Writing for the Web › how it works › know your audience tip When you are researching your audience, there are two useful concepts to bear Sometimes it helps to in mind: the audience of one and personas.write for just one person. Pick out someone you know who fits your audience, or make 5.3.2 The Audience of One someone up, and write for that person. In According to Price and Price, audiences were traditionally thought of copywriting, this person as a vast and vaguely defined crowd (2002). Because the web provides awho fits your audience is voice to individuals and niche groups, the concept of this mass audience is a persona. disintegrating. Price and Price go on to argue that the Internet has led to an audience of one (2002). What does this mean? While your audience is not literally one person (and if it is, thank your mum for reading your website, but spend some time on growing your readership), it is not a vast, vaguely defined crowd. Instead, online we have many niche audiences who are used to being addressed as individuals. When you are writing marketing material, you need to identify that individual, investigate what they want and write as if you were speaking directly to them. The individual that you have in mind when you are writing could also be called a persona. 5.3.3 Personas A persona is a profile that a writer creates to embody the characteristics of the target audience for whom she is writing. Personas are based on the profile of readers of your copy. Creating a profile is all about considering the characteristics of your readers and their needs and desires. When you are building this profile, there are a number of things that you should consider about your audience: • Are they primarily male, female or a mixture? • What are their other demographics? Once you understand these simple characteristics, you can ask yourself a few, more in-depth questions. If you are selling something, questions include: • How do they make purchasing decisions? • Do they compare many service providers before selecting one? • Do they make lists of questions and call in for assistance with decision making or do they make purchase decisions spontaneously based on a special offer?118