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How To Know Your Readers Better

By on December 30, 2021

Know your readers better and you'll be able to write a book they'll want to read. But how do you get to know this audience? Where do you start? Read on to find out!

Every writer knows that the better you understand your audience, the easier it will be to connect with them. So how can you work towards understanding your audience better? Here are some helpful tips:

Get to know your readers - our top tips!

Do lots of research before you start

Research is key to discovering who your target demographic is, and the more study you do, the more precise an idea you will have. There are lots of tools you can use to conduct audience research such as American FactFinder, which uses census information to aid your research, unveiling important details on specific demographics.

Remember not to assume you know your target audience before you start researching; you may find that what you thought was the ideal demographic for your piece is actually quite different, so keep an open mind.

Look to your competitors

Your competition is there for a reason, and instead of letting them get in your way, use them to your advantage. Look at the kinds of content they are putting out and whose interest they are trying to capture. Observe the frequency, the tone of voice, and the feedback they are getting and use all of this to inform you own piece.

Create a target customer persona

Customer personas can be very helpful as they will give you focus and clarity when it comes to writing your piece. If you can conceptualize your target reader in this way, you’ll find it much easier to speak to them directly and will have a higher chance of writing something that interests them and resonates with them too.

Ask your current customers

Your loyal and even not so loyal customers are also a great source of information, so use them. Send out surveys or questionnaires, set up market research panels, or just ask them in person. If you can understand what they like and dislike about your service, products, and brand, you can share your future communications to appeal to them better.

Use social listening

Social listening is another powerful tool at our disposal, which can greatly assist content creation. Find out what customers are saying about you and your competitors. Find out what matters to them and what kinds of questions they are asking. Use this to write pieces that will answer those questions, reassure their doubts, and speak to them directly about things they hold dear.

By following the above, you can get to know your audience better and therefore create content that is far more likely to resonate with them and inspire them to act. So the next time you are writing a piece of content to be that a landing page, blog post, social media post or anything else, use the above to help you understand who you are writing for, and see what a difference it makes.

So now you know your reader, why not learn more about what readers want?

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bethany cadman
Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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