Chapter 2 – How to write to the reader?

You need to fulfill reader needs before they can do what you want them to do.

First you need to know – who will read your pages?

In the other words, you need to know what kind of people you are trying to reach? People are interested in different stuff on your blog or website. If a person is on your Products page they are interested in information about the product – will that resolve the problem or will that fulfill the need they have. If a person is on your About page they want to know more about you or your company. The more you know about your readers, the more effective your text will be.

How can you learn more about your readers?

● using surveys
● visiting websites similar to your niche
● reading comments on forums
● talking to them directly
● talking to them via email
● checking blog or website statistics

When you are starting to write for a reader you have to ask yourself why questions.
Remember, put yourself in their shoes. You can write your blog post from more than
one perspective; that depends on the level of knowledge your reader has or w hat
age he or she is, or what their interests are.

For example: let’s assume that you want to start a blog and that you know nothing or
very little about it, Ask yourself why questions and try to answer them.

Question: why would I read this article or page?
Answer: because I know nothing or very little about websites.
Question: why?
Answer: whenever or wherever I’m looking for some information it’s not complete.
Question: why?
Answer: because it’s full of technical words that I don’t understand and I have to google even more.
Question: why?
Answer: because it is written for people who already know something about blogs. I
don’t want to search in google for more info.
Question: why?
Answer: because I would like to have all info in one place and step by step
instructions.

This is a good thinking technique. You can use it every time you are writing a blog
post or when you are stuck.

Second you need to know is – what they want to do after reading your blog post or a page.

How are you going to find out what they want to do?

● using surveys
● visiting websites similar to your niche
● reading comments on forums
● talking to them directly
● talking to them via email
● checking blog or website statistics

The same as in the first “need to know”. Right? Yes.

Again, you need to know your readers and you need to find out what is important to
them.

You have two additional questions:

1. What they already know?
2. What they need to know?

Answering the first question gives you the level of knowledge they have about your
topic. Answering the second question gives you info about what you need to include in your post or page and how you will present that information.

Third, what would you like them to do after reading your blog or page?

Maybe they want to know more info about your topic or to buy or order your product
or to download your ebook or to contact you. Whatever it is you have to convince
them to do that.

How to write to the readers?

Write in first person.
For example, remember this sentence – “first you need to know is – who will read
your pages.
“You” is first person.

Structure idea 1 for your blog post:

• Ask yourself questions you just read and write them down.
• Rearrange the answers. First, what’s most important to the reader and second, whatis most important to you.

Structure idea 2 for your blog post:

• Page topic – what is the blog post or page about?
• Objective – what do I want users to know or be able to do after reading this?
• Target audience – who am I writing this for?
• Main content – what is the focus? What should come first?
• Secondary content – what else must be included?
• Related content – Instructions on linking, avoiding repetition

Structure idea 3 for your blog post:

Content sources	Sources checked	Points noted
Reason for publishing the post	Why am I publishing this? Do I have a good reason or should I reconsider?	What will happen if I don’t publish it?
Purpose and focus of the content	What is the main purpose or message? What does the content need to achieve?	What do I want the readers to know or do after they’ve read this?
Target audience analysis	Who is this content for? What information are they looking for?	What do they know already? What situation are they in when they read this?
Terminology, keywords	What terms will my readers be familiar with? What terms should I avoid?	What keywords (topic words) will my readers use when searching for this content?
Related content	Do I have similar content already?	Should I merge this content or can I put it in a new blog post or page?
Blog post or a page	Should this content be a blog post?	Should this content be a page?
Content management	Who needs to review or approve this? Are legal checks required? Who is going to maintain this?	How often will it need to be checked or updated? When should it be removed and archived?
Updating existing content	Is this content still needed? What do the usage statistics tell me? What reader’s feedback have I had?	What keyword searches led people to this content?

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