Daily Tips & Tricks for Web Enthusiasts

Write to a Single Person

If you want to make your copy more engaging, avoid writing as if you were speaking to a large group. Instead, write to a single, imaginary person who represents the rough average of your target audience.

Writing to a single person can have a huge impact, and strengthens your connection to your readers. Take this sentence, for example:

Core Assistance helps people share and create things on the web.

That is vague and disconnected. It refers to some nebulous group of “people” that you, the reader, may or may not be a part of. The phrasing also distances the author from the reader; it’s not me speaking to you, it’s just a general statement with no clear audience.

Now compare the example above to this:

Core Assistance is here to help you share and create things on the web.

Not a lot of those words changed, but the difference is profound. The gap between the author and reader has been closed. The relationship is now clear and comfortable. The purpose is clear. You, the reader, are clearly who I’m talking to. You are the one I want to help. It’s clear you’re in the right place.

Again, imagine that single individual that represents your target audience. Bring them into sharp focus in your mind. Visualize them sitting in front of you. What do you want to tell them? What are the words that would come out of your mouth?

Write that down.