I recently finished the book Content Critical by Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton. Lots has changed since this book was published in 2001, but the core principles remain the same. Content forms the foundation of every website. Most businesses write some content on their website. Sometimes they write the actual copy. Others hire a copy-writer but still blog regularly. Either way, they write for an online audience.

I want to spend a few posts on this book and what I learned. First, let's start with a new way to think about who reads your website:

Readers vs. Users
Ever noticed that people who access the internet are called users? We refer to them as computer users. Its actually a unique term. Most people become a variation of the verb they perform. People who ride bikes are called bikes, those who play golf are golfers and people who practice law are lawyers. But when it comes to technology, people are computer users. (Content Critical also went on to point out the other people we call "users" usually have some destructive habit.)

The writers of Content Critical encourage us to think about our audience not as users, but as readers. It makes sense. Reading is the activity that occurs most often online. We open and read our email, we read blogs for tips and fun, we read websites for information about a product or service and we read social media sites to keep track of our friends.

Take a moment to consider this. Do you think of your audience as "readers"? If not, does thinking of them as "readers" change your attitude towards them or your writing? This is the first step to connecting with your audience better, whether you are blogging for fun, for business or just writing the content of your home page.

My next post will deal with Identifying your readers. How do you identify your readers right now?