Learn how to tailor your copywriting for different target audiences

You might be wondering why you need to hire a copywriter these days. After all, free tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini are there to provide generative content at the touch of a button. But you would be doing yourself and your business a huge disservice if that’s what you rely on.

As freelance copywriters, we’re not totally anti-AI.

When used as an aid (never a replacement), the latest generative AI tools can effectively research ideas on your behalf. It can rapidly organise data into a logical narrative. It can even identify some common keywords that you should be incorporating into your content.

AI, while a powerful tool, has its limitations. One of its key shortcomings is its inability to truly understand how to write for different audiences. This is where human copywriters excel, as we can empathise with and react to the needs of your potential customers. It’s essential to remember that your audience is a person, so you need to always put their needs front and centre of any copywriting plan.

As a UK copywriter, we understand that for your content to be effective, it needs to react to and empathise with your potential customers. It’s not about writing for homogenous groups—it’s about delivering useful, trustworthy content to each specific customer.

When your customers feel heard and reflected in your content, they will be much more likely to convert into long-term brand advocates or pay for your products or services.

Why is it important to write for different audiences?

Before you start writing any content, you need to sit and think about your end reader.

• Who are you talking to?
• What matters to them?
• What are their pressure points and concerns?
• Do they differ from other audience segments?
• What specific messages do you need to tell them?

This small exercise is an effective way to start to differentiate your audience groups. It’s just as effective as the three questions that we always start our marketing strategies with.

At Gatekeeper Communications, we have a proven track record of delivering freelance copywriting and PR support to sectors such as recruitment, insurance, and personal finance. Our expertise ensures that your content will be tailored to your specific audience, leading to increased engagement and conversions.

Let’s take our blog writing services for the recruitment sector as a perfect example.

As an experienced recruitment PR agency, we know that recruitment companies need to communicate with two distinct audience groups. Each group (which will also have further subcategories) will need its own defined messaging and tone of voice.

• The client is the company that is hiring a recruiter to find a new employee for its role.
• The candidate is the job seeker or the individual searching for a new job.

Typically, a recruitment copywriter would know how to adjust the content for client-focused communications. It may focus heavily on topics such as strategic support, delivering value for money and driving efficiencies. The tone of voice would likely be more authoritative, incorporating sector-specific terminology and showcasing that your recruitment firm understands its business needs.

In contrast, content aimed at candidates would naturally require a softer tone of voice. One that offers empathy and support, perhaps offering a hand to guide them along the job search process. Candidate-focused communications will naturally focus more on how to prepare for interviews, how to write an effective CV or practical ways to answer tricky interview questions.

As you can see, the differences between the two are quite stark.

The differences between audience segments are often so glaring that your copywriter will almost certainly need to develop separate content strategies for each. It’s rare to have messaging that applies to both groups, so tailoring your content to individual audiences ensures your messaging remains relevant and engaging.

But what if your copywriting target audience is “everyone?”

You might think that your products and services are aimed at “everyone”. Perhaps you are an insurance broker specialising in life insurance. You may work in personal finance or even at a law firm specialising in conveyancing.

At first glance, yes, you could argue that your primary audience is a homogenous group. You could even argue that your core messages will be the same for everyone.

However, for your copy to successfully convert and engage, you need to be much clearer about who you are talking to. Being as specific as possible will not only help increase conversions, but tailored SEO content will also allow you to maximise your search potential, ensuring your content reaches the right audience.

Let’s consider the different audiences within the insurance sector.

Are you considering hiring a blog copywriter for your insurance business? You may sell life insurance, which is applicable to anyone over the age of 18.

But how does your audience change? Have you thought about what matters to each individual customer?

We’ve provided PR support for insurance companies and brokers. In this scenario, here are just a few of the different audience demographics.

• A family. Your content might need to focus more on the possibility of joint policies and how a life insurance claim might pay out if one person passes away. You will likely focus on empathetic content that identifies why a family might be searching for a policy – not just to cover a mortgage payout but also to secure their family’s future.
• A single parent. An individual may be heavily focused on securing their financial future for their children, so your content will naturally be heavily focused on the preventative benefits of a life insurance plan. A single parent is more concerned about affordability, and as such, your messaging may need to focus on the financial value that a life insurance plan can bring.
• Someone with pre-existing conditions. We all know that insurance can be complex. If your customer has a pre-existing condition, they may already have searched for a policy and been rejected. In these circumstances, your content would be better aligned to show you understand their condition and explain what possibilities are available. You will certainly need to explain what exclusions may be in place within a policy.
• A heartbroken individual making a claim. This is where tone of voice and empathy becomes critical. The reader will almost certainly be in a heightened state of emotion, so your content needs to reflect what they need to do and how they can make their claim. Typically, an experienced insurance copywriter would know how to reduce any lengthy content, ensuring that the claims process is easily digestible and careful to show respect and kindness throughout.

As you can see, each audience group has unique needs and requires different messaging. By understanding and catering to these needs, you can create content that resonates with your audience and drives your business goals.

Almost instantly, from this list alone, you can see the beginnings of an insurance blog content strategy emerge for the insurance sector, with clear articles readily available for those individual audience groups.

What about copywriting for financial or professional services?

These are two other sectors that we regularly work with.

Over the years, we’ve provided copywriting support for many mortgage brokers. Like insurance, the “everyone” demographic can be broken down into much more specific types of audiences.

• First-time buyers. The content and messaging will be based very much on an informative approach, explaining the system and providing a hand-holding tone of voice with plenty of education.
• First-time sellers. Similar to FTBs, there are also many explanations of how to sell a property, what problems could occur, potential timescales, and links to details about remortgaging.
• Remortgaging. Unfortunately, there is little financial education in the UK, so content aimed towards remortgaging needs to explain why it’s essential to remortgage or how different interest rates can impact your monthly income. Your mortgage copywriter will likely take a more factual tone of voice but may need to bring in graphic design solutions to show visual aids to explain remortgaging as a concept.
• Buy-to-let investors. This audience is likely to be more savvy than first-time buyers. Your UK copywriter can build in more technical terminology and be more mindful of the need to emphasise potential returns on investment and profit margins rather than an educational hand-holding.

From a professional services perspective, we’ve worked with law firms, HR teams, accountancy companies and other services that have a mix of corporate and private clients. Similar to recruitment and personal finance, it’s essential to understand that copywriting for different audiences takes much time and strategic insights to hit the correct mark.

Choose Gatekeeper Communications to benefit from copywriting support for different audiences.

If this all sounds too complex or time-consuming, it doesn’t need to be.

Your internal teams have too much other work to do. Focusing on niche copywriting opportunities for different audiences may feel like a luxury.

However, working with a copywriting agency like Gatekeeper Communications can make this easy.

From the outset, Amy will collaborate with you to identify your different audience groups. We’ll research them in full, ensuring that we truly understand what matters to them. By identifying what their pressure points are, and their search intent, it becomes easier to create copy that matters.

With this in-depth audience profiling, we can create compelling copy that seamlessly reaches out to your core customers, helps build your reputation, and aligns with Google’s helpful content mandate.

To get started, please book a call to discuss your copywriting needs. We’re always happy to share writing samples so you can see how we tailor our copywriting support for different audience groups.

Alternatively, why not drop Amy a connection request on LinkedIn or check out our blog explaining how to find freelance support for your UK business.