Find Your Reader
A Quick Exercise to Help You Identify Your ‘Ideal Reader’
The one question to ask yourself every time you write
“Who is this for?”
This is a question you should ask yourself with every piece you write — on Medium or elsewhere. By defining your audience and your ideal reader, you’ll be able to sharpen the focus of your writing and your publication, and you’ll have a clear sell to new readers on why they should follow your work.
Developing an audience from scratch is hard work, and there is a lot involved. The first thing to do, though, is build the persona of the “ideal reader.” This reader is informed by everything from the voice and style of writing they might like, to whether or not they’d be interested in your particular expertise, to typical demographic information like age or location. This is the first step in building a loyal, engaged audience — because if you don’t know who you’re writing for, how can you find them?
Who is doing this well?
Below, a few examples from publications across the web who have a clearly defined audience persona, and cater to that persona with nearly every piece they write.
The Cut
The Cut defines itself as “the premier destination for women with stylish minds… we address our readers’ lives head on, with generous wit, honesty, and power.” That voice is apparent throughout the site, and The Cut uses that lens to discuss any topic, including politics, work, relationships, and fashion.
Look at “How Law Roach Brought Malcolm & Marie to Life”: Instead of a movie review or other basic coverage, The Cut chose to examine the Netflix movie through the lens of fashion, interviewing the designer and “image architect” behind the film to offer their fashion-minded audience a “behind-the-scenes” look that was specific to their audience.
Axios
Axios promises to help its reader get “smarter, faster” with every read. They have underscored the value of a reader’s time, and assume their reader is politically-savvy, invested in the news, and yet, busy enough to need that news delivered in a fast, reliable format.
So while Axios may cover the same stories that other political outlets take on, they do so in a specific style that caters to their time-strapped reader. Stories are written in defined sections, allowing a reader to skim through “Why it matters,” “the biggest takeaway,” and the trends Axios is keeping an eye on. Here’s an example of that style in action.
Apartment Therapy
Apartment Therapy is a home and decor site, “designed to inspire anyone to live a more beautiful and happy life at home.” All celebrity, lifestyle, and news coverage is done through the lens of a young homeowner (or apartment-dweller), and they are thoughtful about thinking through all the ways that a person’s life is impacted by the space they live in.
Their Valentine’s Day coverage takes into consideration their reader and the moment: We’re all stuck at home. So AT offers advice on “How Couples Who Share Small Spaces With Other People Make Time for Intimacy.”
The 19th*
The 19th* is a newsroom reporting “at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy.” Its name is a nod to the 19th Amendment, which gave many women the right to vote — the asterisk signifies the women of color excluded from this moment. Its reporting is centered around empowering and representing the voices of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Almost every headline on its site includes an explicit signal to the audience it serves. Its focus also helps The 19th* to differentiate itself from other news sites, by giving its editors a narrower lens and audience to serve and inform with its journalism. Here are a few examples:
- “HUD bars anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in housing, rentals”
- “As tribal nations in Montana are threatened by COVID, women health leaders have stepped up”
- “Republican state lawmakers want to punish schools that teach the 1619 Project”
The Mobilist
The Mobilist is a blog on batteries, electric cars, and driverless vehicles, run by journalist Steve Levine on Medium. Levine is an expert in his field (he wrote a book on it!) and his blog reflects his passion and knowledge — and expects the reader to share one, or both!
Because he defines his reader as someone who is also interested and invested in the latest developments surrounding batteries or EVs, he doesn’t have to spend time defining terms or providing extra context — he can treat the reader like an insider, and a peer, which makes the reader feel respected by each story.
- “If True, QuantumScape Has Made the Biggest Leap in Batteries Since the Debut of Lithium-Ion” (“If true” assumes the reader has been following the news around QuantumScape, which Levine can do with the audience he has defined.)
- “An $80,000 Per Year Job of the Future: EV Charging Station Technician” (Not every site can use “EV” in the headline, but Levine can!)
Okay, but how do *I* do it?
Building a persona seems intimidating, but is fun and creative work! I recommend going through a simple audience building exercise. Think of it like an opportunity to create your story’s absolutely perfect reader — the person who will become obsessed with your writing and point of view.
It’s important to remember that this person isn’t being created completely out of thin air — this should be a reader that you feel is currently being ignored or overlooked, and that you feel you have the expertise, passion, and voice that would engage them better than anyone else.
Sound fun? Here are a few questions to get you started.
Questions to answer:
- How old is my reader? How does this age inform the references they might make, or the world they grew up in?
- Are they experts in their field, like me, or are they newer to the field and need more explaining?
- What voice do they respond to? Does the reader see me as a teacher, a peer, or a friend?
- What does my reader do during the day? Are they employed full-time? Doing what? And do they have a lot of time for reading online?
- What does my reader enjoy doing in their free time? What are a few books they might have on their bookshelf? Who are their favorite writers (other than me)?
These questions are just the tip of the iceberg. Once you get the ball rolling, you’ll find that you probably know more about who you’re writing for than you realized.
