Hey Reader,

First off, thank you for all your messages and replies last week. It looks like the newsletter resonated more than ever and I’m so happy about that! In case you missed it, you can read it here.

Last week, I introduced the “audience tuning” concept almost in passing. Because quite a few of few picked up on that, this week we’re diving deep into audience tuning, its virtues and its perils.

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What is audience tuning and why does it matter?

Briefly put, audience tuning is the intentional shaping of message, tone, and framing to match a specific audience’s attitudes, language, and values. Done well, it boosts clarity, resonance, and conversions.

Let's back up a bit, though.

In college, we were taught that this model is the basis of all communication:

​Image source​

As the professional communicators we were to become, we were told that we alone bear the responsibility for the way our message is understood. We have to tailor it to our audience, as well as to the medium, and account for the inevitable noise around any message.

Here’s what this model would look like on social media:

• I, the sender, want to share a message with you, the receiver.
• For my message to be effective (received the way it was intended), I need to choose a language you speak, use terms you understand, and so on.
• I also need to account for the channel. If I publish on social media, I need to choose a format that works within that specific platform.
• Lastly, I need to account for the noise. On social media, I compete with direct competitors, but also the news and funny cat videos (that’s the noise). So I need to make sure that my message stands out; otherwise, it won’t be received.

This is message tuning. In marketing, we need to do this or we disappear.

Its cousin is audience tuning, which occurs when you don’t just edit for clarity and deliverability, but also for tone and audience expectations.

For example, a TikToker knows that they need to jump on the latest platform trends and do videos that their audience expects to see. So they will try to fit a square peg into a round hole and do videos that have nothing to do with their regular topics just to get some more views.

Similarly, your favorite celeb entrepreneur might choose to avoid thorny topics because they don’t sit well with their audience. They need to deliver what the audience expects of them to avoid dissonance.

Another good example here is what we spoke of last week — pushing the relatability angle so that your audience likes you more.

In a sneaky twist of events, your audience (any audience) likes nothing more than to see themselves mirrored in a creator they admire. This is why a lot of successful and rich people talk about their struggles — because they need to tune into their audiences. They need to be relatable BUT their audience can't relate to their millionaire lifestyle. So they balance aspirational with relatable content.

Audience tuning makes you forget who you are (truly!)

If you feel like every celeb entrepreneur sounds the same on YouTube or TikTok, you’re not imagining things. They do. One micro adjustment at a time, they all started to sound alike.

This is the “Saying-Is-Believing” effect: they tuned their message so much that they literally forgot their original idea and now remember the highly edited version.

Why?

Because people resonated with the edited message, so the sender and the receiver built a shared reality. The closer you feel to your audience, the more your mind quietly edits itself to stay in sync.

This isn’t marketing woo. It’s the basis of all human communication:

• Tune the message to the audience
• Memory shifts toward what was said, not what was initially known
• Shared reality and epistemic trust are the accelerants

In a charmingly human and dangerous way, the more we want to connect, the more we adjust.

The dark side: why long-term audience tuning bites back

You know I like to talk about resonance and how important it is in building authority and influence. But when you echo your audience too much, you risk three things:

1. Dulling your edge. You become a hall of mirrors: reflecting expectations instead of shaping them. If their expectations are shallow or purely transactional (“just sell me something”), congratulations — you’re now a glossy echo. Not an authority.
2. Losing your voice. Fine-tuning = finesse. Over-tuning = impersonation. One morning you’ll open your doc and wonder why your newsletter reads like everyone else’s Tuesday LinkedIn post.
3. Memory distortion → self-betrayal. The research isn’t only about persuasion — it’s about what you remember. You’ll recall your own ideas as the thing you said to keep the crowd happy. That’s an identity crisis waiting to happen.

If you can feel the ground shift, you’re dangerously close to quicksand. Once you sink into that smooth, flavourless mush, climbing back out takes a while.

If audience tuning turns into auto-tune, do something about it

My mother has a litmus test for singers: “if I know whose voice it is without seeing the singer, then they’re a good singer”.

The same goes for any type of voice: can your people read a social media post, a newsletter, an article, and know who created it without looking at the author field?

If not, do something about it.

My friend John Moore likened audience tuning to auto-tune, and he was spot on. If all the singers sound the same, how could you pick a favorite?

This is why most good singers use auto-tune sparingly, if ever. They want their fans to be able to pick them out of a crowd, and they want their biggest asset, their voice, to mean something.

Of course, there’s nuance too.

Where audience tuning helps (especially if you need to sell… yesterday)

Sometimes you should tune. Urgent launch? New offer? Meet people where they are. But do it intelligently:

You’ve seen me recommend “copy/mirror your audience’s words” for speed and resonance — especially when you’re juggling sales, content, and delivery. That advice still stands.

The point is to use audience tuning as a tool, not make it your whole identity.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Start with a stance. Before I write, I pin my belief. One sentence. If I can’t articulate it, I don’t deserve the audience’s attention yet. (This alone kills 80% of blandness.)
2. Mirror selectively. I’ll lift 1–2 phrases from readers’ replies/surveys to signal “I hear you,” then immediately pivot into my language.
3. Tune tone, not truth. I change how I say it (cadence, examples, metaphors), not what I believe.
4. Use a ratio. Roughly 80% me /20% them on language. If a paragraph reads 50/50, I re-cut until my voice leads.
5. Add a foil sentence. After a familiar line, I insert a deliberate left-turn (“Here’s where everyone panders. Here’s what actually holds.”) That one sentence re-signals authority.
6. Spot-check distinctiveness. I ask: “Could a smart peer have written this?” If the answer is yes, I fix it. “What’s the sentence only I would write?” Then I write it.
7. Protect memory. Because tuning can warp recall, I keep a private “truth ledger” — a note with my original stance and definitions. It’s my anti-quicksand. ​

​This previous issue about finding your BIG idea will help get you started.

I’m not trying to be a contrarian for sport. I’m protecting distinctiveness on purpose.

You may have noticed that much of my writing starts familiar but lands original. There’s always a twist (“Here’s the common advice → here’s the version that actually works in practice.”) or signature moves (metaphors, one-liners, even brand grammar that readers would notice if missing).

Finding balance takes time, but it’s worth it

This is my way of doing things; it doesn’t have to be yours. I detailed the process to help you find yours, whatever it may look like.

I know it’s hard to resist extreme audience tuning because it’s the siren song of money and fame. And it does work for a while — until you blend in more than Elmo.

So, if you’re building for the long run, analyze your content critically: does that TikTok trend align with your brand values? Does this LinkedIn post really need a selfie? Should you hold back your beliefs because your peers never talk about thorny topics online?

Sometimes, the answer is yes. Other times, it’s better if you do you.

Need help with being resonant without turning into a hall of mirrors

P.S. Want structure that keeps you out of the quicksand? The Profitable Content Engine (masterclass + custom GPT) shows you how to meet your audience where they are and still sound unmistakably (and profitably!) like you.

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That's it from me today! See you next week in your inbox. Here to make you think, Adriana ​

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