Who you talk to defines what information you assume known; it changes how you talk about what.
There's a difference in what you talk about and how you talk about it when talking to someone from your industry and someone from outside of it. You also address a potential client different from a family member asking "so, what do you do?". I'm sure you can think of a lot of other differentiators.
Before you start writing you need to tell yourself who you're writing to.
Simple Groups
Your business experience and daily life is rich in example groups and customer profiles. Use those.
As a plumber you don't just write for "people with plumbing problems". You encounter:
- young couples, first-time home owners
- older couples; long time home owners
- contractors looking for material
- misguided, just-starting Do It Yourselfers who don't know their P trap from an S trap
- people angry with the shitty plumbing in their newly built house
- people resigned and intimately familiar with the bad plumbing in their old house
- etc etc
Just take a group in mind you're writing for, to, about.
What Do They Know
With the group in mind, add the level of knowledge and information you want to expect known already.
If you're writing for rental property owners, are you writing today for the ones that do their own plumbing or for the ones that have no idea?
If you're writing for the ones that do their own plumbing, are they good at it or have no clue?
For Leads To About
Starting with who you want to write for and what they know automatically leads into the about.
If today's plumbing blog post is for "young couples who have bought their first house; an old 1950's build" and they "know how to fix a running toilet but that's it" then that sets the range of topics and their depth.
This Post Is For...
- SOHO and SMB owners,website owners, who want or need to do their own writing
- they're good with spoken words but writing feels different and they want to know the structures, the framework, the how-to
- they already write/blog
If you liked this you might enjoy How To Write So It Matters
About the Author: Ruud Hein
