Writing to Reach You
How to ensure your copy finds its target
Thanks to the Medium Staff for their advice on how to make the most of your hard work as a Medium author.
I wrote my first Story yesterday, so I am very much the newcomer to Medium. I spent about three hours working on it and tried to make an effort with the formatting as well as creating an original image for it. And I figured out how to create a Collection today, so I hope I’m getting there.
Crème Caramelville
The staff writer notes that Herman Melville was unrecognised in his own lifetime and offers advice on how to make sure we don’t suffer the same fate. But I’m not sure how I feel about the Moby Dick comparison.
I read Moby Dick at university and enjoyed it, but when it came to discussing it in my tutor group, it was clear that others didn’t feel the same. I think I would be happier if people read what I’ve written because it’s interesting, not simply because they’ve been told it is good for them.
While Melville’s novel did eventually find an audience, a Medium story or blog post that doesn’t hit its target more or less immediately probably never will. There’s just too much noise out there — too many voices for a single one to be heard for more than a moment before being lost in the clamour.
The Top 25 Most-Clicked Blog Post Titles Ever
See that? That’s what’s has become known as “click bait” and apologies if I led you on for a moment, but when you get hooked by click bait, it’s almost always very disappointing.
Oh, and while I’m fessing up, I must admit, in case you were wondering, that “Crème Caramelville” doesn’t really mean anything. I just thought it sounded quite good and I was a bit pressed for time.
A snappy title is obviously key to raising your voice above the rest and the best titles communicate with the audience directly. But of course you have to follow it up with something relevant or readers will be sorely disappointed.
A good trick for thinking of good titles is to browse through the subject lines in your email inbox or the headlines on Medium, or a website like digg.com and see which ones jump off the screen at you. Those are the messages that make a connection. Why? Because you find them interesting, familiar, intriguing or funny, or because they suggest an opportunity you are keen to seize.
“Would I click on this headline if I saw it?”
One title doesn’t fit all, so you need to have a good idea of who your target audience is. Think about their geographic and demographic make-up and try to put yourself in their place. In many cases, you’ll be writing for people just like you, so it’s as simple as asking yourself: “Would I click on this headline if I saw it?”
If you’re a twenty-something hipster from Shoreditch writing copy aimed at elderly female wrestling fans, then it might be a challenge, but it can be done. Get out there and speak to a typical customer and find out what they think. There’s no substitute for going direct to the audience and asking them to talk about their interests and the results are always useful because everyone loves talking about the thing they’re passionate about, even those who are far too shy or reserved to talk about themselves.
And if you can’t speak to them in person, seek them out on the web. People from your audience will be airing their views on the internet somewhere. Go get ‘em.
