How to Build an “Ideal Reader Persona” to Grow Your Audience With Confidence
The easier path to online writing success.
I’ve spent the past five years growing an audience of over 40,000 subscribers who are eager to write online, share their message, and monetize their work.
I’ve run dozens of cohorts of online courses and a private membership where we’ve supported thousands of creators in leveraging their knowledge and growing their audience.
And even though every writer’s journey is individual and unique, I soon realized that some principles can help almost everyone.
One of those underrated principles is knowing who you write for.
I know some writers will get mad about this advice because they aim to write whatever they want without worrying about who they’re writing for.
And that’s perfectly fine.
If you’re writing for fun, you can do whatever you want.
But if your goals include building a loyal audience and monetizing your work, you can’t just do whatever you want.
Writing for anyone = Writing for no one
The problem with not knowing who you’re writing for is that you might end up creating content that’s not valuable to anyone.
Let’s look at a specific example and imagine you’re a health and fitness writer.
You’re writing articles about leading a healthier, fitter, and pain-free life.
You strongly believe everyone needs your advice, so you’re not sure who you’re specifically writing for.
Now let’s look at a few different types of people who might be interested in fitness advice:
Mark is 45 years old and has been struggling with obesity for the past two decades. He hates exercising and is looking for advice on how to still lose weight.
Julie just got pregnant with her first child and wants to educate herself to create a healthier lifestyle for herself, her spouse, and her baby.
25-year-old John has always been skinny and wants to gain muscle mass to impress more women.
Martha is 60 years old, loves exercising, and wants to implement healthy routines because she wants to be fit and energized when her first grandchild is born in just a few months.
They all need health and fitness advice.
They might even need similar advice, but how you present your ideas needs to be fundamentally different, so it’s relatable, actionable, and helpful for each of them.
Your language will change depending on who you’re writing for.
You wouldn’t talk to Martha the same way you’d talk to John.
And the ideas you’d share with Julie might differ from what Mark needs.
If you’re writing for a pregnant woman, you can speak to her deepest desires and fears, so she takes your advice seriously and makes profound changes in her life.
If you’re writing for a young person who wants to look hotter, you’ll paint a different picture in his mind because his aims are different.
Now that you know why creating reader personas is so important, let’s move on to how you can get started:
Meet Jennifer:
The most powerful persona is the most detailed one. The better you understand your readers, the easier it is to speak to them.
Depending on your niche, not all details might matter, but most of the time, being specific about who your ideal reader is makes sense.
As an example, I want you to meet Jennifer:
Jennifer is my ideal reader persona for this article.
She’s 29 years old, lives in the Netherlands, and is single.
She went to business school and has been working in a marketing agency for the past five years. In her work, she’s also exploring Web 3.0 and NFTs.
She’s good at her job and likes what she does because she’s fascinated by the changes blockchain and Web 3.0 could lead to in just a few years.
She’s satisfied with her income, yet she’d love to build a side hustle and personal brand online because she’s always worked for large companies and desires to have more freedom so she can explore creative work.
She’d love to write and share her ideas about Web 3.0, but she doesn’t know where to start and is afraid of wasting her time.
This article will be a great help for Jennifer because it’ll help her gain clarity before even publishing her first piece.
It’ll help her take a shortcut, so she doesn’t write dozens of articles that speak to no one.
Let’s wrap it up
Depending on your niche, the information you’ll need to create your ideal reader persona can be slightly different, but here are a few ideas any writer should think about:
The basics:
The easiest way to get started with your reader persona is by answering demographic questions: What’s her age? Where is she from? Where is she living? Are you writing for men, women, or both? Does gender even play a role?
What’s her background?
What are the beliefs she grew up with? What did she study? Where does she work? What are her hobbies and interests?
What are her goals?
What does she want to achieve? What are her big aims in life? And why does she need your advice?
What are her challenges and fears?
Relate this question to your content: Which problems could you help her solve through your writing? Are you writing educational stories? Step-by-step guides? Or just inspiring/funny stories that make her forget about her busy life, so she can relax and enjoy a few minutes of peaceful reading?
If you can write stories that help your ideal reader overcome her challenges and achieve her goals, you’ll be able to build a lasting bond.
Here’s how to use this
Jennifer is one of several reader personas I write for.
Most of my writing is for beginner writers who are just starting out on Substack or trying to take their online writing more seriously.
When I started, I had no idea what I was doing.
I was frustrated, lost, and kept second-guessing every step. That’s why I now write the kind of articles I wish I had back then: simple, practical, and encouraging.
Still, I don’t write for just one type of reader.
Some of my articles are meant for writers figuring out their niche, others for those ready to grow their audience or start monetizing.
Each persona helps me stay clear on who I’m helping and what they need most right now.
Weird things will happen
Even though you might write with a specific reader persona in mind, you’ll still reach readers who don’t align with your ideal persona.
My personal development articles get comments from readers of all ages and various backgrounds. Most of them are nowhere close to being like 16-year-old me.
Yet, they find value in my stories because their struggles are similar to those I faced. This allows me to connect with them regardless of demographics.
Contrary to what most writers believe, writing with a specific person in mind doesn’t restrict you.
Instead, it helps you dig deeper and create stories that are truly valuable.
And even though I write this story with Jennifer in mind, you are probably nothing like her.
You might have a completely different background and different goals.
Yet, you’re still able to benefit from this piece, right?
Final thoughts
Even though not specifying who you write for might sound like a more flexible approach, knowing who your ideal reader is will give you more freedom, clarity, and confidence.
When you know who you write for, you know how to communicate because you’re able to come up with stronger arguments to clearly articulate the value of your story.
And most importantly, knowing who you write for enables you to dig deeper into her specific pain points, so you can write articles that are truly helpful.
Define your reader persona this week. You’ll be surprised how much easier writing becomes.
How do you go about defining the ideal persona? In my case, I want to share the wealth of experience that comes from working for 25 years in specific types of companies. Some of what I have to share is broadly applicable to anyone navigating workplace challenges and honing their communication skills. Who would my ideal persona be?
Great information for new people to substack. I see myself getting frustrated sometimes because I'm still learning substack and this is like a literal launch pad. I've never defined my audience