Writing To The Audience?

[Snooks]

I often wonder when i am doing content creation, articles etc, if perhaps sometimes it isnt always appropriate to be 100% correct.

Its probably wise to use the "lingo", the terms and phrases that are applicable to the industry or field, otherwise, the audience you are aiming at may not connect with the content.

So, one may say:

"I am going spinning for Kingfish on the weekend".

but the better alternative is probably

"Im going to throw some metal for Kingies on the weekend".

I suppose that im asking is, do we, or are we, supposed to write correct grammatical articles, or articles that our readers understand in THEIR terms?

But one trick i did learn (but never used LOL) and i suppose it borders on being unethical, a minor mistake in something that isnt important invariably brings a number of comments, posters etc to the discussion. They love to correct you, point out your mistake.....especially a competitor. But damn if you dont get some good links, some interaction, some buzz from making these small mistakes To some extent the old saying of "any advertising is good advertising". How you got them there was probably a bit shonky, the fact is that they came and you have an immediate window of opportunity in keeping them, by getting them involved.

Any thoughts?

[AmySueN]

From my point of view...

If I were to read "I'm going to throw some metal for Kingies on the weekend" I'd have no idea what you're talking about. But "I'm going spinning for Kingfish on the weekend" I could probably figure out in the context of your blog about fishing. (Although in my world "spinning" refers to twirling in circles or working out on an exercise bike.)

The question is how important am I to you? If you're happy having just fishermen read your blog then using lingo that the average person doesn't know is probably OK. But if I found your blog from a post on how to prepare freshly-caught fish and you want me to come back and keep reading you'll probably want to use language I'll understand.

JMO...

[Snooks]

The question is how important am I to you? If you're happy having just fishermen read your blog then using lingo that the average person doesn't know is probably OK. But if I found your blog from a post on how to prepare freshly-caught fish and you want me to come back and keep reading you'll probably want to use language I'll understand.

....And there is my point

I dont want you to return, you arent a fisherman! You arent going to buy that new Spinner via the well disguised affiliate links hidden with the text of the article. or the fishing rod that will net me a commission.

But lurking around is a fisherman, perhaps his or her name is "Cricket". Now given the fact that "Cricket" is a fisherman, the use of the lingo, or terms, indicates that i am a fisherman and as such, she can connect with the article. She is who i want because she can earn me money via affiliate sales.

So i firmly believe writing in the lingo of the targetted audience is essential.

The style of course would need to be changed if it was in relation to cooking the fish, in which case YOU would be the target, so as you indicated, the lingo would turn you off. So your point is valid.

I believe that there is nothing worse than reading an article or something in which it is obvious that the perason writing is not a true participant of the "sport" or acticity. Their passion does not show through and the wording is correct, but the information lacks feeling and depth.

JMT

[AmySueN]

Originally Posted by Snooks

I believe that there is nothing worse than reading an article or something in which it is obvious that the perason writing is not a true participant of the "sport" or acticity. Their passion does not show through and the wording is correct, but the information lacks feeling and depth.

JMT

I totally agree!

But just to play Devil's Advocate - if I never came back then I'd never read how great that new Spinner is and never consider buying it for my father-in-law who is an avid fisherman.

[Cricket]

Okay, I may be way off base here, but there might be a happy medium here. [example]

What if you had a single page (linked to it in the sidebar) of "fisherman speak" . . .

Done correctly, it could be absolutely hilarious, especially if you included phrase translations.

Stupid example below, but hey I just throw a line in the water and hope I get something.

Phrase: The one that got away . . .
Translate: The story you tell your wife about the HUGE fish that got away so she doesn't think you spent the entire weekend drinking several cases of beer with your buds and were just too drunk to actually reel in the minnow that got stuck on your hook.

[DocC]

To make your example accurate, Cricket, you need to change that to read, "...too drunk to actually reel in the minnow that accidently backed into your hook"

I think your point is valid, Snooks, as long as your target market is sufficiently specialized. I have to think, however, that relatively few are that focused. I can't find an example right now, but I have seen sales sites built around a blog, where the specialized writing style you're talking about has been combined with the more "correct" style in the sales side, and it seemed very effective.

[Jim Gillum]

I go with the jargon of your target audience......

Read bass fishing sites ...see some unusual sentence structure....I understand...I fish...

Or read some of the technical posts on this site...HUH?

[ScriptMan]

While I must agree with what AmySue said in her first post; I would not have a clue either and I fish, I think Snooks is on target for a niche site.

If you come to my home repair site I make a serious attempt to define new terms the first time I use them, but it becomes redundant if you do that every time. When you tackle new things you have have to learn new terms.

I think Cricket's suggestion could be a hoot for a site like yours but it would drive me crazy on a site like mine. I once tried a glossary on each page at the bottom and it made the articles too stiff and not fun to read.

And I do think easy reading is important.

[Snooks]

Crickets idea has some good potential, but more for a comedy or amusing site or product, rather than a serious post.

I do however have a use for the idea so thanks.......this could be fun

[gammaRascal]

I've been guilty of writing too 'high-brow' or nerdy. I don't know, maybe it was the whole reading the thesaurus as a child - but sometimes big words and industry terms / slangs / acronyms etc can be a little distracting. I think you have to consider the ratio of how many people 'in the know' versus 'out of the loop' would be reading it and cater to the larger audience.

Yesterday I was doing some voice over stuff and the lady looked at me and pointed at the script... " d-i-s-s-e-m-i-n-a-t-e... ?" - I thought for a second... "Let's just change that to 'share' " We ended up converting a few words into their lesser cousins just for sake of keeping things uncomplicated and not having to have the listener thinking about what they're hearing so they can take in the info more readily. I think that's a pretty solid methodology.

[Snooks]

Agree wholeheartedly Jay

What is the point in either a speech or "content writing"?

To diplay how articulate you are, to show how educated you are or is it to show your great knowledge and understanding of the language? NONE OF THESE......

It is to get the point across, to connect with the audience and have them arrive at a certain place, be that a url, a physical shop or simply a state of mind, depending upon what medium is being used.

So i think the rule is that we should write (or speak) appropriately for the subject and the audience.

[snakeair]

Hey Snooks, i thought this article might be useful to you and everyone else.

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Continued at: Who Is Your Online Writing Role Model?

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