by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

“What is the felt need of your target audience?”

I heard that question again and again at writers’ conferences. “Know what the felt need is, and write about it.” Great advice. But the phrase “felt need” seemed fuzzy in my brain. What exactly is it, and how do we discover what felt need our audience has? Better yet, what are the many layers of felt need they are facing?

Ask yourself the following questions to identify your audience’s felt need, whether it’s for your blog, a book, or an article. Make a list for each question, and you are not likely to run out of material for a while.

• What needs does my audience have because of their season of life or circumstances?
• What problems are they facing?
• What challenges do they encounter every day?
• What questions do they have that I can answer based on Scripture and my life experiences?

The answers to these questions will greatly depend on the demographics and circumstances of your audience. If you are writing to moms with young children, they will need some refreshment in the middle of a busy routine, along with insightful parenting advice. If you are writing to empty nesters, they may need some advice on how to transition to a quieter house.

People who are hurting need to know how to heal a heart wound, overcome a loss, or persevere through a storm. People who want to understand the Bible better need a vibrant explanation and application of God’s Word.

So who are you writing to, and what do they need? Have you considered their layers of felt need?

• What physical needs do they have because of their circumstances? How can you point them to God who provides and cares for His children?
• What emotional needs do they have because of the challenges they face? How can you share Scripture and stories so that their hearts find the hope, joy, or peace they need? What motivations can you give them for doing the right thing even when it’s not easy?
• What mental battles do they constantly encounter? What truths do they need to know and practice?
• What spiritual need for God and His Word do they have? What can you share about God that helped you when you faced something similar to what they may be going through? What promises from Scripture helped you that may help them too?

Often, we need to put ourselves in our readers’ shoes to empathize with what they are facing. Also, we need to remember our own struggles and how God helped us through those challenges.

We appeal to our readers’ hearts and felt needs when we approach them as a friend through our writing and help them to know:

• I’ve been there too.
• This is what God’s Word says.
• This is how God has been there for me.
• This is how He can be there for you.

When you write, do you tend to focus on one “layer” of felt need, or more than one? Do you tend to write about a need that’s physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual? Tell us in the comments, and may God guide each piece of writing to empower and encourage your target audience.

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist. She recently started The Lighthouse Connection, a monthly writers’ newsletter including writing tips, inspiration to write, and news of submission opportunities.

In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, take acrylic painting classes online, and do yard work in the morning sun. Connect with her at her blog, Winning the Victory, and on Facebook and Twitter.