Persona+Writing-Chapter+2

=**What is a Persona?**= Creating a persona is one of the best ways to understand your audience. A persona is an individual with a name, picture and other specific characteristics. (1) A persona is not an actual person, but a composite of many people. (1). Web designers first gather information about their intended audience, then they use this information to create a persona. The persona will help them better understand their audience when they are designing the website. The persona will help the web designer organize the content and what type of vocabulary to use on the website. Personas must contain true and honest data in order for them to benefit the website. Creating a persona should not cost an exorbitant amount of money. (1)

media type="youtube" key="H8X130DAWg4" height="315" width="420" [|Video: Creating a Persona] (2)

**Eight Guidelines for Gathering Information About Your Audience:**
1. Think about your mission. 2. Read customer feedback. 3. Talk to the marketing department. 4. Talk to customer service. 5. Get people to fill out a short questionnaire. 6. Watch and listen to people. 7. Interview people who use or might use your website. 8. Do usability testing of the current content. (1)

**Information that is used to Create a Persona:**
1. Key phrases or quotes. 2. Experience and expertise. 3. Emotions. 4. Values. 5. Technology. 6. Social and cultural environments. 7. Demographics (age, ability, etc.) 8. Name. 9. Picture. (1)

References:
1. Redish, Janice. "Creating Personas." //Letting Go of the Words.// Writing Web Content That Works. San Francisco: Elsevier/Morgan Kaufman Publishers, 2007. 11-27. Print. 2. Seocopywriting. (August 5, 2011). "How Do I Create a Customer Persona"//.// Retrieved from @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8X130DAWg4.