There’s no doubt…

Your current investors and shareholders are priority number one, and it’s crucial you communicate with them on a regular basis to keep them up to date about what’s going on inside your company.

Indeed, many of your current investors will be aware of the history of your operations. They’ll have likely educated themselves on the various projects you have underway. And they’ll probably have several signals or specific details they’re looking out for that will help influence their decision to stick with you.

That’s good.

Though the thought might be a little daunting, it’s great to have clued-up investors and shareholders that are interested in following your story. Chances are, by being more engaged with your company, they’ll retain their stake in you for longer.

But there is another side to this that’s important to remember.

You see, though many of your current investors and shareholders will be up to speed on where you’re at business-wise…

Some won’t be.

Some will be brand new and will only just be getting their heads around the ins and outs of your company.

Some will not have even invested yet.

Eh?

Sounds weird when you say it like that. But the fact is that some future investors in your company haven’t invested yet, but they will.

So, whereas there will be some folks onboard who are fully sold on your story and are looking out for niche details…

There will be many that are new to it all and are searching for more broader information about your company.

This presents a challenge.

Speaking to your whole audience in the right order

So, how do you address seasoned investors in your company and brand-new ones (or those thinking if investing) at the same time?

Is it even possible?

And if so, should you attempt to?

Well, the good news is it is possible.

And it’s often much simpler to do than you might think.

In fact, there are a few different ways you can make sure you’re always addressing your whole audience, and exploring these different avenues fully is something we work a lot on with our clients.

But here, I want to give you one fundamental tip that will help you in a practical way when it comes to doing this yourself.

You see, the key thing to remember is that—on the whole—existing investors who are well-versed in your company will often know exactly what details they’re looking for, whereas newer investors, and those yet to take the plunge wont.

This means that existing investors are more capable of scanning your communications for the details they need.

Newer investors are not—they need to be directed a little more.

Couple this with the fact that many people have very little time in their lives to be reading company updates or articles in the financial media.

They want to understand what they need to understand and then move on.

This presents a natural hierarchy of attention.

New investors need context.

Older investors are willing to scan for information.

Therefore, it is best to present pieces that lead new investors in and give them the explanation they need before presenting the specific details.

Experienced investors can choose to read the lead to remind them of the context or skip it and scan for the detail they want.

New investors—and those thinking about investing—avoid being confused by the detail too soon but are engaged enough read on to get to it.

Don’t get me wrong, this approach can sometimes feel counter intuitive.

People assume they should lead with the detail, but in fact it often only serves to alienate people.

Think about this the next time you’re writing a company update or an article for investors and question if by leading with too much specific detail, you might not be alienating a large part of your audience.