Writing for Your Readers

Do you ever forget that you’re writing for real people? It doesn’t matter if you’re blogging, writing a weekly newsletter, or drafting your book. There are REAL people reading it on the other end of the wicked-cool communication tunnel we call

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But do you ever think about your readers?

And I don’t mean in an “ideal client” or “target market” kind of way. Do you ever think about what they’re doing when the sit down to read your latest bit of wisdom?

  • Is it on his computer? Smart phone? Tablet?
  • Is she drinking coffee? Waiting for a client call? At a soccer game? Staying up late to finish it?
  • Maybe he needs a pre-lunch pick-me-up. Or just a break between tasks. Trying not to giggle too much in the office. Or quickly closing the browser window when the boss/spouse/kids walk by.
  • Perhaps your story is so compelling she pulls it up first thing every morning or checks it daily on the morning bathroom break, from her iPhone.

Frankly, it’s impossible to get inside the head of your reader that much.

But there IS something that you can do: Let your reader get inside YOUR head. Let her hear YOUR voice, YOUR story. Allow her to be a voyeur into your life.

Yes, even on your business blog.

This week, I REALLY just wanted to sit down with you, over a cup of something, and SHARE everything that’s been going on in my life. It’s pretty awesome. And very little of it has to do with writing, publishing, blogging or business. Then I realized that I don’t always tell you much about ME in my articles. I don’t always give a huge amount of context to make things understandable.

If you subscribe to my newsletter you get a little bit of this. (And you really SHOULD subscribe. It’s a pretty awesome weekly newsletter.) I have a few paragraphs in the beginning of every newsletter where I catch you up on what I’m doing and what my upcoming plans are. And they usually have NOTHING to do with my “topic” but more about what hiking adventure I had over the weekend.

But here’s the real truth:

I don’t live and breathe writing and blogging and publishing. Nope. I do a lot of OTHER stuff with my life. Just like you. And maybe we have some interests or hobbies or life experiences in common.

They COME for your knowledge. They STAY for your voice. Click To Tweet

So where’s the line between a BUSINESS blog with great content and articles and information that you can use and just us, sitting down over a cuppa something, and sharing? Because I know that chances are slim you’ve read my “About Me” page. And if you DID, I know that it wasn’t really written to show you a glimpse into my world RIGHT NOW.

I strive to be intentional with my articles. I want to make a point or teach you something. And I love using stories to illustrate what I’m talking about.

But in all of this, I forgot one of the TRUTHS of writing, of blogging, of business:

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I invite you and challenge you to share more YOU in your writing. So, starting NOW, I’ll be adding at least one post per month that is just me telling you, my reader, my valued friend about what’s happening with me. And I want YOU to do the same to YOUR readers.

Kim Galloway
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