There are several important questions to ask when starting a new writing project. Among them what is my point? Who is my main character? What does he want and why? But a sometimes-overlooked question is who is my audience? This goes for anyone who is trying to get the attention of another. Writers. Businesses. Parents.
You need to know your audience.
Connection is important. And people everywhere, readers included, want to be seen. People want to see themselves in what they read. Whether it be books or a sales pitch. Readers want to see how a character overcomes the same struggles they experience. As Lisa Cron says in her book Story Genius,
“Our brains are wired for connection. People need other people.”
It follows, then, readers need to connect with your characters. So, discovering (or creating) who your audience is can be transformational to your brand and sales.
Who is your audience?
When answering that question, it’s easy to generalize. “I’m writing to people who read romance,” for instance. But if you want your reader (customer) to connect with your material, then being more specific about who reader is will inform your writing and thus connect with them more deeply.
Therefore, the next iteration might be… “I’m writing to women between the age 40 and 60 who read closed door romance.” Better, but still not specific enough. To get more specific, think about creating an avatar to represent your reader or customer. Just like you would if you were starting a character from scratch…you need to get to know who they are before you begin to write. In fact, the only difference between creating a Reader Avatar vs. a Character Avatar is the Character Avatar needs a deep backstory to explain their misbeliefs. We’ll leave that for another blog.
So what is an Avatar?
An Avatar is a manifestation of a person or an idea. It’s a make-believe person, with likes and dislikes, a job (or not), interests, desires, and struggles. Just like with a main character you will interview your reader avatar. Get to know her. Find out what she wants and what stands in her way. By knowing her better, you can then create an alternate reality for her. Show her another world or, at the very least, give her an escape from the daily grind.
What is your readers’ reality?
Let’s discover who your reader is, and from there, create an avatar to whom you will write. I mentioned a concept above…a middle-aged woman who reads closed door romance. Good.
Work: What does she do for work? Does she work in an office or a retail store? Is she an engineer or a librarian? Does she work from home or have a long commute? Does she wish she made more money, or she is happy with her lot in life? (most likely the answer to that is no).
Family: Is she married or single? Does she have children or never got the chance? Does she have siblings and tons of nieces and nephews or is she an only child? Does she go on vacation with her family annually or never, since she and her family don’t speak because of some disagreement when they were young? Does she spend enough time with her children, husband, parents, or does she wish there was more time together? Has she gone to ancestry.com and found hundreds of cousins or is she avoiding DNA tests because she’s afraid of what she might find? (sounds like a mystery).
Interests and Hobbies: When she’s not at work what does she like to do? Does she swim at the local YMCA, or does she play in a bowling league? Does she paint landscapes, or does she run marathons? Does she like to play cards with the girls, or does she prefer date night with her husband?
Struggles: What does she struggle with? Does she struggle with money or with relationships? Does she have health problems or is it hard for her to hold a job for more than a year? Does she run a large corporation and have pressures of the job always hanging over her head?
Desires: What does she desire? Does she want to travel the world or play with her dogs in the back yard? Does she want to be respected for who she is, or for what she has? Does she want to remain young forever, or does she want to grow old gracefully? Is she looking forward to retirement or will she work until they have to carry her out?
Write your answers down and then go one step further. Go online and find a stock photo of someone who looks like the person you just described. Hang the picture somewhere in your office where you can see it when you’re working. Give her a name, say Matilda, and talk to Matilda while you write. She’s lonely and needs some human interaction.
Once completed, you have the raw material for backstory, or struggles, or family dynamics for your writing assignment. Through this series of questions, you will build characters and material that will connect with your reader; she will see herself in the story and be drawn to it like a cat to a sunny window. The more you learn about your audience, the better you can communicate with them in terms of what matters to them – because you’ll create content your reader will relate to.
Continue the conversation.
Who is your target audience?
What other techniques do you use to connect with your audience?