Analyzing Your Audience Writing for the Web The Internet Writer’s Handbook 2/e

Contents Evaluation questions Techniques

Evaluation Questions The Internet Writer’s Handbook 2/e

Evaluate Your Audience Age Sex Spending level Education Familiarity with topic Internet skill Computer skills Platform Browser Nationality

Evaluate Users’ Needs Who are users? What do users want from your site? Do they want direct or indirect benefits? How often will they visit site? Do users need to be attracted to site? How are they accessing the site?

Questions to Ask: General Primary/secondary readers Age range Position/title Technical background

Questions to Ask: General Knowledge of technical terms Attitude Educational level Reading level Nationality/native language

Techniques The Internet Writer’s Handbook 2/e

Techniques for Lower Audiences Use a simple style: short words and sentences, simple sentence structure Use conversational style Use personal pronouns Define terms Ask questions Use examples Use comparisons

Techniques for Lower Audiences Use graphics Add info they need and omit info that will confuse Pick an appropriate organization Provide options to access different sections

Audience Type: General Informal tone Personal style Common words Definitions Short, simple sentences No theory Photos and line drawings

Audience Type: Advanced Formal style Technical language Longer, complex sentences Theory Footnotes & bibliography Illustrations & diagrams

Style Variations Depending on Audience Word choice and length Use of terms, acronyms, jargon, abbreviations Sentence and paragraph length Use of personal pronouns

Example: Accommodating Different Audiences