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When it comes to writing for an audience, many content creators claim they “just know” who they’re writing for. While intuition has its place, truly understanding your audience requires getting your hands dirty and engaging with real people, Isabelle Landreville of qualitative research firm Sylvestre & Co. told me on Episode 698 of “The Business Storytelling Podcast.”
“I do think some people just know,” she added. “Some people are super intuitive and just know. I don’t think that we completely write them off. But coming from a qualitative researchers background… there is something about letting go of your desk, letting go of the data, and actually getting dirty, getting out there into the world.”
But at the end of the day, need to understand the audiences we are creating for and that means we likely will have to talk to them to learn more about them. Isabelle shared how she does that. Writing for your audience correctly includes:
- crafting content that matters to them
- using their language
- being helpful with accurate content
Staying connected
Many content creators and brands fall into the trap of making assumptions about their audience based on limited data or personal bias. This disconnect can lead to content that misses the mark or fails to resonate with the intended readers. And that kind of content can’t drive results.
“You do sometimes, because you’re enthusiastic, because you’re living and breathing, and because it is your baby, you lose perspective,” she said.
Read next: Who is your audience? Is it internal or external?
This fundamental principle of staying connected with your audience is crucial because, as Isabelle explains, “It’s easy to actually get disconnected. It’s easy to talk to yourself. If you’re a brand director or brand manager, if you’re doing R&D, there is something about the next new thing. There’s something fabulous about living and breathing it 24/7, it becomes your baby.”
Creating safe spaces for authentic feedback
“I strongly believe that any question can be asked to whomever, it just depends on how and when,” Isabelle said. “So there is a timing aspect. You do have to earn the right. There is a lot of trust in all of it.”
Key principles for creating safe spaces include:
- Making people feel completely normal and validated
- Building trust before diving into deeper questions
- Creating an environment where people feel important and heard
- Maintaining professional boundaries while building rapport
“The human insight is that people love talking about themselves,” Isabelle notes. “People remember how they feel in your presence. They don’t really necessarily remember what was said or how you got them there.”
When it comes to getting valuable insights, Isabelle emphasizes specific approaches:
“Make it human first,” she advises. “Make it about two people trying to get on and sort of understand one another and get to know one another.”
She recommends several specific probing questions instead of asking “why”:
- “Show me”
- “Tell me more”
- “How did that make you feel?”
- “When is the first time you kind of realized you were doing this?”
“Never asking really ‘why’ because it could break the trust bond,” Isabelle explains. “Someone could get defensive. It’s not about them sort of justifying their behavior.”
Maintaining focus while gathering insights
“In my line of work, I’m not chasing and fulfilling my own curiosity,” Isabelle emphasizes. “I have a mandate. There’s a beginning and an end to the entire thing. There is an outcome, there is a key deliverable, there is a purpose. And I always reverse engineer everything.”
This focused approach requires:
- Staying on track with your purpose
- Not pursuing unrelated tangents
- Keeping time constraints in mind
- Focusing on delivering specific value
Understanding audience isn’t just about formal research. Sometimes the most valuable insights come from unexpected places.
While some may have natural intuition about their audience, most successful content creators and brands invest time in truly understanding the people they serve.
“If you’ve got to wake up every morning to make them happy, you’ve got to love them and respect them,” Isabelle said.
By combining methodical research with genuine human connection, writing for an audience can be done well. And be profitable. The key is to move beyond assumptions and get “dirty” with real-world engagement and understanding. Then, of course, implement those learnings in the content creation process.