want the information as quickly and easily as possible. Create content as if you’re writing to a friend. This conversational tone will make your marketing copy more personalized and friendly.
(Disclaimer: If you run a medical office whose values are your expertise and knowledge in the field, you may actually want to include those big words that I can’t pronounce. You know why? ‘Cause I’m not in your target audience, but another medical professional who understands your jargon probably is.)
Create a conversation with your content. Use self-describing pronouns like “we” and “I” when writing for your business. But also use “you” to address the reader. Bring their attention to a subject, and ask questions to encourage engagement.
Add a bit of yourself or your brand story into your content marketing efforts. Tell a cute anecdote or silly dad joke. Personal touches like this can remind your reader that you’re not a computer shooting out marketing copy. No, you’re an actual person typing characters on a keyboard to create a message that reaches at least that one person you had in mind.
Consult the Content Marketing Experts
At Post Launch, we write content for every “you.” Each of our clients has a different target audience, and our content marketing experts are experienced in creating the best voice for audiences of one. Contact us to learn more about Las Vegas SEO and reaching your ideal customer.
