Every writer needs to know who they’re writing for before they begin drafting a new piece. Your message may stay the same at its core, but how you craft your story will change depending on your audience and their needs. It’s important to anticipate how your reader thinks, their current view on the topic, their hopes and fears, their dreams for the future, and how they best receive information.

“I really value people, I love to know their hopes, their dreams, their fears . . . I learned how to ask the right question.” — Author and activist Terence Lester

There are infinite possibilities for crafting your message. When you identify your audience and anticipate their needs, these facts will guide your approach. If you’re not sure how to structure your story, the following four methods offer a solid place to start. Choose the one that serves your audience best.

Guide your reader on a journey.

Is your reader looking for a guide through a...

Many writers struggle with a lack of clarity about their writing. Writers often believe a lack of clarity is the result of not having enough material to write about, but in reality, most writers have countless ideas swimming around in their heads or written on random scraps of paper. 

It’s not a lack of ideas that presents a problem for most writers. More often than not, the problem is that we don’t know which idea is worth pursuing or who will want to read about it once the piece is written. 

One of the most effective ways to gain clarity in your writing is to consider the needs of your audience. This means you need to spend significant time and energy determining who your audience is before you can write to them in a meaningful way. 

At hope*writers, we believe every writer has a reader to serve, and we help writers uncover their ideal reader so their message matches the needs of their audience. Once you spend time identifying your ideal reader,...