Writing With Purpose

Anytime you write something, whether it’s a grocery list or a master’s thesis, your words work together for a common purpose. Sometimes that purpose is to remind you to buy milk, and sometimes it’s to declare a nation’s independence.

When Thomas Jefferson, aided by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and the other founding fathers, drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he did so with a very clear purpose in mind. Every word of every sentence is there to further the goal of creating a new sovereign nation. In essence, the document itself created the United States of America.

While most of us won’t ever pen something that influential, even ordinary, everyday writing has power. You can use the same principles to create compelling content and write effective marketing campaigns. Jason Katezenbeck explains the power of writing with purpose for Copyblogger: “When you write with purpose, you have the power to change minds. That can be through a simple addition of knowledge – you’ve changed your reader’s knowledge base. Purposeful blog writing can change an opinion, too. Purposeful writing can, of course, also change a reader into a buyer.”

To find your purpose, you need consider your goal and your audience. In other words, ask yourself, What am I trying to say, and who the heck am I talking to?

The second question is too often overlooked, but considering your audience is a crucial part of communicating effectively. Together, your answers will determine your purpose. For instance, the instructions that come with your TV are (allegedly) written to teach you, the consumer, how to use the television. That’s a pretty straightforward example, but not every piece of writing is as easy to categorize.

Common purposes in writing include:

• To Persuade or Convince—Debates, advertisements, opinion pieces, etc.


• To Entertain—TV shows, movies, books, etc.


• To Instruct or Teach—How-to articles, recipes, etc.


• To Inform—Biographies, histories, news reports, etc.

Brand Strategist Colin Rowan recommends taking the time to figure out purpose and audience before getting started on a project. “Before I write anything, I ask my clients to approve a single sentence or paragraph that sums up what we want the reader to believe. If we can’t agree on a single idea, we usually end up with a complicated, wandering draft.”

Rowan’s viewpoint may be a little too simplistic—after all, most pieces of writing have more than one purpose such as a content marketing piece that tries to both inform and persuade—but the basic principle is sound. Before beginning this post, for example, I decided that my primary purpose was to convince you, the readers of Business 2 Community, of the importance of writing purposefully. I also considered my audience. Readers of this site are likely to be businesspeople, marketers, and other professionals—all busy people who want to know how to solve a problem or improve a process. As this article from Writing Commons points out, “To be an effective writer, you must use language that is audience-centered, not writer-centered. In other words, transcend your own perspective and consider the needs and interests of your readers.”

The bottom line is that knowing your purpose and your audience before you begin writing will help you communicate more effectively—and as business bloggers and content marketers, that means more effective campaigns and a great return on investment.

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that errors in your writing will undermine your purpose. When your readers stumble over typos and simple grammatical errors, it takes their attention away from your message and focuses it instead on the mistakes. Take the time to review your writing both for clarity of purpose and grammar—it’s worth it!

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