The proliferation of online mediums – be it social media, blogging platforms, or online news sites – has made it much easier for audiences to seek out content that interests them. As a content marketer, you likely encounter this trend frequently, whether you work for a large corporate brand or a media company.
If you’re new to writing or publishing, it can be difficult to know where to start when confronted with this trend. How can you write for an online audience if you’ve never done it? What do you need to know about the process? To help you figure it out, let’s examine the five steps you need to take in order to write effectively for an online audience.
Step One: Identify The Online Audience
In the very beginning, you need to identify the audience you’re writing for. Just because a piece of content is accessible to the general public doesn’t mean that it’s for everybody. You have to consider various factors, like the reader’s location, device, and experience with blogging or social media.
To find this out, you need to perform a quick audit of your target audience’s demographic information. The size and scope of your marketing team may require you to make a few calls or send a few emails to gather the information you need. Once you have this information, you can determine the audience’s geographical location and what devices (e.g., desktop, tablet, or mobile) they are using. Keep in mind that demographics can change, so you’ll want to perform a similar audit every few months to ensure that you’re offering the right content to the right audience.
Step Two: Decide On The Purpose Of The Blog Post
Now that you have a clear picture of who your audience is and what they want, you can begin to establish the purpose of the blog post. It’s essential to have a clear idea of why you’re writing what you’re writing and how it will benefit your audience. Begin by asking yourself questions about the topic and gathering as much information as possible. Once you have all the facts, you can craft a compelling argument for why your audience should care about your topic.
For example, let’s say that you’re writing about organic gardening. You may discover that there is a lot of demand for locally produced fresh food, but very little information about how to go about doing it yourself. If this is the case, you could write a blog post explaining how to grow your own food successfully. You might even include a how-to guide on growing the perfect tomato or how to pickle cucumbers. The possibilities are endless!
Step Three: Research The Subject Matter
Once you’ve decided on the topic for your blog post, you need to begin doing your research. As mentioned above, your topic may be loosely related to a specific industry or company. In these instances, you’ll need to do some additional research to determine the right approach. Sometimes the subject matter can be as broad as social media influence or brand loyalty and trust, and in these cases, a simple Google search may not give you the information you need. In these instances, you may want to consult with an expert in the field or a professional academic who can help you develop an in-depth understanding of the issue.
Step Four: Create An Outline
As you begin to flesh out your blog post topic, you’ll likely discover that it’s not really a cohesive unit of information. You may find that there are several different themes or viewpoints that can be explored, each with their own unique insights. To make sure that your blog post is an effective piece of content, you need to lay out all these different points in advance.
Writing an outline is a critical step in any writing process. It helps you identify the key themes and arguments you’ll use in your piece and gives you a sense of organization and structure. An outline is not only helpful for creating a cohesive blog post, it also offers you a clear direction and helps you plan the content’s flow. You can also use an outline to identify any gaps in your knowledge and to determine what additional information you need to research.
Step Five: Practice Writing
Finally, you need to put all of this into practice. The first step in the writing process is editing, and it’s an indispensable part of the process. With any luck, you’ve now crafted a rough draft that’s free of any glaring errors. Now it’s time to take out the trash and revise the piece until it sparkles. Along the way, you may discover additional ideas and points you want to include. As you continue to revise the post, be certain to keep track of what you’ve written so far – it’s easy to lose sight of what you’ve done if you’ve not drafted any notes.
When you reach the end of this process, you’ll have a polished and compelling piece of content that’ll draw in your target audience and encourage them to take action.
As you can see, the process is rather involved. But, if you follow these steps, you’ll be able to write an effective editorial for any online audience.