Sheep is how I refer to my solvers, reportedly (3)
I believe the answer is:
ewe
'sheep' is the definition.
(a ewe is a female sheep)
'how i refer to my solvers reportedly' is the wordplay.
'how i refer to my solvers' becomes 'you' (the crossword setter addresses solvers as 'you').
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'you' is a homophone of 'EWE'.
'is' is the link.
(Other definitions for ewe that I've seen before include "Female animal" , "Female ovine" , "Language" , "Sheep found in sewer" , "Dam of a sheep" .)