Here are 6 principles to live by if you want to be a more effective writer:
- Less is more. (Brevity matters)
- Make reading easy. (Use simple language)
- Design for easy navigation. (Strategic message structure)
- Use enough formatting but no more. (Intentionally use bold, italics, all caps, underline, and highlights – don’t go bananas)
- Tell readers why they should care. (Write with their goals in mind, not yours)
- Make responding easy. (Offer clear, easily accessible instructions)
I recently read “Writing for Busy Readers” by Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink and it’s now at the top of my recommended reading list for every human being on the face of the planet that writes…which is… everyone.
I have a lot of takeaways from the book, but the red thread throughout is that your reader matters above everything else.
If you don’t tailor your message to your reader (who is almost always busy), then your writing is missing the mark.
Target Your Message With Customer Personas
You could be telling the most compelling story…but if it isn’t reaching the right audience, it’s going to fall flat. Money, time, and effort all wasted. Eek.
So what can you do about it? Let me help you develop effective, data-driven customer personas:
1. Enroll in“My North Star: Building Customer Personas,” a Crafted Voice on-demand e-course that walks you through the development process.
This course offers clear, step-by-step instructions for using your gut instincts AND data (qualitative and quantitative) to craft customer personas that accurately represent your target audience. You can then use it to tailor your message directly to their goals, challenges, motivations, and preferences.
How to access:
A) If you subscribed to this newsletter after March 1, 2025, reply to this email and let me know you’d like to enroll ($149). I’ll send you instructions from there.
B) If you signed up for this newsletter before March 1, 2025, I sent you access in February 2025. Check your inbox!
2. You can also hire Crafted Voice to do all the heavy lifting for you: sleuthing through data, collective new insights, and analyzing the results alongside your business goals. Customer Persona packages begin at $675. Connect with me to ask your questions or schedule a meeting.
Connect With Me
Schedule a 30-minute virtual or in person meet-up with me to learn more about our customer persona packages (or just to say hello).
Engage with me on LinkedIn. Besides writing and strategy tips, I also share about things like a 9 day social media and email detox and 6 ways to turn LinkedIn posts into an ebook.
I can’t wait to hear from you!