Do you know what separates the professional writer from the non-professional? Amateurs are more likely to write for the sake of writing. They spend their time creating tons of content (although most is negligible), it doesn’t really do anything to increase business or inspire their audience.

What’s the goal of great writing? The pros focus on one thing: to move the reader to change. A good writer can help the reader to see the world through another set of eyes. To act differently. And maybe even change the way they cooperate with the world.

Just about anyone who’s made it past the 4th grade can slap a few words together and a complete sentence. (Need proof? Look at most blogs out there.) If you really want to have power in your writing, you have to write for impact. This is what separates educational from influential. Powerful writing can be had in three easy steps: 1) writing for a specific audience, 2) using the right medium, and 3) choosing the correct conversion.

Precise Audience

Getting in touch with your target audience is vital. See things from their perspective and not your point of view. Every article I write starts with identifying my target reader: What is his age? What are her hobbies and interests? Education? Income level? Purchasing habits? Etc.

As soon as I’ve identified whom it is I’m talking to, I create a custom message for that audience. If I’m writing for a younger audience, say 18-25, I will use words like fresh, cutting-edge and innovative. Words like that have far less impact on the 60+ crowd, who are more interested in whats proven, safe and effective.

Right Location

By location I mean the medium used to communicate your message. This includes things like magazines, newspapers, journals, books, radio and TV ads, as well as blogs, websites, and other online means. Your audience, in large part, determines the venue you choose.

For instance, if I’m writing an article on monetary policy (my intended audience might be economists), the best venue is probably an academic journal rather than an online method. Few people can stand to read long blocks of important text on a computer screen without eye fatigue.

And I probably won’t have enough space to make my case in a magazines or newspaper. Alternatively, if my content is concise, uncomplicated, and intended for a broader audience, possibly a newspaper article makes sense.

Most people skim when they read (especially online.) But if you publish your message in a forum that is more suitable for what you reader expects, they’re much more likely to read it. You must consider the best medium for both your topic and readers.

Correct Conversion

There are three types of conversion: know, feel, and do. A know article seeks to give the readers fresh information, or old information arranged in a different way, to help them to learn and know things they didn’t know before. A feel piece clearly seeks to suggest strong emotion in the audience. And a do conversion is intended to get an audience to take very specific, immediate, and concrete action.

Amateurs look at this and try to do all three (When they even recognize it at all.) Professionals focus on only one, because doing so affects the others. How do you want the readers life to change because they read your message? What do you want to see occur in them? Do you primarily want them to know, feel, or do something? Pick one – yes, just one – and carry it out well, and the others will take care of themselves.

Maximum impact only occurs when you seek to change your audience in some way. Identify your reader, and then choose the correct medium to reach them. Focus on one conversion style and then write well. If you do that, your reader will change in some way, and I believe change is the only writing worth reading.