Factors of Audience Analysis


Psychographics refers to the lifestyle, values, leisure activities and social self-image that the readers are likely to have. Marketing research shows that people react favorably towards products and services that they see as representative of themselves. Similarly, your readers will respond differently to your message according to their values. What are their interests, opinions and hobbies’? In the rapidly changing and diversifying contemporary world, interests and values are less and less tied to demographic issues. For example, when computer games first started to develop, they were associated with a target market of young males in the 15 to 25 age group. As this form of entertainment evolved, the target market changed, and there are now computer games that attract females, older males, and other demographic groups. An analysis of the computer game market, therefore, is more likely to benefit from a psychographic examination that would see the computer game market as a special interest group, rather than a demographic.

Demographic and psychographic analysis are especially relevant in journalistic and public relations writing, where you address a wider public.

Audience Analysis

Every act of writing takes place in a new context, with a unique time, place or reader to take into account. Audience adaptation refers to the skill of arranging words, organizing your thoughts, and formatting your document to best achieve your desired effect on your target audience. Audience dynamics refers to the relationship that writers form with their readers through their style, and through the amount and structure of information they provide. The audience dynamics are effective when the readers get a sense of satisfaction that the questions raised in the text were relevant to their interests and the answers or solutions provided were convincing. In contrast, audience dynamics are ineffective when the readers feel frustrated or offended because the writer’s tone is condescending, the answers or solutions provided are simplistic in relation to the complexity of the questions, or the argument is emotive and based on generalization. To maximise your ability to achieve effective audience dynamics, assess the readers’ needs, knowledge and interest by conducting an audience analysis before writing. Audience analysis is an integral part of your research.