How to Use Writing to Find Your Dream Audience.
If you want to build an audience, start doing this.
Introduction.
Around a year ago, I started writing online.
I’d be lying if I said it’s been easy. But the benefits have been life-changing.
I’ve met some inspiring people, learnt more about the world of creating, and, importantly, I’ve found my voice and target audience.
By writing to myself and sharing whatever ideas came to mind, I narrowed down what I wanted to write about and found my voice amongst the noise.
It didn’t happen overnight, believe me. It took time, mistakes, and a number of sloppy articles before I started to get any grasp on it. And I'm under no illusion there's still a long way to go.
The difference is now, I read my articles and actually take something away.
I’m no longer writing to sound smart; I’m writing to be useful. This mental shift changed everything.
See, people don’t read articles to commend the author on how clever they sound.
People read because they want to be inspired, they want to hear an interesting story, and they want answers.
Write to one person within a topic.
Write to be useful, not to sound smart.
Offer practical solutions.
Whether we like it or not, writing isn’t going anywhere.
Yes, chat GPT is changing the landscape for writers, but that doesn’t mean that it’s over.
It simply means we need to adapt and overcome.
More than ever, we need personality, and we need stories. Believe me; it took me a while to figure this out.
The start of anything is the hardest, especially writing. Not because we don’t know what to write about, we usually have lots of ideas bouncing around all day. The problem is, we don’t know who we are writing to.
Around the one-year mark, I had a realisation:
You need to reverse-engineer the writing process.
Instead of writing on a topic, you need to write for one person.
See, the reason you struggle at the start is that you don’t know who you’re writing to. Topics and ideas aren’t the issues; the issue is you can’t find your pitch or angle.
Imagine going into an investor’s pitch with your best idea and framework, but you don’t know who you’re pitching to.
That’s like writing online about an idea without a reader in mind. And that’s the difference. Articles, tweets, and stories are all about the reader, not just the topic or idea.
No wonder the start is so hard. You’re writing into the void and hoping someone picks up your message. Instead, you need to choose the person you’re writing to and reverse-engineer their problems.
Your job as a writer is to find the intersection between what people want and what you know.
There is a sweet spot, and you can write for just about anything if you find that spot.
Create content with practical solutions and write to a person within a topic. Over time you find your dream audience.
Where to Start.
I’m going to break down the most important piece of advice for writing online:
You have to write your content for someone.
Not everyone and not anyone, but specifically for someone.
You often hear that you need topical authority, and whilst that’s true, topics are pretty broad, and they aren’t direct.
What you need is someone within that topic.
If you have an idea of what topic you would like to write about, then think about what your target reader looks like on that topic.
Mind map their journey, what kind of problems they face, and what kind of questions they are asking. Build your writing around that person.
You’ve probably heard it echoed on every platform, and for good reason. Without an idea of the person you’re writing to, your content will get lost in the ether.
Believe me; I repurposed my first year’s content when I realised this. There were only 30 articles!
You start with the person you want to write to, and then you build outwards. It’s only by making writing direct that you can use feedback to iterate your ideas and find your audience.
Then not long after, something interesting starts to happen.
You develop a writing style. Your message becomes more refined, and you build readers who resonate with your message.
It’s then your job to network.
Connect with your readers, engage with posts and comments, ask questions, and share ideas.
If you’re writing for someone, then you’re writing needs to be tailored for that person. You can only do this by identifying what people like and where you need to go deeper.
Don’t write to please everyone; write to connect with someone.
Final Thoughts.
Starting out online is hard. One of the main things people struggle with is finding their audience.
The thing is, your audience finds you, but only after you help them.
Don’t just choose a topic. Choose a person within a topic. The more you can narrow your writing down, the more people will appreciate your message.
You’re writing needs to speak to someone at a specific point along their journey. Then your job is to brainstorm outward.
Map out their problems and break down their journey, structure your content around that, and you will find your audience.
I’m going to let you in on a secret.
When I started writing online, I was secretly trying to please everyone. I feared what people might think of my writing and wanted to avoid criticism.
My articles were structured around what I thought people wanted to hear and what, in reality, sounded very fluffy on the surface.
This approach is, at best unrealistic and, at worst impractical.
People don’t want pleasing; they want useful information and ideas that they can use.
Don’t be like early me; write to connect, not to people-please.
Thanks for reading.
