Schlagwort-Archive: Target group

The simple formula for a text

You have decided to put your “Hello world” in writing on the way. The finalized text already floats in front of your inner eye. However, the path from your imagination to paper or into the computer requires guard rails which keep you on track. In contrast to the content of a text, the formal composition follows a surprisingly simple formula.

The following outline provides simple hints for blog posts, articles or book chapters – also for you.

Organize your content!

You know what you want to write. You have your own personal style. You keep exchanging ideas with others. These are perfect conditions to develop your text. Now the task is to organize your train of thought. Know what you want to achieve, what messages you have, and in what order you develop your argument by making a sketch.

Track down your target group!

The focus on a specific target group is crucial for the impact of your text. Do you already have a notion of your readers? You have any idea what they are interested in? You know their jargon? With these ideas you will find suitable words, choose a text tone and encourage the readers to persevere ‘til the end of the text and eventually consider your text consciously. With PERYOU a kind of dialogue with the reader is possible that provokes new insights.

Use the signal effect of the title!

Most readers decide based on titles within one to two seconds whether to continue reading or not. This no longer applies only to the web, but also to printed matter. The headline sticks out of the flowing text and shows at a glance, what the reader can hope for. This is especially true for the headline of an article. In addition, paragraph/chapter headings provide quick access to the flow of thought. In a few words, you phrase solutions, advantages and incentives that bring new points of view to the target group.

Start with a glimpse!

Take advantage of an entry that further increases the stimulated interest. With this pretension, the introduction, you can create a frame for the reader that makes the later main part catchier. You place a comprehensible context, prepare for the main messages and provide each individual with reasons to continue to read. Anticipate the essential questions of your target group and provoke the readership with skeptical statements.

Convey the points of view!

Your actual messages and explanations unfold in the main section. This part is the most extensive and requires a suspense curve that captivates the reader. This is achieved with section titles (see above), which give the reader an overview and spurs on curiosity continuously. In addition, you should make sure that the content provides readers with explanations, options and value as well as clarifies the overall message.

End with an outlook for more!

Be careful not to abruptly leave the reader behind after your argument has been conclusively concluded. Make sure that your message still has an impact by creating a reverberation with an outlook. After the text is before the text. Summarize the new insights for the readers and create a bridge to further topics – it is advantageous if you already have the next text in mind and can refer to it.

Bottom line: You will already be dealing with the above topics. And somehow the points mentioned are clear to everyone. Nevertheless, it helps to refresh them from time to time. Of course you have your contents in front of your eyes. And you know who you’re writing for. You know the signal effect of a title. And you’ll probably use an introduction to effectively frame your messages and to look outside the box. Yet, it is always helpful to be aware of the above variables, which make up the simple formula. Not to forget the additional design elements that can further enhance the expediency of a text, such as the page layout, font sizes and formats, as well as visualizations of all kinds.

The best example remains the practical example

What is said, when the listeners do not understand, what they are hearing? “As a producer of traditional food made from ground grains, H2O, storing of gases and a few extras, kneaded to dough and then baked in an oven you achieve a real sales growth, when you focus on motivating the so far not present, complementary consumer segments in directly investing in your products.” Thoughtless, abstract descriptions rarely lead to the target. The best example remains the practical example.

The examples will become practical by considering the following aspects.

  • Target group-oriented examples
    The most important thing by far is the consideration of the target group. What makes a target group? The first question to ask is about the factors that differentiate them. This can be professional, functional, cultural, application-oriented or other things – the industry sector, the functional area in the company, the Asian culture, the IT solution or cost aspects, etc. The examples should be chosen according to the interests of the target group.
  • Easy to apply
    Examples need to relate to the reality of the audience. Only then, they can be transferred. Describe the cases deviating magnitudes from the target group, strange problem areas or other cultural realities, the stories may be good, but unfortunately not realizable. For appropriate examples, it is necessary to understand the use cases of the target group, in order to provide appropriate templates.
  • 7plusminus2
    Regardless of the target group, the examples should not exceed the processing capacity of people. Investigations have shown that all people can handle 7plusminus2 chunks. A chunk is one of up to nine elements, which can be kept in the short-term memory. This means for the examples that they use as few chunks as possible in a statement, e.g. various influence factors. This ensures that the listener is not overwhelmed by too much information and eventually can not remember anything.
  • Free of abstract terms
    Even rocket scientists do not understand everything. On the one hand there are the terms of a subject area, which are continuously extended. On the other hand these are the abstract terms, e.g. complexity, strategy, model, effectiveness, efficiency, etc., which trigger different ideas in everybody’s mind. Since an example should show reliably a situation, at best avoid abstract terms.

It is not always possible to personally assess the concrete circumstances. Nevertheless the target group should be imagined in advance. This can be done by visualizing it in front of its inner eye, sometimes by listening to its inner ear, or by feeling sensibly into the situation. Articles and contributions on the Internet provide a lot of information concerning the respective topic. With these impressions, you will almost automatically be closer to the target group than if you do not anticipate it in advance.

Bottom line: The statement in the beginning will be incomprehensible to most people, although it is written in plain English. The sentence could also be formulated as follows: In order to win new customers for your baked goods, you, as a baker, can go out of your shop to the streets for exciting passers-by with fresh bread samples out of your assortment. Only few of us are bakers and yet we can understand this message. Whenever we want to communicate something to others, it is helpful to use examples that are target-group oriented, easy applicable, contain 7plusminus2 messages, and are free of abstract terms. The best example remains the practical example.