Why do you write? How does what you write benefit others? Have you identified the purpose or ministry of your writing efforts? If so, can you explain your writing ministry in a sentence or two?
Why is this important?
Imagine this scenario:
An event planner asks the person beside you what they write about, and they reply:
I’m a breast cancer survivor, and I help families impacted by cancer to process their emotions in a healthy way through children’s stories, poems, and informational blog posts.
Next the planner turns to you and asks the same question. Your answer sounds something like this:
I blog about stuff like cancer, and how it affects families, and all the emotional junk that dealing with the disease can cause, and then I’ve also written some manuscripts for children about how it feels when their mommy or daddy has cancer. And I also have a collection of deeply emotional poems that I wrote when my sister was going through treatments for breast cancer.
If the event planner was looking for a speaker for her next event, which one would she choose?
That’s one benefit of crafting a clear and succinct writing ministry statement. Other valuable benefits include improved focus and clearer author branding. The clearer you are on why you write, who you’re writing for, and what you can do for them, the easier it will be to stay “on brand” and do what you do best.
How to craft a writing ministry statement
A ministry statement has several basic building blocks, which you bring together into a single sentence or two. I will cover some of these building blocks in more detail in future posts, but for now, here’s the basic format.
Some of these building blocks will easier for you to identify than others. That’s fine
Maybe you know the target audience you are called to write for, but you haven’t fine-tuned your message. Or maybe you understand your message loud and clear, but you need more clarity on your ideal target audience. Start with whatever part is clearest in your mind and work from there. The goal is to make an attempt at defining them, not to get it perfect.
Your Why, or your area of expertise.
What qualifies you to teach or advise in this area? What is the spark that causes you to care about this subject or the needs of this audience?
Don’t panic if you aren’t an expert! As in the example above, your “expertise” can be a life trauma you’ve gone through. Alternately, your “expertise” might be something you are passionate about, such as Civil War history, caring for infants, or making people laugh.
In my example, the expertise was being a cancer survivor. If you’ve survived cancer, then you know much more about that subject than anyone who hasn’t. That makes you an expert at surviving cancer.
The Who, your target audience
Who is your message for? Who will most benefit from what you write?
Consider your answer in terms of the needs they have that will draws them to your message.
In my example, the target audience is families that have been impacted by cancer. That is a broad audience in terms of things like age, but it is specific regarding the core issue: cancer.
What problems or pain points does your writing solve?
How does what you write help your audience? What does your target audience need that you can provide? Do you help them solve problems? Do you help them overcome pain in some way?
In my example, the families have emotions from the trauma of cancer that need to be processed. Another answer might be: children in the target audience need story books about loved ones facing cancer.
What is your message?
What is the core message that you want the world to know? The message that will come through whether you are writing poetry, children’s books, or how-to articles.
If you’re not clear on this, I suggest you read this post on identifying your core message.
In my example, the message is providing emotional healing to families impacted by cancer.
What is the desired outcome?
Your target audience has a problem or pain point. Your writing will help them. How?
What solutions does your writing provide? What is the outcome you intend for them if they read and follow your message?
In my example, the outcome is learning how to process their emotions in healthy ways.
Putting it all together
Once you have identified all the pieces, you can combine them to create a succinct writing ministry statement. Here are several variations to work with.
Hi, I’m (name) and I’m a (establish expertise). I help (who) achieve (what) by (how) so they can (desired outcome).
I help (who) solve (problem/pain point) so they get (desired outcome) by providing (your message).
I am (area of expertise). I help (target audience) who experience (problem/pain point) to get (desired outcome).
I hope these tips will help you clarify your purpose and craft a concise writing ministry statement that will help you share your work with those who need to hear it.
Focus Keyphrase: Writing ministry statement
Meta Description
Creating a concise writing ministry statement can help you effectively to impact the audience God wants you to write for.
Lisa E. Betz worked as an engineer, substitute teacher, and play director before becoming an award-winning mystery writer. She brings her analytical mind, quirky humor, and positive outlook to all she writes. She draws inspiration from thirty-five years of leading Bible studies to create entertaining mysteries set in the world of the early church, and then she fills that world with eccentric characters, independent females, and an occasional sausage-snatching cat. Her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, was recently awarded the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year.
In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her at lisaebetz.com. Facebook LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.
