Developing Your Writing Habit: Identifying Your Audience

“Marrying Your Message with God’s Wisdom”

Dear Writer, we’re on the cusp of a brand new year, full of potential and possibilities! And as we enter 2025, we’re going to take a look at developing your writing habit. While every writer is unique, every writing habit involves several key ingredients, including your…

• • • Why
    • Audience
    • Time & Frequency
    • Place
    • Tools
    • Goals
    • Accountability

This week, we’ll begin by exploring your audience. Identifying our readers and how to reach them is a critical step in developing your writing habit. You see, writer, knowing our audience impacts not just what we write but how we write it.

But before we dive in, let’s take a look at some others whose audience played a central role in creating their message.

Identifying Your Audience in History

At the precipice of World War II, Winston Churchill saw the path to victory lay not, primarily, in the British parliament but in winning the hearts of the British people. Knowing their need for an infusion of vision, unity, and courage, Churchill realized the best way to reach the citizens was to enter into every British home via the radio waves. As a result, Churchill’s “writing habit” included crafting radio messages that would inspire, unify, and galvanize the courage of the British people and lead them toward victory through the long and taxing war. And here’s the interesting thing, writer…

The words that inspired the dogged perseverance of the British in World War II still inspire courage and bravery in those facing the threat of overwhelming evil today.

Identifying Your Audience in History

Paul is another great example of a man whose audience informed his writing habit. Much of Paul’s ministry was devoted to the development of the infant churches he’d founded throughout Asia Minor. When Paul’s ministry efforts landed him in prison, he didn’t allow his circumstances to keep him from his God-given work. Instead, he simply shifted from itinerant preaching to hand-written letters filled with rich theology and practical advice that would correct, exhort, and encourage the budding congregations, spurring their growth and maturity in serving the Lord. And here’s the lovely thing…

Paul knew so specifically the needs of each audience to whom he wrote that the clarity and power of his messages still transform countless lives and congregations today. You see, writer, here’s the thing. Identifying your audience is about seeking and gaining the clarity you need to refine and poise your message to hit its mark, much as Paul did in his letters to the churches.

Identifying Your Audience in Life

When I began writing my novels, I knew my audiences needed complex and weighty truths about life and love and relationships woven into a relatable and realistic framework. Though I was drawn to film at the time, I realized a novel would provide the richness and depth my readers needed to explore these truths in a place different enough to feel safe and near enough to mirror their own life. As I wove complex themes into a world of fantasy, readers not only received those truths but were able to recognize and embrace them in their own lives.

The Power of Identifying Your Audience

You see, here’s the thing, writer. There are so many ways to express your “why” and message. There are countless ways write a book, a novel, a work of fantasy, historical fiction, or Christian living, or…fill in the blank! But when we understand our audience, it informs both what we write and how we write it, enabling us to strategically shape our words to reach readers where they are. Let me show you…

• • To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is! – Proverbs 15:23
  • A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. – Proverbs 25:11-12
  • The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer… – Proverbs 15:28
  • “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” – Habakkuk 2:2

If you’ll notice, writer, the ability to speak a timely and wise message to a specific audience is connected to wisdom. And here’s the thing about wisdom. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. It begins with recognizing and marrying His original purpose for your message with the unique design and needs of the people He created to hear it.

How to Identify Your Audience

So are you ready to identify your audience? Here are some questions to get you started!

1. 1. Review Your “Why.” Take a moment to review your God-given message. Is it a story? Wisdom to live a healthier life? Rich scriptural insights? Once your “why” and message are firmly in mind, begin your exploration by prayerfully considering: who absolutely needs to hear this message? Write down what comes to mind. Don’t worry if the answers feel a bit broad. These thoughts will provide the starting point for identifying your audience.
   2. Get Specific. Once you have a big picture of who needs your message, spend time defining what that reader looks like. Who are they specifically? How old? What gender? Where do they live and work? What lifestyle, education, and habits do they have? What forms of entertainment do they enjoy? What kind of books do they read and how often? Get as specific as you can. While it may feel like narrowing your definition limits your reach, writing for such a specific reader often provides a clarity and depth that will amplify your work in unexpected ways.
   3. Identify Their Needs. Once you’ve defined your ideal reader, identify key features of their lives and needs they  have. These are key insights to help you tailor you writing to reach them specifically. For instance, are they moms on the run? Keep your message clear, simple, and encouraging. Are they academics? Be sure you provide the depth of detail they love. Are they auditory learners? Consider an audio book or podcasts. I encourage you to pray regularly for these readers as you write, asking the Lord for wisdom to tailor His message directly to them.
   4. Start a Conversation. Take steps to engage potential readers about your message now. Learn where they gather. Do they frequent social media? Or enjoy email newsletters? Maybe they frequent craft fairs? Establish a presence where your readers already are and invite them into your writing process. Share updates and teasers and snapshots of your writing life. Ask strategic questions about their life and reading. By engaging in conversation, you open the door to learn more about your audience in a very personal way, and here’s the thing…

Identifying your audience is really about meeting your readers at their point of need. It’s about finding an entrance point for your God-given message into their everyday world. It’s about communicating that message in a ways they can readily grasp and absorb in their own lives. 

As we begin to truly understand our audience and refine our message for their hearts and needs, our words begin to gain a clarity and impact that far outreaches anything we imagined.  Just like Churchill’s tailored words still strengthen those standing against evil today. Just like Paul’s depth and clarity have saved believers from error and shipwreck throughout the centuries. Just like my words continue to illuminate truth not just within the pages of a book but within the lives of the readers. Because here’s the final thought…

Taking time to identify and embrace your audience is an act of love and an expression of the heart of God. It’s meeting them in life’s highways and byways with the hope
and light of your God-given message. And nothing done in love ever fails to bear fruit of some kind.

So, I encourage you today, writer, to take some time to identify your readers and their needs. Then allow that knowledge to inform and refine your message as you build your writing habit. You may never know the lasting impact those words and work of love will have as you do.

#writing #message #audience #EveryWriterWriting