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Writing for Readers — What’s My Promise as the Writer?

June 23, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

Readers One and Many

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Most people think of writing as an individual activity. Many folks say, I write only for me! That could be so, but even then what a writer writes comes from experience, observation, and interaction with other people or of the writer as a person. Writing is intimately individual but also dynamically social. Even when people don’t read what I write, they have inspired it in some way or another.

Writing for an audience can seem overwhelming. It’s easy to get caught in a loop — thinking of each person who might drop by as someone you specifically have to write to. I find what works best for me is to define the group and to define my promise to them as a writer.

Defining My Promise to My Audience

I’ve been writing for a public audience for almost three decades and I’ve found there are some mistakes that almost everyone makes, and some techniques that can keep a writer on track and engaging for at least 80% of your readers. Let’s say this little chart is a spectrum of beginners to experts on any topic. It tells where I look to find my readership. I go for the 80% in the middle and leave off the 20% that makes up the two ends.

80-20 spectrum

That spectrum might make you think I’m going for a “sitcom post,” but far from it. The quality of a post depends on how I define my promise and what I assume about that 80% of my readers. Here are the definitions and assumptions I write with.

    My readers and I are equally smart.
    I have a different role in our relationship.
    My readers are bloggers, business folks, college students, municipal workers. realtors, educators, and others.
    My readers have plenty of their own work to do.
    My role is not to change how they work, but to offer ideas and ways to make their lives easier.
    I can do that because I have more time than they do — If they did what I do they couldn’t do what they do.
    That is our tacit agreement.
    If I quit fullfilling my promise, they’ll quit coming around and find someone else who will keep the promise that I broke.

It seems to me that there’s nothing sitcom about that approach, except perhaps the wish to reach as many folks as I can. I made the promise in hopes that folks make use of what I have to offer. Naturally I also hope that they will understand that I also offer services to help them improve their branding, their businesses, and their blogging presence. Either way, the promise is a pinkie swear — without strings. It has to be or it wouldn’t be authentic, and authentic is key to any promise.

How do you approach writing for a large audience? Do you know what sorts of people read your blog?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want an hour of Liz’s personal consulting time? See the About ME “Liz” Strauss page.

Related articles
Writing for a Diverse Readership
Blog Hooks that Bring Readers Back
What Is Content that Keeps Readers?

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Filed Under: Customer Think, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Personal Branding, Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: bc, blog-promotion, brand-You-and-Me, Customer Think, customer-relationships, Liz-consulting, personal-branding

Comments

  1. Tammy Lenski says

    June 23, 2006 at 11:52 AM

    Liz, this is a terrific article and I know I’m going to direct a number of my colleagues to it. Like you, I write with a specifically defined group in mind and keep in touch with a core sub-group (my informal R&D team) to find out how well I’m doing in meeting their interests. And, more and more of my blog’s visitors are writing me with additional topics they’d like to see me cover…what a bonus that is!

    Reply
  2. ME Strauss says

    June 23, 2006 at 11:55 AM

    Hi Tammy,
    What Synchronicity! You were on my list to write to this morning. No kidding. I wanted to touch base with you. Yea! I’m so glad to hear from you.

    Thanks for your comment. Your words keep me going!.

    Reply
  3. Ming says

    November 13, 2007 at 1:10 AM

    i know a guy who’s gifted, at writing for an audience.

    he speaks that way too.

    he speaks like he’s on stage, and everyone’s watching. everyone’s reading.

    I would share his blog with you… but it doesn’t exist anymore.

    I wonder if our writing will be any different, if we held that picture of someone on stage, as we wrote…

    Reply
  4. ME Strauss says

    November 13, 2007 at 4:36 AM

    Hi Ming,
    I don’t think of myself on stage. I call my readers an audience in the way a writer does. In fact, I do what I can do come down off the podium and speak to readers from the floor upon which they sit or stand.

    In my mind the difference is one of delivery, the person offering information from the stage perhaps sees him- or herself as a topic expert. I see myself as one who might have more information. 🙂

    Reply

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