You’ve probably heard the phrase “write what you know” before, but that approach doesn’t quite cut it when you’re crafting inbound marketing content.
Buyer personas—fictional representations of the ideal customers and target audience you’re trying to reach with your content—play an essential role in content strategy. Whether you’re writing a blog post, web copy, lead nurture emails, or an e-book, tailoring your content for each buyer persona is a must.
Let’s talk about why writing for different buyer personas is important and top considerations to keep in mind before you put pen to paper fingers to keys.
Why Write Content for Different Buyer Personas?
Buyer personas should inform all of your marketing efforts. Every piece of content should be written specifically with the buyer persona(s) in mind. Take our content for example: What appeals to and resonates with our Producer Patti persona will likely not do the same for E-Comm Eddy, who has different wants, needs, problems, and motivations.
Writing for different buyer personas allows you to more effectively:
- Help your audience solve problems: Your content should provide your audience with the insights they need to help solve problems and pain points. However, to address each persona’s concerns, you need to understand what they are and how to speak to them in ways that resonate.
- Influence personas to take a specific action: Of course you want to increase your content conversion rates. One of the best ways to do so is to understand what influences your buyer personas to make decisions, as well as their online behaviors.
- Deliver the right content to the right people: Tailoring your messaging to each buyer persona is the best way to increase readership and engagement. After all, when you put the right content in front of the right people, it’s sure to resonate.
5 Tips for Writing for Different Buyer Personas
Keep the following tips in mind when crafting content that’s tailored to the buyer personas you’re trying to reach:
1. Research and get to know your target audience.
Research is a driving force behind your entire content strategy, so it’s not surprising that it comes into play when you’re writing for different buyer personas. Start with the research you’ve already done to create your persona and go from there.
Where is your persona most active online? What types of content do they engage with? What do they do from 5 to 9? Spend some time deep-diving into each of these areas to get to know your target audience before you start writing.
2. Target personas at each stage of the buyer’s journey.
When mapping content for different buyer personas, it’s important to target your readers at each stage of the buyer’s journey. Reaching your audience at the right time in their journey is just as vital as tailoring content to each persona.
This is paramount because what works for a specific persona during the awareness stage is likely different from what will resonate during the consideration and decision stages. During the initial interviews you conduct to inform your buyer personas, you’ll learn more about what matters to each individual at all three stages of their journey.
3. Lean on persona and subject matter expert interviews.
Speaking of interviews, your initial persona interviews should inform more than just your strategy—they should inform your copywriting and content as well. In addition to the interviews used to craft your buyer personas, you should also conduct regular subject matter expert (SME) interviews.
One-on-one interactions with real people are the best place to learn more about who you’re trying to reach. Take detailed notes during these interviews and refer to them before you start writing a piece of content. Specific quotes and phrases will be particularly helpful as you get started.
4. Learn and use lingo that resonates with each persona.
A big part of writing for different buyer personas is learning and using the same language your target audience does. Of course that naturally includes some acronyms and industry jargon, but there’s more to it than that.
Ask yourself these questions: How do your buyer personas speak about their problems? How do they describe what they do? What are they looking for? Once you understand the way your audience naturally talks about their day-to-day, you’ll be better equipped to craft content that speaks to them directly.
5. Make sure your copy and your content stays consistent.
Once you’ve nailed writing for different buyer personas, you need to make sure that both your copy and your content stay consistent. Keep using what you’ve learned, and take steps to make sure you’re not deviating from what works.
That said, you shouldn’t feel pigeonholed and unable to adapt. Much like the marketing industry, people themselves are ever-evolving. Keep an eye on industry trends, and don’t be afraid to change your approach as necessary—just keep it consistent once you have.
There you have it: tips and tricks for writing for different buyer personas. Need help navigating how to create a buyer persona? Download our free guide, templates included!
