 Media writing can either make or break a company. Due to social distancing and the inability to meet people face-to-face, media writing is now more important than ever. Good media writers have the skills to get their message across in multiple channels and connect with various audiences. Read on for the 5 rules to follow to become a good media writer!  Rule 1: Know Your Audience In order to create content in the first place, you need to understand who your target audience is and what they are interested in. Knowing your audience is essential for media writing; without an audience you have no framework on what the content should be about, or where it should be placed. It is key for a media writers’ success to understand the audience and to relate to both their needs and their wants. If you are unable to identify who your audience is, then the message will not be successful. For example, if you know your audience consists of males aged 55-65 years old, then your message and channels would differ than if your audience consisted of females aged 20-25 years old. A good way to know your audience is to make an audience profile before you start creating content. Rule 2: Write for Your Reader, Not Yourself Writing for the reader means keeping the audience in mind while you are creating content. Good media writers keep the readers in mind and create content that the audience would want to see, even if it is not necessarily what you would want to see. As the writer you may not identify with who the target reader will be. Some key questions to ask yourself in order to best serve your reader and to keep them in mind are: What do they want from me? And how do they want it?  Rule 3: Put Content Where the Readers Are Keep in mind not only the content itself, but the channel you use for your content in order to reach the audience. In order to become a good media writer it is crucial to keep up with who the audience is and where they go for content. This rule is especially important because if you put content where there are no readers, or where the wrong readers are, it will not properly serve its purpose. Understanding the right channel to use is crucial for media writers in order to reach the readers. Just as it is a rule in real estate, location matters when it comes to where you put your content.  Rule 4: Tweak the Message for Different Channels Each channel is different; therefore, the message should be as well. Although social media platforms are all similar in a sense, each platform is different in how users access content. Media writers should understand all the different platforms and channels and know which one is best suited for that specific message. This rule is important because if the message is on the wrong channel it will never be seen by the correct audience. Rule 5: Be Authentic and Genuine
Be the writer that users can trust. Don’t endorse or say things that you don’t believe in or just are not true. Take the time and do your research if you need to, assume your target audience knows enough about your topic to see through anything untrue. This rule is instrumental in becoming a good media writer because your audience will be able to tell if you are genuine or not. If you create non authentic content, then you will lose both credibility and trust in the audience. Always, Audrey Marie
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