Summary

Building an audience is crucial for writers, requiring proactive effort rather than passive waiting, to effectively grow and engage with their readership.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of actively building an audience for writers, as opposed to passively hoping readers will find their work. It outlines the necessity of identifying a target audience and tailoring content to address their needs, whether through advice, information, or entertainment. The author suggests that consistent communication with the audience, such as through email newsletters, is vital for nurturing and maintaining a connection with readers. The process involves understanding what the audience values and engaging in two-way interactions, which can lead to a more fulfilling and successful writing career.

Opinions

The author believes that growth as a writer is closely tied to having a dedicated audience and that this audience doesn't form by accident but through deliberate effort.
Identifying a specific reader or a well-defined target audience is seen as a key step in creating effective and impactful content.
Writing should be reader-focused, aiming to provide value in the form of advice, information, or entertainment, depending on what best suits the audience.
Keeping open lines of communication with the audience is crucial for audience growth and retention, with email lists being a common and effective tool for this purpose.
The author acknowledges that actively building an audience is challenging but ultimately more rewarding and less disappointing than waiting passively for an audience to discover one's work.
Engaging with the audience on a personal level, such as by sharing personal updates or responding to their feedback, is encouraged to foster a loyal readership.
The article suggests that the effort put into audience building is a significant part of a writer's broader goals and can be the difference between a stagnant and a thriving writing career.

Building an Audience Is Hard — Hoping to Attract One Is Even Harder. Your Call

Will you take the initiative or wait to be found?

The right content + the perfect audience = growth.

That’s what most writers aim for. Of course, growth means something different to every writer. Whatever it means, you still need an audience to increase your chances of getting there faster.

That’s why every writer should take building an audience seriously. Seeing how crucial your audience is to the cause, you can’t not build one. You want to actively do what it takes to grow that audience, that readership.

The alternative is passively waiting for them to find you. And as hard as the former is, it is also the more rewarding line of action. This second option requires little work from you, but building a substantial audience with this passive approach is exponentially more difficult.

If you dream of building an audience large enough to advance your writing career, learn to start actively growing your audience. Here’s how.

Know who you want to address with your writing

At the heart of the message carried by most written pieces is a target audience. Okay, unless you’re purely writing for yourself, for your cathartic benefits, which has its place, by the way).

Most writers I know want to have people reading their words, engaging with their work, and answering the call to action in the writing. If you’re one of them, learn how to write for an audience.

It starts with knowing who you want to address with your writing.

Every piece of content you put out should have a target reader, preferably that one person who can best relate to and benefit from what you’re writing.

It’ll be nice if you can paint the perfect portrait of this person in your mind or sitting next to your desk. But it’s sometimes hard to nail everything to a tee. And I’ll admit it’s also hard to focus on that one person.

Don’t worry if you can’t get this person in HD. Having a fair idea of who you want to address with your words is a good starting point. It’s better than writing for nobody and hoping someone may find it helpful.

What do you have for them?

Writing is about sharing what’s on your mind, right? You got it. In some cases, that’ll suffice. Also, given many of us think alike, you’ll find someone who identifies with those thoughts. Full marks to you if that has been your go-to move.

But you can also take things further by mixing your style with a different approach. Try to turn the focus onto the reader to see what results this other approach brings.

Remember the reader, that one person we tried to identify in the paragraph above? Let’s see what your writing will do for them.

Do you intend to advise, inform, or entertain them?

When you know who you’re writing for, you’ll also know which of these three options will likely work best. Ask yourself if your article is a piece of advice, information, or entertainment. Or a blend of more than one.

You may not always get it right. That’s okay.

All you want to do is to give yourself a semblance of a base to build your content. Also, know that no one option is better or worse than the others. It all depends on what you’re writing and what you want to get out of those words.

If that’s not feasible for you, you can ask yourself what you assume worries your readers or what they’ll love. It’s harder to do, sure, but once you have that one person you’re addressing, things are more streamlined.

Let’s say you follow these rules of thumb, and things somehow start to work for you. You’re gradually building an audience. Congrats. Now what?

Keep in touch with this audience. I’ll admit I haven’t followed this option through to a tee. But that’s because writing is a third option for me.

Your goals may differ, and you want to take things more seriously than I do. In that case, I urge you to open communication lines with your audience and keep these lines active.

Keep the communication lines active

Many top writers have an email list for growing their audience. In it, they share tips, ideas, and promotions. I get a weekly newsletter containing writing or life advice from some email lists I’ve subscribed to.

That’s a classic example of keeping the communication lines open between writer and audience. It’s as much a part of building an audience, even if most people will refer to it as more of audience nurturing.

As a writer who wants to be in the minds of their audience, you can’t overlook this aspect of the equation.

Don’t worry too much about what you’ll be sending this audience.

It could be something interesting you read that you’d love to pass on. It could be your best-performing content in a week or month. Maybe it’s just random life advice.

There’s no wrong option.

Depending on your audience, some will work better than others. Mix things up, find what does, and do more of it. And keep the communication running on a two-way street.

It can’t always be you selling, sharing, and talking. Give your audience the option to respond to you.

It’ll be interesting to know what they’re up to, how they’re progressing, etc.

Again, something is better than nothing. Keep the interaction alive. That’s the minimum goal you can aim for. On that, you can build as you progress. That’s part of actively building an audience.

How badly do you need an audience for your work? Your answer will determine the actions you must take to build one. Of course, building an audience will form part of a much larger writing goal you’ve set for yourself.

If any of those goals involve an audience reading your work, your work is cut out for you. You can actively start building one today or passively wait to attract them.

Both options work, and only you can pick what suits you best, given where you are and where you’re going.

Actively pursuing an audience is hard, but waiting for them to find you is even more so. The disappointment of no one responding to you and the heartbreak of feeling left make it so in the long run.

You can always take little steps to grow your audience. Start where you are by thinking about who you write for and what you want your writing to do for them.

If you found what you just read useful, can you support my work by buying me a cup of coffee here? You can also grab my free writing guide here.