Your Reader is All That Matters
Last time, I took us all the way back to the beginning to remember just how big a request, as authors, we make of our reader's time. Today I'm moving a single step forward to keep us focused on the whole reason we write – that is, if your goal is anything beyond a private journal.
Books are read One Reader at a Time
You experience this every day. Even a shared pop phenomenon, if consumed at home, is a private event. Particularly with today's personal devices, we watch, listen, and play alone more than we share such content with a crowd.
Books have been this way since the printing press made silently read tomes an accessible experience (and even further back for the elite).
This gives us as writers a power to touch people as individual to individual. Think of it. It's just me, Cheri, typing on a laptop keyboard, sending this up to my LinkedIn account, and you–whenever you run across this, on whatever device you use. Even if thousands of others find this article over the years, it's still just you and me right now that matters.
It can be a daunting thought to realize that even if your book tops the best seller chart, the experience of reading it is as personal as you sitting down privately with one person.
But it can be life giving!
So, how can I, as a writer, take advantage of this reality?
There is a technique well known in marketing circles that can help you picture your one reader when all you see is a computer screen in front of you: build an 'avatar' or ideal reader in your mind.
I've heard that radio stations have long targeted a single person as their ideal demographic and tailored everything about their programming and advertising to her. And anyone worth your time and money will tell you that if you aim to reach "everyone," you end up impacting no one because it's impossible to connect deeply with anything designed to be that generic.
So, what do I, as a writer, do? Like last time, I'm going to mention a Carey Nieuwhof podcast episode with a brilliant marketing guest, Jasmine Star. She's talking to a host who's studied reaching an audience for years (it's his episode 300!), and she surprises him quite a bit: especially when she talks about her "dream client" and what "her" life is like.
Her fictional client has:
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Whether your book is for pastors, moms, scientists, entrepreneurs, or teachers, when you can pin down a reader this clearly, you can Write Tight far more easily.
Have you heard of Khan Academy video learning? It's grown far beyond this, but it started out with one man helping his far-away cousin understand math. He knew exactly who his audience was and what she needed, so he produced something meant just for her every time he sat down to create something. It's not surprising then that his material connected with many more people than just one girl.
Because, the reality is, even if you don't match the specifics of that ideal reader, you still feel the personal connection and appreciate the warmth it unconsciously brings to the content.
A few examples
I write for children. My blog has always been focused on helping middle school kids understand science and the Bible better. I started writing just before my oldest reached this demographic, and it's going to be another decade before I no longer have one of these ideal readers living with me. I even started a podcast when I recognized one of my now ideal readers doesn't enjoy reading.
And, remember how I said even those who don't fit your ideal profile will find a connection when you focus on one person? Lots of adults love my style because they appreciate someone who can break things down for people who aren't all fancified and grown up. They don't want to be kids, but they enjoy the way I handle normally intimidating topics in a way meant to invite newcomers in.
Ever since I first signed up for my first social media account, I've watched for what types of content make me happy, annoyed, bored, or amazed. Then, I try to replicate the good I personally want and avoid the negative I don't. And, for the most part, I target moms in much the same situation I am in – along with nerds of all stripes.
When I write for moms, I either write for myself today or for the mom I was when I was starting out. In fact, this spills over into my blog writing a lot since I know most of the people surfing the web and finding me aren't 10 or 11 years old; it's their parents or grandparents who first read my material. So, especially in my newsletters, I write for a version of me who doesn't have time to deep dive into the nerdy stuff I cover but wishes they did.
Build Your Own
It's now an old habit of mine whenever I sit down to write or edit to first picture myself as this one reader. Of course, this means I often have to switch hats, reimagine myself, or 'channel' a person with very different needs or life history from my own. But this mental and emotional workout is well worth it. The transformation allows me to quickly grasp what subject matter, vocabulary, sentence structure and length, word count (per page and per manuscript), tone (even whether to use contractions), and pacing I'll need to best engage them.
Step one sitting at your keyboard: What single individual do I want to impact with my words? What do they need that I can give them? How can I best meet them where they are right now?