Position your message in the reader’s best interest
Too often, communicators think the topic is the topic. But the topic is never the topic. The reader is always the topic.
One of the best ways to practice positioning your information in the reader’s best interest is to start with a walk-away sentence. That’s the one sentence you want your reader to — you got it! — walk away with after reading your piece.
Before: ‘We’ focused
That’s what we did in a recent Catch Your Readers writing workshop. At first, the walk-away sentences focused on the organization and its stuff: the topic of the story.
MMM was awarded the assignment as a result of our proven technical proficiency in conducting railway safety crossing assessments.
Strathcona County offers high quality preschool programs that are innovative and meet the needs of my family.
Our new app’s seamless, end-to-end, integrated sales tools will help you save time.
You’ve seen these before, right? Maybe even written something like that?
The fix: Write about the reader.
To position these messages in the reader’s best interest, ask:
- What’s in it for the reader? Let readers know upfront why they should care about your message.
- Can I lead with the benefits and substantiate with the features? Don’t write about your stuff. Write about what readers can do with your stuff.
- Can I put the reader first? Literally. Start your sentence — and your message — with the word “you.” Now watch the benefits rush to follow.
After: What’s in it for the reader?
After going through this process, workshop participants rewrote their walk-aways. Here are some of the results:
| Before | After |
| MMM was awarded the assignment as a result of our proven technical proficiency in conducting railway safety crossing assessments. | Pedestrians and motorists alike will be safer at railway crossings, thanks to MMM’s recently awarded assignment. |
| Strathcona County offers high quality preschool programs that are innovative and meet the needs of my family. | Your preschooler will develop physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally while learning through play in Strathcona County’s Preschool Programs. |
| The changes we implemented show positive results with both revenue and site traffic, so we can be bold in planning our next initiatives to move the world with images. | Your work to improve Getty Images’ search helped us grow both revenue and site traffic, so we can all be even bolder in our plans to move the world with images. |
As a reader, which would you rather read: the befores or afters? How can you reframe your message to focus on the reader instead of on your organization and its stuff?
How do you write messages that readers want to read?
If you want to Catch Your Readers, you need to think like a reader. Then you need to use the bait your reader likes, not the bait you like.
So what’s the bait the reader likes?
Learn a four-step process for making your message more relevant, valuable and rewarding to your audience at Catch Your Readers, our persuasive-writing workshop starting May 16.
There, you’ll learn the formula readers use to determine which messages to read. Discover two rewards you can use to boost audience interest in your message. And learn a magic word that focuses reader attention on your message.
Save up to $100 with our group discounts.
