What are the key steps to developing a writing style that resonates with your niche audience?
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If you want to build a strong personal brand, you need to develop a writing style that resonates with your niche audience. A writing style is more than just grammar and vocabulary. It's the way you express your ideas, emotions, and personality through words. It's how you connect with your readers and persuade them to trust you, follow you, and take action. In this article, you'll learn the key steps to developing a writing style that suits your niche and goals.
The first step to developing a writing style is to know your audience. Who are they? What are their problems, needs, interests, and preferences? How do they communicate and consume content? What tone, voice, and language do they respond to? You can research your audience by using tools like surveys, analytics, social media, and feedback. You can also create personas or profiles that represent your ideal readers and their characteristics. Knowing your audience will help you tailor your writing style to their expectations and needs.
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Mark Schaefer
Marketing strategist, keynote speaker, university educator, futurist, and bestselling author of "Marketing Rebellion," "KNOWN," and "Belonging to the Brand."
I am going to provide a radical answer to this question. Do NOT develop a style that fits your audience. Instead, find an audience that fits your style. Let me explain. When I started out, I created content for my "ideal personas." Every week I blogged about what I thought this imaginary person would want to see. Two things happened. First, NOTHING happened. No traction. And second, I became bored with this made-up scenario. I finally relaxed and started showing my own personality. Maybe on a certain day I was joyful, sad, or confused. I started teaching through my own stories. That changed everything. Instead of me finding my audience, my ideal audience found me, and there are thousands of them, from all over the world.
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Dev Raj Saini
|| Founder || 150,000+ Follower || Helping Jobseekers || Top Brand Development Voice || Top Personal Branding Voice || 150M+ Views ||
To develop a writing style that connects with your specific audience, start by getting to know them well: their age, interests, and problems. Then, read a lot about the topics they care about, and listen to what they say online. Your writing should sound like you, but it also should match what your audience likes. So, pick the right way to talk to them, like friendly or formal. Use words they know and understand, and make sure to answer their questions and help with their issues. Be yourself, be patient, and keep learning and improving as you go. And don't forget to ask them what they think to get better over time!
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Rakshit Pagariya ⚡️
Helping Coaches and Founders Increase Profile & Content Visibility and Engagement by 3X in 12 Weeks Organically | Help Save Time by Creating Content & Strategy | Ghost Writer | B2B & SaaS Content Writer
Knowing your audience is one of the basic things that helps you to write relevant and engaging content. When you know your audience, their pain points, their interests, and their preferences, they can help you build content that resonates with them. Make sure to keep experimenting with different content styles, types, and tones to see your audience's response. Analyze them, and you can get a clearer idea.
The second step to developing a writing style is to define your purpose. What are you trying to achieve with your writing? What are your goals and objectives? What are the main messages and values you want to convey? How do you want your readers to feel and act after reading your content? Your purpose will guide your writing style and help you choose the appropriate tone, voice, and language. For example, if your purpose is to educate, you might use a clear, informative, and authoritative style. If your purpose is to entertain, you might use a humorous, witty, and engaging style.
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Wendy Pavey
Brand & Career Strategist for Executives & Advisors | Founder, Your Executive Brand | Creator ExecutiveCadence™ & SayShowSeen™ | Elladex Mentor | Guest Lecturer, QUT | Presenter, CEO Institute | Author | Speaker
Don't just focus on YOUR objectives and what you want. What does your audience want from you? How can you best serve them? (Again, ask actual people.)
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Luu Ky Nam, Executive Coach
I help Professionals get ready for their next career chapter | LinkedIn Top Voice on Leadership Development Coaching | ICF Professional Certified Coach with C-level experience
You got to be authentic when you write. The easiest way is to think of one person whom you can help. With me as an example, my audience is those professionals in the age of 35-45. I write to these groups. I address their problems, pain points. By doing that I also create a community.
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Jack Goodson
Strategic Narrative Advisor to CEOs, Brands, & Policy Makers // Stories Shape the World // Communications Consultant x Brand Storytelling x Personal Branding x PR Campaigns
Don't be authentic - there's no such thing. We're all a collection of different personalities at different times and during different moods. Depending on what you're trying to sell/achieve/attack, you've got to think strategically. Which personality do you want to bring out to play today?
The third step to developing a writing style is to find your voice. Your voice is the unique expression of your personality, perspective, and values through your writing. It's what makes you stand out from the crowd and attract your niche audience. To find your voice, you need to be authentic, confident, and consistent. You need to write from your own experience, opinion, and passion. You need to write with conviction, confidence, and clarity. And you need to write in a way that reflects your brand identity and image.
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Jack Goodson
Strategic Narrative Advisor to CEOs, Brands, & Policy Makers // Stories Shape the World // Communications Consultant x Brand Storytelling x Personal Branding x PR Campaigns
Stop reading advice on how to find your voice and actually start speaking. Let loose a little. I spent years trying to copy the 'masters' of writing, of trying to study how their sentences worked -- but why? That's finding someone else's voice.
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Luu Ky Nam, Executive Coach
I help Professionals get ready for their next career chapter | LinkedIn Top Voice on Leadership Development Coaching | ICF Professional Certified Coach with C-level experience
As you go in the writing journey, you will find your true voice. And you will develop a community with people you like to hear your voice. The philosophy that I represent is that you don't need to sacrifice your health, your family to get promoted in the corporate ladder. You can learn to engage stakeholders effectively so that you nagivate your career development.
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Goraj Joshi
Marketer | Gamification Enthusiast | Gamer Plebe
The simplest way to find your voice is to write in 5-10 different styles for 1 SINGLE Topic. Example below. See what felt easy to write, what came naturally to you, which one of these did you enjoy the most. That is most likely your voice. Test: I would love to eat as much as I could but I get fat. Dramatic: I would love to devour as much as I possibly can, but alas, the fear of gaining weight lingers! Sarcastic: Oh, sure, I'd just LOVE to stuff my face endlessly, but you know, can't have that oh-so-appealing extra layer! Regretful: I really wish I could indulge without consequences, but the whole getting fat thing just ruins it. Resigned: I'd love to eat to my heart's content, but the reality is, it'll just make me gain weight. Oh well.
The fourth step to developing a writing style is to choose your tone. Your tone is the attitude or emotion that you convey through your writing. It's how you make your readers feel and how you influence their mood. Your tone can vary depending on the context, topic, audience, and purpose of your writing. For example, you might use a formal, respectful, and polite tone for a professional or academic audience. You might use a casual, friendly, and conversational tone for a social media or blog audience. You might use a positive, optimistic, and inspiring tone for a motivational or inspirational content.
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Ling Yah
Ex-Lawyer turned Personal Branding Strategist (5.6 million views!), Writer & Podcaster (currently on my Year of Yes!)
Sometimes it’s easiest to just keep it simple. Write as though you’re talking to a friend. If that’s hard, do a voice. Think of a question then record yourself answering. Turn it into a transcript then see how you can adapt it into an article or post. It doesn’t even have to be long. You could create one or several bite sized 250 word posts showing up with valuable content is vital and most people have very short attention spans as it is
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Hanzala Sardar
LinkedIn Ghostwriter for Busy Founders & Coaches | Don't be a hidden gem - build your personal brand | Personal Branding Strategist
Choosing your tone isn't difficult, but sticking to it is crucial, and this is where many people falter. Your tone reflects your personality. If you're a founder, you can't be switching tones depending on the context, topic, and audience. You need to stay consistent with your tone, as it reflects your personality.
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Amna Cocktail 🍸
Connect your brands with my Marketing Strategy ||Achieved 1M+ Reach in 16 Days on Client Sales account || Your Go-To Digital Marketing Partner || Social Media Management & Ads Specialist
Selecting the right tone in your writing is like painting emotions with words. ➡️ Match your tone to your audience's preferences. ➡️ Adjust your tone based on the writing context. ➡️ Maintain a consistent tone within your piece for reader engagement.
The fifth step to developing a writing style is to experiment with language. Language is the tool that you use to communicate your ideas, emotions, and personality through your writing. It includes the words, sentences, paragraphs, and structures that you use. To experiment with language, you need to be creative, flexible, and curious. You need to try different words, synonyms, metaphors, and figures of speech. You need to vary your sentence length, structure, and rhythm. You need to use transitions, headings, and subheadings to organize your content. And you need to use punctuation, spelling, and grammar to enhance your readability and accuracy.
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Wendy Pavey
Brand & Career Strategist for Executives & Advisors | Founder, Your Executive Brand | Creator ExecutiveCadence™ & SayShowSeen™ | Elladex Mentor | Guest Lecturer, QUT | Presenter, CEO Institute | Author | Speaker
Consider taking a short course in copywriting. You'll learn a lot of useful techniques and formats. This will accelerate your ability to define the style you most enjoy writing in. If you don't enjoy it, you'll stop doing it.
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Deborah Brennan
Writer, journalist, communications professional
Include descriptive language, but avoid too many adjectives and adverbs. Strong, specific nouns and verbs work better. For instance try words like "sprinted" instead of "ran quickly." Brush up on grammar to make sure your copy is correct and polished. Look at authors you like and analyze their sentence structure and language use to get ideas for your own text.
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Amna Cocktail 🍸
Connect your brands with my Marketing Strategy ||Achieved 1M+ Reach in 16 Days on Client Sales account || Your Go-To Digital Marketing Partner || Social Media Management & Ads Specialist
Language is your artistic palette in writing, and experimenting with it can be your masterpiece. ✔️Diversify Your Words ➡️Explore synonyms and varied vocabulary. ✔️Structural Play ➡️Mix up sentence lengths and structures for engagement. ✔️Perfect Mechanics ➡️Master punctuation, spelling, and grammar for clarity and professionalism.
The sixth and final step to developing a writing style is to get feedback and improve. Feedback is the way that you measure the effectiveness and impact of your writing style. It's how you learn what works and what doesn't, what resonates and what repels, what engages and what bores your niche audience. You can get feedback by asking for comments, reviews, ratings, or testimonials from your readers. You can also use tools like analytics, metrics, or scores to track your performance and results. Feedback will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and improve your writing style accordingly.
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Gabrielle Frieda Loh
I help business leaders discover their purpose and grow their personal brand with faith based principles | Speaker & International Award winning Coach | Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine
LinkedIn analytics are a great way to get feedback on our writing style. Track your engagements and impressions on a weekly basis. 1. What message resonated most with my target audience? 2. What was the emotion that triggered the most engagement? Other key indicators include the DMs, new followers and connection requests you receive. If you have an email subscription, track your weekly subscription rates too.
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Amna Cocktail 🍸
Connect your brands with my Marketing Strategy ||Achieved 1M+ Reach in 16 Days on Client Sales account || Your Go-To Digital Marketing Partner || Social Media Management & Ads Specialist
➡️The last step in developing your writing style is to seek feedback. ➡️Feedback helps you gauge how well your writing style resonates with your audience. ➡️It highlights your strengths and areas that need improvement. ➡️You can gather feedback from comments, reviews, ratings, testimonials, or using analytical tools. ➡️Use feedback to refine and enhance your writing style.
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Brand Consultant Sonali Brahma
Consultant - Brand Comm Strat| CXO Personal Branding - APAC, US, UK, UAE, Ireland, Canada | Corporate Training, Mentor | Int'l Jury, Keynote Speaker | Best CMO Award | Asia Top 50 Content Mktg Professionals
Do an A and B testing - before you form an opinion about what your audience likes, experiment with content. Measure performance through analytics and you will have found your voice. Go and ask your audience what they would like to hear from you - do a poll. Also ask them if they prefer a particular format. Creators already have a unique style in which they are comfortable - if they know that style resonates with their audience, they can create a win-win.
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Fiza Kazim
I help founders create a Personal Brand that people want to follow religiously | Think it’s your turn? Shoot me a DM| Organic LinkedIn Growth Strategist | Content Marketing
Maintaining a specific voice and tone is extremely important! For example, you can't talk with kids in sentences full of jargons and technical words and you can't talk to a lawyer is super simplified middle school English. Hence, choose your words wisely while addressing your specific audience.
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Leia Owen
Marketing & Business Consultant
Understand the Platforms: Different platforms may require different styles. The tone on LinkedIn, for example, often differs from that on Twitter or Instagram. SEO and Readability: Understand basic SEO principles to ensure your content is discoverable. Ensure your writing is also easy to read and accessible. Keep Learning: Stay updated with the latest trends and preferences within your niche. Your audience's tastes may evolve, and so should your writing. Iterate Based on Performance: Use analytics to see what content performs best. Which articles get the most reads or shares? What headlines work well? Personal Development: Attend workshops, take writing courses, and seek mentorship.
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Rhea Punjabi
I Help Teams Communicate Better | Boosting Business Growth Through Professional Communication Training Programs | Training Content Specialist and Corporate Trainer
In the realm of personal branding and development, staying current with industry trends is paramount. Regularly studying the success stories of those who have effectively built and evolved their personal brand can provide a wealth of inspiration and strategies. Additionally, exploring techniques in personal development, such as mindfulness or resilience-building, and incorporating them into your content can give your audience practical tools to complement your writing style. Combining these elements with your well-crafted writing style can be a potent force for empowering your niche audience.