Audience-First? Maybe Not
(I hate the phrase "hot take," but I guess this qualifies as one.)
When it comes to writing online, much of what I've read tells me to write for an audience. Keep the audience in mind. Basically, abandon what you want (in a sense) and consider what your audience wants.
This works, in theory. If you focus on your readership, they'll focus on you.
But too much of this can cause your work to feel inauthentic—especially creative, deeply personal work.
I feel this way about my personal writing. Just as I begin to carve out a niche and establish a group of people who may be willing to listen, I lose steam. It starts to peel away at the very reason I write (a topic that deserves another 30+ days of essays).
I've worked in content marketing for over five years. I'm no stranger to buyer personas and establishing audience pain points to fuel content ideas and angles. It's a bulletproof approach—typically for an organization with something to sell.
But as an individual, if I truly want to sell myself, I have to be myself. Writing for an audience (alone) forces me to lose myself.
Writing online is hard. It's scary, as I admitted a few days ago. If I have any hope of maintaining the bit of momentum I've established this month, I must write for the right reasons.
I'm sure you've seen Naval Ravikant's popular quote: "Escape competition through authenticity." I appreciate this quote so much because he doesn't say "beat" competition; he says "escape."
I read that as "rise above." Don't even think about who you're beating or what you're winning; leverage authenticity to transcend these concerns—which can hinder your creativity—and focus on being yourself.
The right readers will find you, and they will become your audience.
This post was written as a part of Ship 30 for 30. Read the original essay on my Twitter.
