Why You Put Your Who Before Why

(Originally published on Wordrobe Media.)

Don't get me wrong, I love the "start with Why" concept as much as anyone. The first time I saw the Simon Sinek TED Talk, it blew my mind.

But when you're creating content, your Why is less important than your Who. Marketers have known this for years, but for the rest of us mere mortals, this concept is often overlooked.

(BTW, while this pertains a little more to nonfiction, it’s still applicable to fiction, too. So stay tuned if you’re a fiction writer…)

Who is your Why for?

So for the Why cultists out there, let’s clarify the purpose of your Why: Your Why is for you. It’s internal. It’s the invisible force driving you.

But your content is for your WHO . . . the reader on the other end. Which is external.

I see new authors get tripped up when they focus more on their own Why instead of their Who. They spend valuable word real estate space going on and on about themselves and what they want to accomplish . . . and then they wonder why no one is reading past the first few pages.

Simply put, it’s because your reader doesn't care as much about your Why as they care about their own. They have their own Why driving them. And they’re going to consume the content which helps them achieve their Why, not yours.

So while your Why will help motivate you to write content, it won't necessarily motivate the reader to read it.

Ergo, before you write a single word, spend time defining your Who. Figure out THEIR Why.

This is one of the first questions I ask any book coaching prospect. If they don't know their Who yet, then that becomes Task #1 before anything else can happen.

Speak 1:1, not 1 to a million.

Think about your content as a 1:1 conversation. Because even if millions of people end up reading your content, it can only be read by one person at a time.

So if you want to develop trust with your audience, then you have to be able to speak to them like they are one in a million, not one out of a million.

Who are you writing for?

Finally, remember that you're writing for an audience, not for yourself.?This is a common foible for fiction writers, too. They write a book for themselves instead of asking what readers will enjoy. Then they are outraged when an editor shreds it to pieces or no one buys a copy.

While you should write on the topics and ideas where you have the most expertise, you have to consider how it will be received on the other end. Are you taking the reader on a journey they will enjoy? Or are you taking them hostage?

Think of yourself like an Uber driver. Your audience is the passenger. Where do they want to go? And how can your skills help them get from Point A to Point Z?

Some questions you can ask yourself to help define your Who:

• What problem am I really good at solving? Who is most likely to have this problem?
• What do I know now that I wish I’d known ten years ago? Is my audience like my younger, less-experienced self?
• What kind of people do I want to work with long-term? Do I want clients who are seeking the lowest cost? Or clients who want a premium service? What message will attract that type of person?
• What are the genre expectations of my readers? How can I satisfy those expectations while still creating something original?
• What is the emotional state of the person who picks up my book? What do I want their emotional state to be when they finish it?

You don't need to abandon your Why. You'll still need it to keep you going each day and to make your passion shine. But by putting the audience first in your content, you have a greater chance at creating raving fans who will respond to your message . . . and make an impact.

If you're not sure who your Who is, find their Why, or how to connect them to your Why, then let's schedule a short chat to figure it out.

But if you already know Who they are, share below! Who's your Who? And what are you offering to them?