Writing for the Internet: Identifying Your Audience

As a full-time writer for the internet, I know how easy it is to get caught up in the writing process. Often overlooked as one writes is the question: "Who is the person most likely to want to read my publication?" It is easy to write without identifying an audience, which can result in getting fewer page views of the article you are writing.

Written feedback in the form of comments about what an internet writer publishes comes mainly from fellow writers or members of social networking sites; therefore, a writer might be led to believe that these individuals are the target audience. But when you think about it, that is a pretty limited audience, and a writer's success is going to be stymied by such a viewpoint.

When you write for the internet it is important to stretch your thinking and look at the broader picture. It is good to think about the message within your written piece, and then craft the article in such a way that the message will appeal to the largest possible audience.

Your fellow writers or persons from social networking sites who frequently comment on your articles may quickly tire of your focused direction of writing, but if it suits your particular writing interest and is finding a larger audience, then that is the direction in which you need to go. And I don't believe that explanations are in order to anyone for doing so. When you review your daily reports, you can easily see what topics are working or not working. Go with what is working - you are wasting valuable time if you don't.

Each category of writing lends itself to many different audiences.

For example, I have been writing a great deal about local topics. These can be focused in many different ways, most of which I am still learning.

The Mall of America in my state of Minnesota sounds like a local topic, but because charter flights come into the Twin Cities just for the purpose of transporting people who want to see and shop at the Mall, there is an audience for my MOA writing that is global rather than local. And that audience changes on a daily basis.

The audience for local events can vary, also. For example, museum exhibitions are of interest to local residents; however, people who read about these events and live elsewhere might consider the article to be informational and end up wanting to visit the museum when they are in the Twin Cities area. Therefore, it is good to add some information to the article about the museum itself to also satisfy that wider audience.

That train of thought extends to sports, gaming, politics, movies, books, health and even creative writing. When you broaden your perspective, you can tailor your writing to any number of groups of people, all with different interest levels and residing literally anywhere in the world.

A topic can be as narrow or broad as you desire it to be - that's why there is an unlimited supply of writing material for anyone who writes for the internet. You may even discover a unique niche and want to stick with that, which is just fine if it works well for you.

I have only recently begun to grasp this concept. Because there is so much to learn when you start writing for the internet, identifying your audience is not something that immediately occurs to beginning writers, at least it didn't for me. However, now that I am more focused on my audience it is changing my perspective on writing and has added a new level of interest for me as I look at various topics.

Identifying your audience may be something new for you, but I suggest you give it some consideration as you advance in your career as a writer for the internet.

What I'm Learning About Writing for the Internet
How Writing a Mission Statement May Be Beneficial for Internet Writers
Your AC Profile: A Powerful Tool for Success
Long Term Goals: is it a Good Strategy to Write Memoirs, Poetry and Prose?
Writing for the Internet: A Hobby or a Business, and What is Your ROI?

Source: Personal experience of the writer