Elizabeth Short
Monumental Mailers was thrilled with the inaugural edition of Direct Mail Management, their custom email newsletter. It had led, Monumental reported, to dozens of new clients in the first month alone. You were happy, too, especially because your company pulled the project together on a short deadline.
Perhaps it didn’t matter, after all, that time constraints had prevented a thorough review by the editorial team. But, a few issues later, when Monumental complains that established clients are unsubscribing in droves from the newsletter rolls, you are asked to investigate. What is an editor’s mission?
As an editor, you must now determine whether your company’s product is to blame. Sitting down with a fresh cup of coffee, you begin perusing a recent issue of the newsletter. You are immediately struck by the combination of good writing and eye-catching design. Five minutes later, you are on the phone with the writer. “Great job on the Monumental Mailers project. I’m happy to report our problem will be easy to fix . . .”
How could such an appealing document be at fault and, perhaps more importantly, what solution do you have in mind? The answer is elementary. The writer has forgotten that the intended audience includes returning clients as well as potential ones. Packed with tips on starting a direct mail program, the newsletter falls short in its stated mission of helping clients manage, not merely initiate, their direct mail efforts.
After a short brainstorming session, you help your writer revise the newsletter content appropriately. Slated to offer advanced how-to articles as well as basic information on direct mail services, Direct Mail Management is now poised to satisfy its entire target market.
Identifying Your Audience
A writer should get a firm grasp of the document’s intended audience before beginning to write. Most professional writers and editors are aware that this step determines the bones of an effective document: depth and breadth of content, tone, terminology, and organization, as well as any visual elements such as graphics or sidebars. They also know that constructing these elements soundly the first time will save a major rewrite, and plenty of time and money, down the editorial road.
To identify a document’s intended audience, as well as its unique needs, ask yourself these questions:
- Who will read this document — a potential dog owner, someone seeking life insurance, a helpdesk employee, a home cook?
- Why will they read this document — to choose a breed of dog, to find the best insurance they can afford, to serve a customer with computer problems, to cook a fine meal?
- In what circumstances will they use the document — while seated leisurely on the couch, while contemplating death, while speaking with a frustrated customer, while thinking about dinner?
- What will readers expect this document to help them gain — a breed of dog that is compatible with their lifestyle, financial security for a loved one, a satisfied customer, relaxation and delicious food?
Your answers to these questions will shape the following elements in your document:
- The information you include — facts, figures, assurances, or instructions.
- The way information is organized — by categories, concepts, problems, or tasks.
- The tone — friendly, soothing, technical, or tantalizing.
- The visuals you include — photographs, sidebars, screen captures, or line drawings.
Editing for Your Audience
If you’re an editor who did not have the luxury of ensuring that your writer understands the intended audience before the writing process began, you may find yourself faced with the tough prospect of recommending a rewrite. Imagine that your writer has prepared a pamphlet outlining the benefits of good oral hygiene. Replete with details for the lay person, the pamphlet is useless to the real audience — dental professionals seeking concrete ways to help their patients establish good oral care habits. Caught between sending your writer back to the writing desk and signing off on an ineffective document, the choice is clear.
Some fixes, however, are quicker and easier than you might think. Say an insurance company hires you to edit a press release introducing its newest agent. As it turns out, the release couldn’t be more complete, clear, or concise. But, written in the technical style of an insurance claim, it’s also absolutely wrong for its audience: harried members of the media who are short on attention span and long on a steady supply of dry press releases.
In this case, it might be possible to salvage the bulk of the document (the “who,” “what,” “when,” and “where”) while enhancing the “why” with a unique angle (the insurance agent was hired because she’s a former NASCAR driver with expertise in high risk insurance). Finally, with your audience still in mind, you replace a dull headline with the flashy type the media loves. Now the press release has a chance of attracting its intended audience.
Whether you are an in-house editor supporting a document from start to finish or a freelancer brought in near a project’s end, your job is always to be an advocate for the reader. At their best, your intentions will result in a final product that is comprehensible, complete, and, most important of all, effective in reaching and serving the intended audience.
Elizabeth Short is a freelance writer and editor from Bellingham, Washington who works with businesses on newsletters, web content, brochures, and ghostwriting projects. Her columns, profiles, and articles appear in numerous regional and national publications. She can be reached at elizabeth@write-words.biz.