@Evan – You can start with an idea of the who while being flexible in responding to feedback.

@Cindy – Letting thoughts stew, and coming back to posts really does help. We are often in a rush which leads us to make all sorts of assumptions or to cut our thoughts down not for brevity but for speed. That’s why I often start with the “point” then work back

@Vijayendra – Great headlines often have the target audience too, eg. off the top of my head “12 Compelling Reasons Realtors Should Blog to Make More Sales”

@Bishop – Good point, sometimes anticipating questions is a great way to provide value also

@Patricia – Exactly, each experience is unique and personal but can be of value to others when we can see the lesson in it

@Herbert – Sometimes we just need that mental sticky note to make all the difference

@garry – In writing, like life, it helps to take a moment to think from the other point of view, that’s all this is really

@Rafael – Indeed, if all we do is replicate why read our posts and not the original?

@Danny – Yup, it is a cycle, and the more feedback we get the stronger it becomes

@Evan – You can start with an idea of the who while being flexible in responding to feedback.

@Cindy – Letting thoughts stew, and coming back to posts really does help. We are often in a rush which leads us to make all sorts of assumptions or to cut our thoughts down not for brevity but for speed. That’s why I often start with the “point” then work back

@Vijayendra – Great headlines often have the target audience too, eg. off the top of my head “12 Compelling Reasons Realtors Should Blog to Make More Sales”

@Bishop – Good point, sometimes anticipating questions is a great way to provide value also

@Patricia – Exactly, each experience is unique and personal but can be of value to others when we can see the lesson in it

@Herbert – Sometimes we just need that mental sticky note to make all the difference

@garry – In writing, like life, it helps to take a moment to think from the other point of view, that’s all this is really

@Rafael – Indeed, if all we do is replicate why read our posts and not the original?

@Danny – Yup, it is a cycle, and the more feedback we get the stronger it becomes

I like to ask simple, strategic questions. And you gave us three simple and very useful questions to ask ourselves as we re-read our articles. (Hopefully, before clicking PUBLISH.)

In order to attract an audience (who) to my blog, I must provide interesting content (what.) In order to retain that audience, I must provide them with good value (so what.)

It is a cycle. The more valuable the “so what”, the more “who” bookmark my site to reat the “what.”

Thank you for your post. Thank you for giving me a very useful editing perspective!

I like to ask simple, strategic questions. And you gave us three simple and very useful questions to ask ourselves as we re-read our articles. (Hopefully, before clicking PUBLISH.)

In order to attract an audience (who) to my blog, I must provide interesting content (what.) In order to retain that audience, I must provide them with good value (so what.)

It is a cycle. The more valuable the “so what”, the more “who” bookmark my site to reat the “what.”

Thank you for your post. Thank you for giving me a very useful editing perspective!

…looks like I’ve got some tweaking to do.

…looks like I’ve got some tweaking to do.

Keep up the great work of reminding us that our writing is about the reader. Why should they bother to read what we have written?

Keep up the great work of reminding us that our writing is about the reader. Why should they bother to read what we have written?

A really good and insightful article.

As I work with Christian writers and those who write for Christians, one of the universal problems I hear is “this is what I want to tell” rather than “this is what they will hear”.

Making our writing relevant requires a knowledge of who we want to reach, what they want, and what do they need. Relevant writing is profond when a question is answered before it is asked in the mind of the reader.

Thanks again for your insights

In Him,
JMb

A really good and insightful article.

As I work with Christian writers and those who write for Christians, one of the universal problems I hear is “this is what I want to tell” rather than “this is what they will hear”.

Making our writing relevant requires a knowledge of who we want to reach, what they want, and what do they need. Relevant writing is profond when a question is answered before it is asked in the mind of the reader.

Thanks again for your insights

In Him,
JMb

It works! I have never seen more effective headlines in my life. :0

It works! I have never seen more effective headlines in my life. :0

The who is trickier. Until you have lots of traffic it is hard to know who is reading. And even with lots of subscribers most traffic usually comes from search engines. So the who always presents a problem for me.

So I mostly worry about the what and so what.

The who is trickier. Until you have lots of traffic it is hard to know who is reading. And even with lots of subscribers most traffic usually comes from search engines. So the who always presents a problem for me.

So I mostly worry about the what and so what.