Do You Need a Persona? My Answer After Writing Articles
"If you define a persona in detail, you'll write a good article."
If you think that, you might want to hold on a second.
It is important to know who you are writing for, but I think many people feel like they've accomplished something just by creating a detailed character profile.
I don't believe in personas that much. I almost never define them in detail before I start writing.
Especially for beginners, I don't think there's any need to be rigid about it.
The more you flesh out a persona, the more constrained your writing becomes.
For example, it looks like this.
A 32-year-old female office worker. She lives alone in a rental apartment in Tokyo. While working as an office clerk on weekdays, she started a side job as a web writer. On crowdsourcing sites, she only takes jobs that pay 0.5 yen per character, and she works at a cafe after work. Her goal is 30,000 yen per month. However, she feels a bit anxious about whether she should continue with such low rates.
This is detailed as a setting.
But when you look at it as a piece of writing, it's too narrow.
It's fine if it's a one-on-one piece of writing aimed at that person. If it's a product page or a sales letter, there is some point in narrowing it down this much.
Articles aren't read by just that one person.
There are also men in their 40s.
There are also housewives.
There are also part-timers.
There are also people aiming for 5,000 yen a month.
Even though their worries are similar, they might think, 'This isn't about me,' just because the settings are too specific. That's a waste.
In that case, it reaches more people if you write it like this.
You've started as a side-job writer, but you're anxious because you only have low-paying projects. No matter how much you write, the rate doesn't go up. You intended to build a track record, but before you know it, you can't escape from a place where you're seen as cheap. Even if you started with the intention of learning, it's scary to be treated as someone cheap forever.
I haven't decided on age, gender, or location.
With this approach, it reaches both people in their 30s and 40s. Whether they are office workers or homemakers, if they have similar anxieties, it will resonate with them.
You can clearly see who you are trying to talk to, right?
What matters is not whether they are 32 years old. It is about what makes them think, 'This is about me,' when they read it.
Beginners should write before creating a persona
When you are a beginner, it might be easier to write if you define a persona.
That is because you can step into that person's shoes. It also helps expand your imagination.
However, I think the opposite is true.
Beginners, in particular, should write more freely at first.
You are already not used to writing, so if you add too many things to think about before you even start, you will get stuck.
A woman in her 30s,
has children,
has this much annual income,
and lives this kind of life on weekdays,
While thinking about all that, your head gets full.
You can also create a persona using AI
You can also have AI create a persona for you.
When it includes age, occupation, worries, and lifestyle, it somehow looks persuasive.
But aren't you just tracing those settings and ending up with a mere explanation?
The persona is impressive, but the writing is boring. This is a trap that beginners easily fall into.
Follow instructions for client projects
Client projects are a different story.
Even if I say 'it's better to write freely,' that doesn't mean you should go rogue on a project.
If the manual includes persona settings, you should write according to them.
Client instructions are absolute.
Even if you think 'this would be better' and change things on your own, from the client's perspective, you've just done something unnecessary.
If there is a manual, that is the correct answer. Those are their rules.
What I am talking about this time is for projects where a persona is not specified in the manual, or when writing for your own note or website.
My answer
I am not the type to create detailed personas before writing an article.
Unless instructed, I basically do not set a persona.
In the beginning, I used to set them up to look cool. It made me feel like I was a capable person.
But halfway through, I realized my writing was becoming small-minded, so I stopped believing in personas.
Even so, I was able to get projects. I made money, too.
That's why I think this.
What gets read is the body text, not the settings. If you mess that up, it doesn't matter how impressive a persona you create.
Even if you try to write articles with AI,
the free version might stop due to usage limits.
I've made a free bonus on how to write articles without paying by using three different AIs.
After registering for the official LINE,
you can receive it from the first message.
Also, for a limited time, I am offering
'a simple check of about 300 characters of text'
as a bonus.