Should You Write to Women Differently Than Men?
By Michael StelznerLast week I was training a group of aspiring white paper writer’s at a major corporation. I had just finished talking about how to build profiles for the ideal reader of a white paper.
A lady in the audience asked, “Why does gender matter?”
I could tell by the look on her face, her request was more of a challenge than a question.
Before I address her challenge here, I’d like to ask you, “Is there any value in understanding the age and gender of your readership?”
I did not want to come out and say it, but I was “thinking” that women and men are different. If you doubt that, then just ask my wife if she thinks differently than I do.
What I said was this:
It’s useful to build a mental image in your mind of that ideal reader. For example, does the reader have a job title that is generally held by older males, younger females, or is it a task that is mixed?
If you are a younger female writing to older men, you may want to have someone who “fits” the profile examine your work to ensure your writing resonates with your target audience.
If you are a male writing to an audience of mostly females, likewise you should check your work with people who fit into that target demographic.
While gender alone is NOT all you should examine, if it’s part of the reader profile, it must not be overlooked.
Here’s another example. I am working on “covert” project that is targeting mostly women. After getting some feedback, I realized my writing was far too aggressive (i.e.; I was using terms that resonate more with men, such as ‘terminate,’ ‘eliminate,’ …).
After changing some of the language to appeal to my audience, I read it to some females. They found the result very engaging. Although not scientific, this is a very small example of how understanding the gender of your ideal reader can have an impact on the success of your writing.
What say you?
Receive email updates when new articles are posted.
