Understanding Your Audience by Steph Beth Nickel

 

https://pixabay.com/photos/create-creation-creativity-laptop-3026190/

There's nothing wrong with writing exclusively for yourself. Enter the journal in its numerous iterations: bullet journals, diary-type journals, guided journals, etc., etc., etc.

But . . . 

If you're writing for an audience, there are several things to take into consideration.

You've likely heard the term "target audience," but defining who you're writing to is crucial to what you write, the vocabulary you use, and how you market your writing.

The good news: Defining your target audience, your "ideal reader," has numerous benefits. The bad news: No, you're not writing for everyone. 

When you have determined who your ideal reader is, you'll have to do some research as to where to find them. Do they spend time on social media? If so, where? Facebook? Instagram? TikTok?

As you explore, you'll not only find your target audience but also what interests them, what they're posting about, their "felt needs."

The information you want to share or the entertainment value you want to provide is only relevant to your audience if it's something that satisfies those felt needs. You may have a great deal of information, insight, and inspiration to offer, but you have to meet your readers where they are in order for them to benefit from your words.

And speaking of words . . .

Understanding what to say and how to say it to effectively communicate with your audience is extremely important.

Raise your hand if you'll read a 1000-page fantasy novel, but will merely skim an email of more than three paragraphs.

While you may happily read a lengthy newsletter, the same amount of content on Facebook can appear overwhelming, causing you to skip over it entirely.

Using words your audience understands and can relate to in a format that grabs their attention is incredibly important. Meeting their expectations, based on what you're writing, is also important. Using proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling in your texts is fine. Expecting others to do the same (and, worse yet, correcting them when they don't) will shut the door to effective, ongoing communication.

As an editor, people ask me if poor grammar and incorrect spelling and punctuation bother me. I can honestly say that, for the most part, I notice these mistakes but don't allow them to hinder the message the writer is seeking to convey. (It's different when someone hires me to notice these issues and correct them of course.)

As a writer, it's important to define your target audience, discover where they spend their time, learn what their felt needs are and how you can meet them, and seek to effectively communicate with them in a way they understand.

When the Unexpected Upends Our Plans by Sandi Somers

Repairing Calgary's Watermain Break

It was not the summer I planned.

It all began June 5th, when one of two main water lines into Calgary burst, cutting our water supply to 40%. Stage 1 restrictions thrust us into pioneer-like use of water, and we weren’t even allowed to water outdoor plants. However, I got around the restrictions, saving as much “grey water” as I could from washing dishes by hand, and from rescuing bath water and water from taps as I warmed it up for other usage. But then came July. It was hot with no rain, and some flowers didn’t thrive very well. My plans for a lovely show garden were put on hold to maybe next year.

Finally, after several weeks of repair work on the water line, test water began flowing through the pipes. We were allowed to water our lawns—one hour a week. With no rain for our parched, yellowing lawns, it was like giving a glass of water to a person dying of thirst! (It’s September now and we’re back into severe water restrictions as other fragile spots on the water main are being repaired.)

Then July brought two painful events. On July 4, my brother Keith died of lung cancer. I didn't know he was ill and didn’t have a chance to meet with him before he passed. His family hosted a private family viewing, with no service planned, which I attended. The same morning, another brother, Cyril, was brought to the Foothills Hospital. His health had been deteriorating in the previous weeks, and his condition had worsened to the point of needing hospital care.

It was a tough day for all of us.

Cyril was diagnosed with myeloma—blood cancer. “Do you know what that means?” the doctor asked me. “Yes, our sister died of it ten years ago,” I answered, heartbroken for what I knew lay ahead for Cyril. Fortunately, new medications are more effective in treating this cancer than in my sister Karen’s day. He’s on weekly chemo injections—twelve altogether, which will take him just past Thanksgiving.

Grief over Keith’s passing and caring for loved ones in deep suffering took a lot out of me. Meanwhile, when my summer plans became as short changed as our water, I kept in contact with Keith’s family, offering love and support, and I became Cyril’s principal visitor and caregiver, visiting him almost every day, sharing tender moments, sharing God’s love when he was afraid he was dying, and praying with him. I also texted our extended family and Cyril’s friends, keeping them posted on his progress. What a delight to see how God is answering our prayers as Cyril is gradually recovering.

When my life—our lives—veer off in unexpected directions, we often feel disoriented or upended. Yet God waters our lives with grace and His presence, sometimes growing us in new directions, new attitudes, new caring, and new compassion. New themes will emerge, perhaps even a new direction for writing.

It was then that I knew God has a higher plan and a way through these events (Isaiah 55:9). I knew He was inviting me to participate with His purpose and give Him honour for His wonderful care over many issues.

Ubiquitous Una Understands by Joylene M Bailey

 

*****

Well dear readers, I'm not sure I can be held responsible for the places my creative brain goes when given the letter U to work with. Thank you in advance for your indulgence and understanding. 

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To Whom it May Concern at Vogue Magazine Except for the Mail Department and any Underlings;

     Your publication is unequivocally unobjectionable. It has come to my attention, however, that the magazine could be uniformly better if you employed an advice columnist. 

     I propose myself for this propitious role since I'm veritably prolific with advice, and, I most humbly and unobtrusively admit, an expert in most things. Anyone will tell you I am upright to the utmost and undeniably urbane. People often utter that my advice gives them shivers.

     The column will be called Una Understands, for I understand the human condition and possess useful advice. I think things through, but I can also be ultroneous at times. I believe this unique quality cannot be undermined. People appreciate me. I'm there for them, anytime and all the time.

     For example, I have been there for my new young neighbours since they moved in two years ago. I drop over at least three times a week with food and life suggestions, unseasoned as they are. Ultimately, I've lived quite a long time and have garnered umpteen useful things.

     When they first moved in, I urged them to update the ugly beige siding, to umber possibly, because the ultramarine shutters clashed. I gave them the name of my brother-in-law who is a contractor. I don't take umbrage when they don't follow my advice right away. (Which is a good characteristic for an advice columnist.) It's understandable. The new baby keeps them busy. There's something wrong with it, it ululates at least once a day.

     Since they're so busy, I'm helping with the garden. It became overgrown with the flowers they planted last year, and as I unfolded the value of vegetables to them, I gave them my leftover seeds. They haven't had time to plant them yet, but I've dug up the flowers for them, so the garden is all ready for planting whenever they can get away from that baby.

     They don't bring the baby outside anymore, and I can't tell if it's getting enough roughage. I know all about babies, my sister had three.

     George, my other neighbour, values my advice no end. He's always saying, "Una, you are incorrigible." But of course he means incorruptible. He's always getting those two mixed up, poor thing.

     I haven't seen him in a while, he's never home when I go knock on his door, and now there's a for sale sign on his lawn. I suppose he got fed up with that upstart Carter across the street, who used to mow George's lawn--quite the wrong way, in my view, and I told him so every time he was out there. Carter has now given up on the job, undisciplined urchin. You never can trust kids these days, and poor George has been mowing it himself, which he finds difficult with the cane, you know, but I've told him I'm coming up with an idea to make his life unbelievably better.

     Oh yes, an advice column will be no problem for me. Physically, I mean. You see, I will have my own office to work in, now that Morris has passed on. He used to spend hours working in there with Rudolf and Valentino purring away on the desk. Plumbers have so much paperwork nowadays, I can't imagine how they're expected to do the actual plumbing. But sure enough, as soon as Morris got home from work, he'd say, "Una dear, I'll take my supper in my office. So much paperwork tonight." I'd hear the papers rustling while the football game played on the office TV. How unfortunate that he couldn't just sit back and enjoy the evening. The most uxorious man who ever lived, and I miss him unmistakably.

     As you can see, my specific gifts will be significantly useful to your publication, and I urge you to undergo this change with Una Understands at the helm, to bring your magazine to its utmost untouchability.

Undauntedly,

Una Uxbridge

P.S. Undoubtedly, you noticed my competency with vocabulary. I read the dictionary regularly and have just completed the U section.  

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Feature Image by Oliver Kepka of Pixabay

Joy writes from lake country, Alberta, and thanks you for indulging her crazy creative brain. In case you are still wondering about two usually unused U words in this post, Ultroneous means spontaneous, voluntary. And Uxoriousness means foolish fondness for a wife. 

Find more of her joy-infused writing at Scraps of Joy, where a new post was published on Sept. 2.

   

U is for Undeterred by Bob Jones

Are you in a place where the unexpected has set you back on your heels? Panicked because life threw up a roadblock to your dreams? You’re uncertain about finding a way through. You wonder what God was thinking to allow this to happen.

 

God will make a way.

 

My story is about a detour not a diagnosis, a building not a body. While not life-threatening, the experience with God galvanized our faith to face future threats. In 2006 our newly planted church was situated at the western end of the most northerly avenue in Edmonton. Ours was the only building. Isolated, adjacent to farmers’ fields, with deer and coyotes as our near neighbours. It was a perfect site for growth on 15 acres, with traffic access from a new ring road. Within two years our average Sunday attendance grew from 495 to 900. Three years later we had added a second service and were considering a third. We had momentum. January 2011 was to be a celebration of God’s favour.  

 

The Christmas decorations had just been stored away when a letter arrived from the city of Edmonton. It was a notification of the closure of our avenue during expansion work. The closure would be for one year.

 

What?

 

What were they thinking? How do they expect people to get to church? A hurried meeting with city developers informed us of an error. They had forgotten about our building in their plans. The avenue would be shut down for a year. To help us, the city would pay for signs to direct people through convoluted detours and pay for a temporary road to be built near railroad tracks and through a ditch to access our property. Thank you very much. Subsequent to that, CN informed us they would close the railway crossing at the same time for upgrades. Now we had no access again.

 

Panic.

 

TRUST GOD'S HEART

The city may have forgotten us, but God had not. We discovered that for every setback, God has a greater comeback. God's faithfulness is hope for many detoured by crisis in life. Don Moen’s song, “God Will Make a Way,” became our theme.

 

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.

 

People were praying. CN decided to delay the railway crossing upgrade. We purchased billboard ads in high traffic areas to inform the community we existed and were open. Our leadership determined to at least have some fun with this setback. I crafted a sermon series entitled, “Undeterred.”  We asked the city for orange roadwork barriers, detour signs, and construction equipment and placed those outside our facility entrances, in our lobby, and on our platform. Remarkably, the congregation took this detour in stride and grew in faith and in numbers.

Thirteen years later, people still talk about being undeterred.

 

In the bad news, the good news was the expanded avenue was to accommodate a potential of 450-550 housing starts. Within a couple of years, 4,000 people were living in the new neighbourhood next door. The community now boasts close to 8,000 residents in walking distance of the church. North Pointe was first to the frontier and an anchor point for the community.

 

When I can't trace God's hand I must trust his heart. 

God is too loving to hurt me.

God is too wise to make a mistake.

God's power makes all things possible.

 

My prayer for you is to be undeterred. To embrace God’s love and to know his wisdom. To be comforted so you have the strength to take the next step forward with your faith intact and your eyes on heaven.

 

If I can be of any help or support in your journey, please reach out. Bob.pb.jones@gmail.com or 780-707-5569