Content Creation For Introverts vs Extroverts

What's the difference, why it matters

Photo by David Brooke Martin on Unsplash

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Introverts vs Extroverts: What’s the Difference?

On Tuesday, I wrote about this topic over at

Frey

’s place. Please check it out.

In terms of content, there’s a few general ways in which introverts and extroverts process information differently. The key lesson is that introverts prefer deeper dives into a singular topic. Extroverts want quick attention to multiple topics.

If you were attending a conference, the introvert would want to attend the 2 hour workshop. The extrovert would be out in the hallway networking.

So how could this apply to how you use Substack? In depth articles that you write could appeal to introverts, while those quick Notes you jot down as a thought pops into your head may be more appealing to the extrovert.

Breaking Down Different Personality Types

Let’s build on the idea of introvert vs extrovert. Myers-Briggs came up with 16 different personality types. Here’s a free online test you can take to determine your type. Click here for that.

These were based on 4 main facets of each person’s personality, each person prefers one or the other of each pair:

1 - Introversion (I) / Extroversion (E). How you direct your energy and attention. We’ve already talked about this.

2 - Sensing (S) / Intuition (N). This refers to how someone processes information. Sensing means you prefer concrete information and lots of facts. People who are more intuitive prefer to focus on patterns, possibilities, and future potential, often looking beyond immediate facts.

3 - Thinking (T) / Feeling (F). How you make decisions. Thinking types tend to make decisions based on logic, objective analysis, and cause-and-effect reasoning. Feeling types tend to make decisions based on personal values, considering the impact on people and relationships.

4 - Judging (J) / Perceiving (P). How you approach the outside world. Judging types prefer structure, closure, and having things decided. They like to plan ahead and stick to schedules. Perceiving types prefer flexibility and keeping options open, adapting as they go.

How Many People Are Part of Each Personality Type?

Here’s where things get interesting. First, the stats for the general population show that these 4 types are the most common:

ISFJ (The Protector): 13.8% ESFJ (The Consul): 12.3% ISTJ (The Logistician): 11.6% ISFP (8.8%)

So roughly half the population belongs to these 4 groups.

However…remember we are examining how to create content for an ONLINE audience. The online audience is slightly different than the general audience.

For instance, introverts are more likely to be more active online versus offline, since introverts prefer to communicate via written words versus face to face conversation. Extroverts prefer the opposite, they would rather engage directly with someone, offline.

So while it’s almost impossible to accurately measure, it’s thought that there are slightly more introverts online than extroverts. The reasoning is that around 40-45% of the offline population is introverted. If there’s a slightly higher percentage of introverts online versus offline, then there’s likely an even split online between introverts and extroverts, or a slight majority of introverts. So we will be creating content with this in mind.

How Can Personality Types Inform Our Content Strategy?

Let’s start with some general guidelines:

First, when looking at the four most common types (ISFJ, ESFJ, ISTJ and ISFP), notice that all 4 have the Sensing facet, and 3 have the Feeling facet.

Here’s how each facet consumes content:

Sensing - Sensing types prefer concrete, factual information gathered through their five senses and focus on present realities. Sensors want step-by-step instructions, concrete examples, practical applications, data and statistics, "how-to" content with clear outcomes.

Feeling - Feeling types tend to make decisions based on personal values, considering the impact on people and relationships. Feelers respond to personal stories, values-based messaging, community impact, relationship-focused content, emotional connection.

What Are the Key Takeaways For Creating Content on Substack?

For your Substack specifically, this suggests you should:

• Write more in-depth articles to connect with Introverts, while lighter conversation starters should be used via Notes to connect with Extroverts.

• Lead with practical, actionable advice (appeals to the Sensing types).

  Sam Burgess
  Bette A. Ludwig, PhD 🌱
  and
  Mark Levy
  do this well.

• Include personal stories and relationship-focused elements (appeals to the high percentage of Feeling types).

  Neela 🌶️
  Hege Kristoffersen
  and
  Marcus Musick
  do a good job with this.

• Provide clear structure and step-by-step guidance (appeals to the dominant Judging preference).

  Paul Chaney
  Morgan Jungels
  and
  Lucille M. Shaw
  do this well.

• Use BOTH factual and abstract examples to illustrate a concept. The factual examples will appeal to Sensing types, while the abstract examples will land with the Intuitive types. I wrote about how to do this to facilitate deep learning here last year.

So in summary, facts/research, personal stories and step by step guides should do well across most readerships. My advice would be to look at your backlog of posts, and focus on the ones that did the best for you in terms of engagement. Examine those articles and try to determine which of the above criteria they included. Was it fact-based? Did it have a lot of personal stories? Step by step instructions?

The idea is to figure out which style of content presentation is connecting with YOUR audience. If you don’t have clear indications, then try experimenting. Next month write 2 posts that focus on facts and research, two that focus on personal stories, and 2 that have step by step instructions to solve a problem. Review and see which type generates the most engagement for you.

I hope that’s helpful to you! I really think the concept of tailoring content based on personality types is fascinating, and I plan on writing about this more soon.

Until then, thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Mack

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Backstage Pass teaches you how to better connect with your customers, readers, clients, or donors. The lessons shared here draw on my experience over the last 20 years building customer engagement strategies for companies like Adobe, Dell, Club Med, Ingersoll-Rand, and countless others. I give you real-world research, examples and tactics that show you how to create customer engagement efforts that drive real business growth.