Audience, Purpose and Form are closely interrelated yet many bloggers tend to overlook or neglect it. They impact on your choice of content and use of language.
Writing content is such an open and vast landscape, where anyone can write anything but by being aware of the APF Guidelines you give yourself a specific boundary to work with.
Frankly, it’s crucial to have boundaries because many writers have a set topic but then wander off to completely unrelated points. A simple realization of these guidelines before you start writing, will ensure better targeted content and further please your loyal readers – I can almost guarantee it but it’s up to you how you implement these techniques and reap the the best out of it.
Audience: Who are you writing for?
In choosing the style of your writing you need to have a clear idea of who constitutes your audience. How can you write or create pieces that suit your audience? Research your readers’ interests before you write. Simply by looking over your “Popular Posts” and “Most Commented” will give you a rough idea. The key is to follow your audiences’ likes and avoid their dislikes as best as you can. Now, you can’t please every single reader but deliver to the majority and respect the minority. Once you hit the big shelves, you don’t need to worry about this technique because your audience follows you.
Audience: This isn’t a democracy, It’s a dictatorship.
Your audience dictates the style of your writing. “Style” refers to the ‘manner’ of writing; that is, whether your style is formal or informal as discussed here. Writing styles can also be described within these broad categories, for example as flowery, plain, elegant.
- Formal Writing is appropriate for factual and professional niches and any writing that is aimed at an audience expecting an official address. For example the Google Blog and such use formal writing (most of the time) as a sign of respect from a business point of view.
- Informal Writing is appropriate at many levels, too, but it is normally used to create everyday content in around a relaxed atmosphere. Informal writing is NOT incorrect; it is simple writing that assumes a friendlier and relaxed relationship between you and your audience. My favorite example for this is ShoeMoney’s blog which delivers professional advice in a social and “informal” tone.
Describe Your Audience
If you write notes on the key features of your audience this will help you to keep your reader in mind. The most important pointer to keep in mind is that it’s your content, your audience and your success. If the first two don’t appreciate one another, the third will be a unreachable and distant dream. Always ensure you that you focus your writing to suit your readers. Regards TeenProBlogger
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Umm…if it’s all about your audience…then it is a democracy. Majority rules. You don’t always want to focus to please everybody. Sometimes you have to (and need to) write things for yourself. Those are your most honest (and sometimes most successful) articles.
Hey,
Dictatorship in a contextual sense, as in what interests your readers should influence the content you write. I understand what you mean, but imagine, let’s take my blog for example.
It’s a specific niche of Blogging Tips/SEO and I have a range of readers with specific interest that dictates what I write. I mean, if my next article is about gardening flowers, I’m more than likely to loose interest of all my readers, if not loose them as readers all-together.
Hope that cleared up that little dilemma, I see how you got misguided by that statement, but the bigger picture brings back sense to it
TeenProBlogger
Woah there Corey, hold up – appreciate what he’s writing because it makes sense.
there’s just way too many blogs out there that just write about plain crap without any sense behind it. you cannot just write what ever you want even if it is your blog.
no matter what you say, sure there’s blogs that “truly voice the author’s opinion” but do you think if a blogger who swears and puts down anything he feels isn’t right suddenly starts writing about love and his feelings would have his readers? maybe he’ll find a new audience but what good is content that doesn’t appeal to your readers?
@TeenProBlogger
I wasn’t saying go off topic, I was just saying sometimes you should write for yourself. I wasn’t confused, I was making a statement. Never once did I say to break the niche, just don’t get caught up trying to please everybody.
@SERPGenius
I didn’t say I didn’t appreciate what he was saying, sheesh.
Dude, I wasn’t saying that you should completely ignore your readers. I’m just saying that there are some articles you write because you want/need to write them. Like my own “why i hate it when people ask me how i make money” article. I didn’t say to just write whatever, I said you should also write for yourself.