Writing to Your Audience

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Writing to Your Audience

• Presented to IABC/Central Oklahoma
• October 5, 2006
• Scott H. Cytron, ABC
• Cytron and Company

?Cytron and Company
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Why This is Important

• Increases readability.
• Increases your organizations integrity.
• Creates an awareness of something or someone.
• Creates a call to action.
• Shows your audience you care about what they want.

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Why This is Important

• Makes you
• look good!

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What Were Going to Do Today

• Understand the differences in your audience.
• Discover how to stress the benefits in your
  writing.
• Top 10 Tips
• E-mail Dos and Donts
• A few surprises.

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Understand Primary and Secondary Audiences

• Internal communications employees
• External communications consumers, associate
  groups, vertical industries
• Customers or clients built-in buy-in because
  they need something specific you have to offer
• Press/Media

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Age-Based Values andBelief Systems

• Comparison of Generations in the Workforce
• GI Generation Ages 73-101 Savers, Thrifty and
  Added Wealth Transfer
• Silent Generation Ages 57-72
• Baby Boomers Ages 38-56 77 million people
• Generation X Ages 26-37 44 million people
• Echo Boom, a.k.a., Millennials Ages 8-25 80
  million people
• Source AgeSpeak

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Baby Boomers

• About one-quarter of all U.S. households are
  caring for an older relative or friend, or have
  done so recently, according to a survey by a
  division of AARP. Many of these people are Baby
  Boomers - those born between 1946 and 1965 - who
  also have children heading toward college in the
  coming years.

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Baby Boomers

• "From the Age of Aquarius to the Age of
  Responsibility," a Pew Research Center report
  housed on NPR.org, shows, among other findings,
  that 50 of Baby Boomers are financially
  responsible for a child under the age of 18, and
  20 are giving support to an aging parent. A
  total of 68 who have children over 18 are
  helping them financially.

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A Younger Workforce - ABC Study

• October 2004 Survey conducted by the American
  Business Collaboration (ABC)
• Consortium of eight major corporations Abbott
  Laboratories, Deloitte, Exxon Mobil Corporation,
  General Electric, IBM Corporation, Johnson
  Johnson, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Texas
  Instruments

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What did They Find?

• Younger workers (Gen-Y and Gen-X) are more likely
  to be "family-centric" or "dual-centric" (with
  equal priorities on both career and family) and
  less "work-centric" (putting higher priority on
  their jobs than family) compared to members of
  the Boomer generation.

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What did They Find?

• Among college-educated men of Gen-Y, Gen-X and
  Boomer ages in 1992 and 2002, 68 percent wanted
  to move into jobs with more responsibility in
  1992 versus only 52 percent in 2002.
• Among college-educated women of these ages in
  1992 and 2002, 57 percent wanted to move into
  jobs with more responsibility in 1992 versus only
  36 percent in 2002.

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Echo Boomers

• "They have been heavily programmed. (Their) whole
  lives have really been based on what some adult
  tells them to do.
• - Dr. Mel Levine University of North Carolina
• Source 60 Minutes - www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/
  10/01/
• 60minutes/main646890.shtml

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Echo Boomers

• "Echo Boomers are the driving force behind
  popular culture and popular culture today is all
  about weddings. Whether youre talking about
  'Mama Mia' on Broadway or 'My Big Fat Greek
  Wedding,' 'Sweet Home Alabama' in the movies and
  all the reality TV programming, it's all about
  love and marriage. This generation is absolutely
  a powerhouse. The Echo Boom is huge and rich!
• - Conde Nast's Bridal Group Publisher Nina
  Lawrence

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Age-Based Values andBelief Systems

• What can you do with this information?
• Write to your audience by understanding their
  past and what they are looking for in the future.
• Shape articles or pitches that you know they will
  be interested in reading.
• Develop an edge to your writing by focusing on
  one or two key elements that will truly make the
  reader sit up and take notice.

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Stress the Benefits

• Motivation Factors How can you say no?
• Descriptors - Home shopping
• Use your age-based knowledge to stress a
  particular topic or issue.

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Resources

• Boom, Bust and Echo - How to Profit From the
  Coming Demographic ShiftDavid K. Foot with
  Daniel Stoffman Macfarlane, Walter and Ross,
  Toronto, 1996
• Online Review www.bizsum.com/boombustandecho.htm

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Resources

• Microsoft bCentral Web site
• www. bcentral.com
• Search for generation marketing
• American Demographics magazine www.americandemogra
  phics.com
• FTC
• www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/services/apact/

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Top 10 Tips
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Tip 1

• Find out What They Want
• Remember
• This isnt about you!

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Tip 1

• Use Readership Surveys, but take the time to
  analyze results.
• Use continuous feedback mechanisms.
• Convene an Editorial Board or a group of
  employees who can provide third-party guidance.
• Find out what competitors are doing.

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Resolve a New Testament for Teenagers We
asked teen girls how often they read the bible.
The response that came back was, Well, we dont
read the Bible. Its just too freaky, too
intimidating. It doesnt make any sense.
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Boost Mobile
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• Most Boost subscribers in America likely don't
  realize that their calls are carried by Nextel
  (NXTL), the nation's fifth-largest wireless
  operator and a company whose brand name, by its
  own admission, is a total loser with the young.
  "Kids see us as the brand their mom or dad uses,"
  says Nextel COO Tom Kelly.

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Who is This Person?
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A Mega-Sized Empire Builds
Rachael Ray
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She Knows Her Audience
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Tip 2

• Understand your Audiences Level of Comprehension

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Nutrition Bulletin

• GET SKINNY BY DIPPING
• Next time you eat out, dont butter your bread
  dip it in olive oil instead. Not only is the
  monounsaturated fat in olive oil better for your
  heart than the saturated fat in butter or the
  trans fat in margarine, but its also better for
  your waistline.

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Tip 3

• Avoid style for their sake, not ours.
• But, be aware of simple grammar rules.

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Consider the Serial Comma

• Omitting the serial comma destroys balance,
  muddies meaning, and forces writers to decide
  whether this is one of those rare times when it
  could be omitted.
• What should you do if you write for editors who
  delete serial commas? Ask the editors for the
  expert source that mandates such deletion. Fact
  is, writing authorities agree that the serial
  comma should be retained.
• - Paula LaRocque, The Dallas Morning News

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With is a Four-Letter Word
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Own versus own
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Tip 3.5 Spell Check, butAlso Proofread
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And the Response was
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Tip 4

• Draw the reader in with headlines and strong
  leads.

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Would the credit and collection profession thrive
without credit card debt? A simple question, and
yet it doesnt have as simple an answer. If you
were take away debtors who owed money on unpaid
credit card balances, youre left, still, with
quite a few who owe in numerous other areas,
including healthcare, mortgage loans and
utilities.
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Tip 5

• Print versus online
• Consolidate!

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Three Basic Points

• 1. Summarize first. Put the main points of your
  document in the first paragraph, so that readers
  scanning your pages will not miss your point.
• 2. Be concise. Use lists rather than paragraphs,
  but only when your prose lends itself to such
  treatment. Readers can pick out information more
  easily from a list than from within a paragraph.

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Three Basic Points

• 3. Write for scanning. Most Web readers scan
  pages for relevant materials rather than reading
  through a document word by word. Guide the reader
  by highlighting the salient points in your
  document using headings, lists and typographical
  emphasis.

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Resources

• Writing for the Web
• (Dartmouth University)
• http//www.dartmouth.edu/webteach/articles/text.h
  tml

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Tip 6

• The Almighty
• Personality Profile
• Why would your reader care about a profile of
  someone they dont know?

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Tip 6

• a.k.a.
• How can a personality profile be more of an
  interactive experience?

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Identify With the Audience

• This months world premiere of Tobias Pickers AN
  AMERICAN TRAGEDY boasts one of the most potent
  collections of talent in recent Met history.
  MARTIN BERNHEIMER quizzes the operas principal
  players as they prepare for opening night.

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Every decision you make can be one of life and
death or at the very least, grave injury.
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Transform the Reader

• Its often quiet up on the mountain, and it is
  often much cooler than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The
  ice climber is in touch with nature, aware of
  every sound and movement, focusing only on the
  moment and the enormity of what happens if one
  slight step is mistook, or for a split second,
  his attention is diverted by a winged creature or
  even a gust of wind.

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• This is John Quayles world of ice climbing a
  world where the harsh sounds of traffic are never
  heard and pollution doesnt exist a world where
  every step leads to the top, a level only
  realized by those willing to accept risk and
  proceed without hesitation.

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Tip 7

• Take your time.
• A deadline is important, but dont hack out the
  work just to get it out the door.

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Tip 8

• International culture
• is different.

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Sweden

• Swedes avoid arguing over sensitive topics in
  general, especially with visitors. If a
  discussion of this kind begins, don't be offended
  if a Swede abruptly puts it to a stop.
• Don't use a lot of superlatives when speaking.
  The Swedes are opposed to stretching the truth.
• Source Executive Planet.com

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France

• Displays of warmth and generosity between
  business associates are not the norm in French
  business culture. Giving presents is acceptable,
  but exercise discretion.
• Don't bring a gift of wine, since the host
  usually prefers to make the evening's selection.
  The only possible exception can be a special
  French dessert wine or high-quality liqueur.

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Tip 9

• Evaluate and measure!

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Meaningful Measures

• Business Results sales, turnover, recruitment,
  market share, share price, performance targets
• Communications Outcomes good media coverage,
  awareness
• Behavior and Action response, attendance,
  recommendation
• Productivity output, inventory turn
• Recommendations
• Source Padilla Spear Beardsley

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Measurement Tools 101

• The quick poll
• The pre- and post-survey
• The focus group
• The soft sounding
• Commercial research/tracking services

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Quantitative Measurement

• Custom Surveys
• Telephone
• Mail
• Online (NetReflector, Survey Monkey, Zoomerang

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Qualitative Measurement

• Content analysis
• One-on-one in-depth interviews
• Focus groups (traditional or online)
• Get Ideas and test ideas
• Explore and hypothesize
• Online Eliminates geographic barriers
• Work across time zones
• Save on travel

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Cardinal Rule

• Remember ROI isnt always about numbers.

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Tip 10

• Learn by example.
• Use best practices and industry
  publications/consumer publications.

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E-mail

• The Bane of our Existence and yet it is the Best
  Communications Mode to Come Along Since the Fax
  Machine.

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Concerns About E-mail

• Dont use e-mail to replace oral or other written
  communications.
• Be short and to the point with e-mail. No one
  likes to scroll through more than one screen.
• Write in a conversational tone.
• Avoid FLAMING.

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Out of Office Reply

• I will be at a seminar all day Thursday without
  email access. Thank you,John E. Allis, CPA,
  CPPPKF of Texas, P.C.5847 San Felipe, Suite
  2400Houston, Texas  77057Phone (713)
  860-1400Fax [phone]

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Would you Write This?

• Dear Customers,
• We have fired Catema from The Imaging Bureau. She
  was our Accounts Receivable collections person.
   We were not pleased with the way in which she
  handled receivables ... she is being replaced. We
  are sorry if it has caused any grief to our
  customers.Thanks again.

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Or This?

• We had a small Email DNS server problem. If you
  have sent us anything from Friday Oct 8 to today
  ... you need to resend it.  If you feel like we
  should have replied to an earlier email of yours
  ... please resend.  We also may have sent you a
  message that you replied to ... that we never
  got.We are sorry for the troubles.

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How we can Manage E-mail

• Learn how to turn it OFF.
• Immediate response expected?
• Avoid unending e-mail threads.
• Think before you hit send.
• Specify a response if necessary.

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Final Suggestions

• Use your judgment!
• Remember third grade.
• Get to the point.
• Spell check and proofread!
• Send the letter to yourself.

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Questions? Comments?

• Scott H. Cytron, ABC
• Cytron and Company
• www.cytronandcompany.com
• scott_at_cytronandcompany.com