Once you have a target audience in mind, you’ll need to think carefully about where and how you are likely to find them, how you can get their attention so they will read what you write, and what you can say to get them to achieve your purpose.

If you want to convince your neighbors to pool time, effort, and resources to build a local playground, then you have a head start: you know something about what they value and about what appeals would get their attention and convince them to join in this project. If you want to create a flash mob to publicize ineffective security at chemical plants near your city, on the other hand, you will need to reach as many people as possible, most of whom you will not know.

Genre and media

Even if you know the members of your audience, you still need to think about the genre and medium that will be most likely to reach them. To get neighbors involved in the playground project mentioned above, you might decide that a colorful print flyer delivered door to door and posted at neighborhood gathering places would work best. For a flash mob, however, an easily forwarded message—text, Twitter, or email—will probably work best.

Appropriate language

For all public writing, think carefully about the audience you want to reach—as well as unintended audiences your message might reach. Doing so can help you craft writing that will be persuasive without being offensive.

Timing

Making sure your text will appear in a timely manner is crucial to the success of your project. If you want people to plan to attend an event, present your text to them at least two weeks ahead of time. If you are issuing a newsletter or blog, make sure that you create posts or issues often enough to keep people interested (but not so often that readers can’t or won’t keep up). If you are reporting information based on something that has already happened, make it available as soon as possible so that your audience won’t consider your report “old news.”