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Audience Analysis - Coping Strategies for Business Writers
Rating: 4.2 out of 5(357 ratings)
8,744 students

Audience Analysis - Coping Strategies for Business Writers

Issues involved with writing content appropriate for your intended target audience and strategies to overcome them
Created byUgur Akinci, Ph.D.
Last updated 4/2021
English

What you'll learn

  • You will understand the real issues involved with “Audience Analysis” and will learn approaches + strategies to guarantee maximum readability and comprehension.
  • You'll learn how to analyze an audience by occupational titles and categories.
  • You'll understand various ways to research for proper audience analysis.
  • You'll develop a sense of the challenges of audience analysis and develop strategies as a writer to cope with such challenges.

Course content

1 section • 8 lectures • 42m total length

  • Introduction2:26

    Audience analysis is an important issue to which all writers should pay a lot of attention. Why? Because if your writing (whether it's an article, a report, a book, or a technical document) is not appropriate for its intended audience, then it'll turn into a waste of time, energy, and resources. So, in theory, you have to make sure what you are writing fits the intended audience well.

    But here is problem, a BIG problem: most of the time a writer is not quite sure who his or her audience is. Especially if you are working for a corporation or are a part of a writing team, you'd have an approximate idea about the nature of your audience but not a perfect one.

    So what do you do? My answer: you apply methods and techniques to increase the chances that your writing would be appropriate for your audience. It's a matter of degrees. You may never create something that is 100% appropriate for your analysis but by applying the methods and techniques explained int his course, you will hopefully get close to that lofty goal. 

    If, of course, you have direct access to your end-users and audience and you know them well, then this course is not for you. But on the other hand, if you are not sure who your audience is or if you have doubts about the nature of your audience and you do not have direct access to them, you may certainly benefit from the practical solutions offered in this course. In that case -- welcome! See you in the class!

    >>> IMPORTANT: This lecture  has a SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSCRIPT "Audience Analysis - Theory and Practice" attached as a PDF document.  Please make sure to download it for your easy reference.

  • Readability Indexes and Tools4:17

    If you know the general education level of your audience, you can use one or more readability index tools to determine of your writing is appropriate for your intended audience. CAUTION: Before you use any of the online tools  mentioned here, please back up all your files and be aware that some or all of these sites may place a cookie on your local machine for tracking purposes. Use these tools cautiously, at your own risk.

    >>> IMPORTANT: This lecture  has a SUPPLEMENTARY LIST of READABILITY INDEXES AND TOOLS attached as a PDF document.  Please make sure to download it for your easy reference.

  • Correct Audience6:38

    It is important to identify your audience and then structure your text in a way that would appeal specifically to that audience.

    >>> IMPORTANT: This lecture  has an EXERCISE and SOLUTION sheet (PDF) of "3 Types of Readers" attached to it. Please make sure to download the EXERCISE sheet first, and then compare your result to the one provided in the SOLUTION sheet.

  • Importance of Measurement8:01

    Here is an issue that is not discussed frequently and instead swept under the rug, so to speak: how to measure quantitatively to understand whether your writing served your audience's purpose?

    Or to put it more clearly: how would you know that your writing has changed your audience's behavior in the correct direction? Watch this video to learn more about the importance of such measurements and how interpretation of the variables involved in such a measurement changes the results. Again: we first present the ideal and theoretical truth and then go into the practical real-life issue involved with it. Final decision about what to do and which direction to go will always be yours as a writer.

  • Occupational Categories5:40

    One indirect way to understand what your audience wants is to focus on the job titles and occupational categories of your intended audience. Watch this video to understand how you can write directly for certain job categories by taking my experience with software development companies as a reference point.

    >>> IMPORTANT: This lecture  has an EXERCISE and SOLUTION sheet (PDF) attached to it. Please make sure to download the EXERCISE sheet first, and then compare your result to the one provided in the SOLUTION sheet.

  • Difficulty of Defining an Audience7:58

    Defining an audience is not always easy. Watch this video to understand some of the difficulties involved.

  • Best Practices for Any Audience5:21

    Here are some best practices of writing that are good for any audience.

    >>> IMPORTANT: This lecture  has a SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSCRIPT "Audience Analysis - Best Practices Good for Any Audience" attached as a PDF document.  Please make sure to download it for your easy reference.

  • Summary & Conclusion2:24

    Watch this video for a summary of the course content and a reminder of good writing tips to follow for any audience.

Requirements

  • No special software or hardware is needed. You can use any word processor you like on any operating system. Knowledge of written English is all you need to finish this course successfully.

Description

  • NOTE: This course is NOT for public speakers or creative writers but for business and technical writers.

  • NO DEADLINE to finish the course. Take it, study it, and finish it anytime you like.

------------------------------------------------

NEW STUDY MATERIALS ADDED TO THIS COURSE

Lecture 1 – SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSCRIPT – “Audience Analysis – Theory and Practice” (Downloadable PDF)

Lecture 2 – SUPPLEMENTARY LIST – “Readability Indexes and Tools” (Downloadable PDF)

Lecture 3 – EXERCISE and SOLUTION Sheets — “3 Types of Readers” (Downloadable PDF)

Lecture 5 – EXERCISE and SOLUTION Sheets — “Rewrite Text for Occupational Categories” (Downloadable PDF)

Lecture 7 – SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSCRIPT – “Audience Analysis – Best Practices Good for Any Audience” (Downloadable PDF)

-----------------------------------------------

Audience analysis is an important issue to which all writers should pay a lot of attention.

Why?

Because if your writing (whether it's an article, a report, a book, or a technical document) is not appropriate for its intended audience, then it'll turn into a waste of time, energy, and resources. So, you have to make sure that what you are writing fits the intended audience well.

But here is problem, a BIG problem: most of the time a writer is not quite sure who his or her audience is. Especially if you are working for a corporation or are a part of a writing team, you'd have an approximate idea about the nature of your audience but not a perfect one.

So what do you do?

My answer: you apply methods and strategies to increase the chances that your writing would be appropriate for your audience.

It's a matter of degrees. You may never create something that is 100% appropriate for your audience but by applying the strategies explained in this course, you will hopefully get close to that lofty goal. 

If, of course, you have direct access to your end-users and audience and you know them well, then this course is not for you.

But on the other hand, if you are not sure who your audience is or if you have doubts about the nature of your audience and you do not have direct access to them, you may certainly benefit from the practical solutions offered in this course.

In that case -- welcome! See you in the class!

-----------------------------------------------

What did they say about this course?

“Thank you. Good information and structure.”

-- Tabitha Sophia

“A very comprehensive introduction. Well-paced and delivered.”

-- Suzette Gibson

“It provides the exact insights that I need to polish my skills. thank you, professor!”

-- Afridi Sayyed

“So far my expectations have been met. Great course. Recommended”

-- Faiqa Fatima

“It's perfect for a beginner.”

-- Nouran Aref


(Cover photo courtesy Davide Ragusa at Unsplash-dot-com.jpg)

Who this course is for:

  • All business and technical writers, managers, trainers, and teachers. Anybody writing a technical or business document for an intended audience will benefit from the well-tested practical ideas and techniques shared in this course.

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