Conducting an audience analysis before writing

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Example of how to capture different Audience T...

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Writers need to understand their audience before even attempting to write something. Audience analysis might sound frivolous and often a bit over-rated. But audience analysis is an important component of the writing process. It simplifies a writer’s objective on writing an informatory article.

What is audience analysis? Audience analysis is analyzing the tastes and preferences of a target audience to which the writer is writing for. It includes a set of parameters on which the writer will base the article on. The article’s writing style, information design, and presentation will depend on the results derived from the audience analysis.

Here’s how to perform an audience analysis.

Classify the audience

Who is the audience? Are they doctors, lawyers, truckers, chemists, hustlers…?

Knowledge

How much does the audience know about the subject? Are they totally unaware about the subject or do they have an intermediate knowledge on it? Or are they experts on the subject?

Demographics

What is the average age group of the audience? Where are most of them located? Which language do most of them speak? What food and clothing do they wear? How educated are they?

Interest

Why do I need to write for them? How can this help them? How will they help themselves with this? Do they even need this?

Medium

How do they read information? Do they read online, on print, or do they read at all?

Objectives

What is the expectation of the audience from the information you are writing for them.

Tailoring

How would I need to customize the content to meet their needs?

Filed Under: Blogging, Books Tagged With: , ,

The Necessity of Collaboration

July 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Hands collaborating in co-writing or co-editin... 

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Writer’s block is an old enemy, and it strikes every writer at some point. No ideas flow, no new creativity abounds. For a writer to carry on his work, he has to get around the block and carry on. This is where collaboration comes in.

Bouncing ideas off someone else can get both your imagination and theirs working. With so many ideas flying around, chances are you’ll find one that gets the magic going again.   While some may shrink from the idea of sharing their work-in-progress with someone else, it really does help. A collaborator can give you suggestions, ask questions that point out issues that need to be addressed, and catch inconsistencies or errors.

Just as the picture shows, having multiple people work on a project can help move things along. Even if you want to retain a final say on the creative genius of the project, it can be beneficial to have others give you “what ifs?” to get your blocked mind going again.

Collaboration doesn’t have to be with another person in the room. Collaborate with authors and artists that you admire, by gaining inspiration from their work. Read a book you love or watch a movie. Go to an art museum, anything that will jar your mind and refill your empty tank of creative juices.

A famous author stated that writers don’t get blocked, they just get empty. You need to restock your mind’s shelves with creativity and imagination. Once you’ve done that, you can carry on to completion of your project.

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books, Writing For Kids Tagged With: , ,

Reading is feeding. Why reading is a writer?s fodder.

July 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Ghost Writer

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Many writers do not read. Yet they are writers. It is quite surprising. You might have heard plenty of stories of writers who have not even read a full book in their lives. The reasons for this are many.

Writers are by nature imaginative. Another writer’s imagination might invoke awe in a non-writer’s mind, but it might not do the same for a writer. Because it might seem ordinary. It’s almost like saying why Michael Jordan might consider a slam dunk by another basket-baller a normal thing, while it is awe-inspiring for the spectator.Certain writers also feel that reading the works of other writers might destroy their original writing style.

Most writers want to think originally. But this is wishful thinking. Although there are writers who are original in their writing approach, most writers in the world work on inspiration. In most cases, knowingly or unknowingly, it is another writer’s work.

Reading is a writer’s fodder. When a writer reads a variety of information and a variety of books from various authors, a writer will not be influenced by anyone. A common mistake writer’s make is when they become loyal to only one medium of information, and one author. They do not seem to like many information sources, or read many books from many authors.

To become a better writer, writers need to feed themselves with various influences. There is no harm in doing so. The only harm will be to not get exposed to what other writers are writing. This would be akin to living like a lone hermit in fool’s paradise.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Becoming a Better Writer

June 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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There are many ways to becoming a better writer. Like many things, not one set path gets you there. Determine what you want your goals to be, and then set out to accomplish them, not goals that someone else gives you. If an English professor is training you to become a reporter and you want to be a novelist, drop the class. Become the writer that you want to be.

Just like riding a bicycle, cooking, doing autopsies, or painting, writing takes practice. So practice!  Look for any opportunity to write, and do it. Are you in school? You get to write papers? Does your school have a newspaper? Go into their offices and say “I want to write for you.”  Look online. With the Internet revolution, websites after website has to have content on each page, and they need someone to write all of that. There are plenty of organizations that hire content writers and provide them with work online, or you can approach companies alone and offer your services. Writing never goes out of style.

Writing is how we communicate, and the human race will never need to communicate less, quite the opposite in fact, it needs to improve. And as a writer, you get to help the rest of us improve!

Practice, practice, practice. Take advice from others, but remember that you get to set the rules for your writing education and how you go about doing what you do.  So go and do it!

 

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books, Writing For Kids Tagged With: , ,

Making your Blog Post more Research Focused

June 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

No one can deny that the blogosphere is becoming increasingly crowded and competitive as each day passes.

Blogging is now a lucrative career for many people and a great career-starter for others. With new bloggers adding their voices to the blogosphere each day, how can you be sure your voice gets heard? One way is to make your blog posts well-researched so your readers trust your authoritative voice.

Here are some ways to make your blog post more research focused.

Use Your Credentials and Personal Experience

You started your blog because you had something to say about the subject. What makes you eligible to write about that topic? Make sure you have your credentials clearly listed on your blog. People are more likely to listen to a food writer who was classically trained in a culinary program or a photography blogger who regularly shoots for magazines.

Have you been published on your subject?

Do you have applicable education or life experience?

Incorporate it into your blog.

Well-researched posts don’t have to rely on book knowledge or scholarly articles. Your personal experience is just as important and it’s nice to have a mix of the two. Feel free to share personal experience, advice, anecdotes, or opinions. This will let your readers know that you not only know about your topic, but you’ve experienced it too.

Don’t be Afraid of Research

Don’t think of research as a dull afternoon in a dark library with a stack of dusty books. “Research” doesn’t mean ten-page term papers and dry, lifeless writing. It means learning about your topic. Though your local library is likely stocked with books about your blog topic, there are plenty of online research tools that allow you to access a world of research and references without ever leaving home. Better yet, online research tools let you quickly access the most current information available.

Use Pictures, Graphs, Charts, and Illustrations

Online readers despise giant walls of text. Break it up a little with pictorial illustrations. As an added benefit, images can make you seem even more credible and well-read. Don’t throw in off-topic charts just to make your posts look better, however; make sure your images have just as much to say on the topic as you do. When you’re adding images make sure you’re following laws and not accidentally ‘stealing’ photos.

Get Out and Do Your Own Research

If you can’t find any research about your intended topic, don’t give up. Take an active stand and do the legwork yourself. Create surveys to poll public opinion. Get out and interview people in your field or your community. Doing your own research will prove to your readers that you’re actively involved and interested in your chosen topic – you’re not just regurgitating the research of others.

Research is one of the best ways to generate new ideas for blog posts. What are your favorite go-to research tools?

Focusing on research is a great way to gain new readers to your blog. How will you boost your blog’s ratings with research techniques?

 

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Becoming a Published Writer

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Damsel of the Sanct Grael, by Dante Gabrie...

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Being published is seen as the Holy Grail of writing, the Medal of Honor of authors. To be published is to have arrived, to have ascended the peak and reached the summit. In actuality, it’s just another step, although engratiating, on the road that writers walk.

First, you need to have a good product. That could be a screenplay, a novel manuscript, a book of poems, or a play. This needs to be in tip-top shape, the absolute best it can be. Once the actual, final product is in hand, you can start shopping around to publishers.

There are any number of good publishers, and obtaining lists of these establishments isn’t hard at all, especially given the ease with which the Internet allows us to access information. This next step calls for some fortitude and nail-biting patience.

Send your manuscript off to them. Send it to lots of these publishers. Include a cover letter summarizing your manuscript and explain why they should publish it. Then sit back (it’s recommended you start working on something else) and wait. And wait. And wait. If you are anything like most writers, you will not hear back for a bit. You won’t hear back at all from many of these publishing houses. But hopefully one, and maybe just the one, will get back to you and say they are interested in publishing it. And then you start the process of meetings and discussions and final copies that makes up the home stretch of publishing.

And after you are published….you start the process all over again.

Filed Under: Books, Copywrighting Tagged With: , ,

6 Productivity Tips for Freelancers

June 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As a freelancer, you’ve likely found that keeping yourself busy isn’t that difficult, but keeping yourself productive is another story. From time drains and stress to poor concentration and loss of focus, anyone even considering going the freelance route should take some time to learn about the seven habits and tools of effective freelancing. Integrating some of these productivity tips and tools can help keep even the most easily distracted freelancer on track.

1. Carving Out Your Space: Freelancers work from home and those who fail to find a space they can dedicate to work often have a more difficult time keeping on track. Spend some time carving out some work space that is your office in your home.

2. Creating Better Storage: The Internet has made freelancing a much easier proposition for people. Instead of relying on the Internet solely for communications, utilize tools like GoogleDocs to create an online depository for documents you need to share.

3. Easy Apps for Easy Days: Take the time to look around at the various apps available and see which one’s will work for you. For example, EchoSign is a great little app that will make it easy for you to create documents, like contracts, that your clients can sign. Use apps to make your day easier.

4. It’s All About The Plan: In order to be successful you have to have a plan each day. Spend a few minutes each week planning the events for the upcoming week and break it down into manageable chunks – do the same each day and you will soon find it easier to get everything finished. Consider using an online calendar if that works well for you, but don’t be afraid to use the old tried and true pen and paper to make your plan.

5. Don’t Forget The Goal: You started working as a freelancer for a reason – never forget that reason. Whether you are replacing lost income or working towards building a full time business, always focus on that goal. Keeping it at the forefront will help you stay on track.

6. Finding Balance: Many freelancers fall into the trap of working as much as possible, every day. It may seem logical, but in reality, if you do not have a balance between your work and your personal life, you will crash and burn. Part of your daily plan should include a clear start time and a clear end time.

Engaging in freelance work can be profitable and an engaging way to work. It presents new challenges each and every day. By taking the time to learn the tips and tricks used by successful freelancers and implementing them into your work schedule, you may soon find that freelancing can be just challenging enough.

Are you doing everything you can to be successful at freelancing? Which of these tips and tricks will you implement into your daily work plan?

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer
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