How Does Knowing Your Audience Affect Your Writing?

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Knowing your audience is an essential first step before crafting any message, no matter what medium you use to convey that message. Who your audience is will determine your message structure, language, tone, level of detail, and other important factors. Let's use the story of Goldilocks as an example. Some settings and characters (the woods, a cottage, a lost girl, and three bears) might be the same no matter who your audience is. However, you would likely include more detail and advanced language when writing the story for adults than if you were writing for toddlers. For another example, if you're writing an advertisement tailored to women you might use different analogies, words, or experiences than if you were writing for men. Knowing your audience and creating something that will speak to them is vital to the success of your message. If trying to understand your audience seems overwhelming, look at it the way author John Steinbeck did:

“Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person-a real person you know, or an imagined person-and write to that one.” -John Steinbeck