Introverts or Extroverts - The Content Question You Aren’t Asking (But You Should Be!)
The Answer and What it Means For Your Content Strategy
When we consider the audience, we typically think about who they are, and what action we want them to take.
Do we want them to buy?
Do we want them to subscribe?
Do we want them to engage (Like or comment)?
We may even spend some time developing personas for our ideal reader.
Yet typically, there’s one question we never ask about our readers:
Are we writing for introverts, or extroverts?
It’s an important question to ask, because introverts and extroverts process information differently.
They want different information and in different forms.
Quick Note: This post is written by my friend, , the author behind Backstage Pass: A newsletter that helps brands build loyal communities and meaningful customer engagement. Mack has worked with companies like Adobe, Dell, and Nikon, and his insights always hit the mark.
If you enjoy this piece, I highly recommend checking out his publication for more of his thoughtful and practical content strategy work.
Stay tuned as I'll be sharing more great voices like his soon!
Now Back to the Article
What Makes Introverts and Extroverts Different?
Before we get into a discussion of what differentiates introverts from extroverts, let’s keep in mind we are talking generalities.
Someone can be an extrovert, and still exhibit characteristics consistent with introverted behavior, and vice versa. Every person is unique, and our behavior is a very fluid thing, and changes constantly depending on our health, the circumstances we find ourselves in at the moment, etc.
So with all the legalese out of the way, let’s get down to business: What makes introverts and extroverts different?
In general, introverts gravitate toward deeper connections with fewer people, extroverts gravitate toward connections with more people.
If an introvert and an extrovert were at a party, the extrovert would be the one that spent 5 mins with everyone at the party, while the introvert stayed in a quiet corner of the house talking to one person for 2 hours.
The extrovert caught up with everyone at the party on a very platonic level.
But they fed off those quick interactions.
Likewise, the introvert was able to have a deep conversation with one person they like and trust, and they also fed off that interaction.
Both people interacted with different people in different ways, and both people enjoyed their evening.
If you had flipped the script, and forced the introvert to make small talk with 50 people in 2 hours, or had forced the extrovert to stay in a corner and only talk to one person, both the introvert and extrovert would have been miserable.
Because those interactions DRAIN their energy.
So now that we have a general idea of how extroverts and introverts process information and desire interactions, how do we incorporate this into our content strategies?
It would mean that extroverts want to engage with more people, and spend less time with each interaction.
On Substack, it would mean they likely enjoy reading Notes, floating from Note to Note and quickly catching up with all their favorite writers.
Introverts, on the other hand, will typically want deeper dives into a topic.
So they would spend more time reading your Substack publication, than your Notes.
How Many Introverts and Extroverts Are There?
I asked Grok to help me understand what percentage of the population is made up of introverts and what percentage is extroverted. Honestly, Grok couldn’t give a clear answer. Most sources seem to believe that anywhere from 33-50% of the population is introverted, and 40-60% is extroverted.
Those numbers clearly don’t add up, mainly because some sources account for ‘ambiverts’, people who exhibit characteristics of both introversion and extroversion.
The general consensus is there are likely 10% or more extroverts in the general population than introverts.
How Does This Impact Your Content Strategy?
There’s two main considerations:
1 - Are your readers more likely to be introverted or extroverted?
2 - Are YOU introverted or extroverted?
One of the basic ‘truths’ of content strategy we are all sold on is the idea that we must write for our audience.
But we also need to write for ourselves.
We should absolutely take into account who our audience is, and their preferences as they consume content.
Yet, we also need to factor in our preferences as content creators.
Because at the end of the day, we need to find a workable balance between creating content that our reader wants, and creating content that we enjoy creating.
Both sides have to be happy with the finished product.
Another way this impacts your content is how you structure your writing.
In general, extroverts want shorter content that gets to the point.
In general, introverts want deeper dives.
Think about how many times you have seen someone say ‘I wrote this post in 15 mins and didn’t think anything about it and it got mad engagement.
But the 2,000 word post I spent 10 hours on got nothing”. It could simply be that the first post did a better job of connecting with extroverts.
Personally, I like deep dives into topics. But I am an introvert. I am sure some of the more extroverted people read the start of this post, saw it was about the difference between extroverts and introverts and thought “Too deep for me, back to Notes!”.
While an introvert may read the same topic and love it thinking “This is great, there’s not enough talk about this topic!”
Test, Test, Test
The best way to determine if your readers prefer content geared toward introverts or extroverts is to test different approaches.
You will likely have some hints from your existing backlog of articles.
Look at your existing articles, and segment the ones that performed the best, based on whatever KPI you value.
What did those articles have in common?
Were they longer or shorter posts?
Were they more technical, or more emotional?
Build a list of what a ‘successful’ post for you looks like.
The topics, the format, the length, etc.
Then think about the type of post you most enjoy writing. Consider the same criteria.
In all likelihood, your best-performing type of post will be very similar if not exactly the same as the type of post you most enjoy writing.
This isn’t by accident, typically our best content is the content we most enjoy creating.
So Which is Better, Introverts or Extroverts?
Of course neither is ‘better’ than the other, it’s about how each group processes information differently.
The reality is, you will be writing for both groups. So you need to factor in the wants of each group when creating content.
Introverts prefer deeper dives into fewer topics.
Extroverts want lighter interactions.
How would you combine these two approaches? Here’s an example:
You could write a 1,500 word article on one topic. That delves deep into that topic. This would appeal to introverts.
In order to make that content more appealing to extroverts, you want to structure the article so the topic seems ‘less daunting’.
How do you do this?
Consider the structure of the article. Clear subheadings used early and often to let the reader know where they are at all times.
Shorter sentences help too. Walls of text discourage readers, especially extroverted ones.
Break up text even further by using visuals such as pictures or videos.
These are some ideas to get you started. My advice would be to first think about if you are more comfortable writing for introverts or extroverts.
Once you figure out which group you want to write for, then think about how you can tweak your content structure in order to make it more appealing to the other group.
Recall that roughly 33-50% of the population will be in one group or the other.
Which means your content will need to connect with both introverts and extroverts.
These tips will help you get there.
Good luck, let me know in the comments if this idea of writing for introverts or extroverts is something that connects with you.
I personally think it’s a very interesting, and underserved area of content strategy!
-Mack
Up Next:
How do you cut through the noise when everyone’s writing about everything?
I’ve got two things dropping soon that’ll help you do exactly that:
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📝 Guest Post on Mack’s Substack
“Bulletproof Success: How to Be Successful in Everything You Do” lands Tuesday. It’s about redefining success through habits, progress, and momentum—especially when you’re stuck or invisible.
👀 And keep an eye out…
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📚 Would you want access to a full guide on writing for Substack: covering both the technical strategy and the human side of the writing experience? Let me know your thoughts in the Poll.
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Frey thanks so much for having me!
Really interesting topic and suggestions, Mack. I am an ambivert so I like articles that have summarised sections plus deeper dives. Thanks for hosting, Frey.