Do you really know your target audience?
It’s the moment of truth. You’ve spent weeks, maybe even months, putting together the absolute perfect offer. You poured your heart and soul into it… and maybe a little sweat mixed in too.
You put your little offer baby out into the world and…
Crickets.
No one budges. No one blinks. No one cares.
Why?
Because it’s not something they want or need 😭
Thankfully, this isn’t going to happen to you. You know the importance of truly understanding your audience and their needs beFORE you start creating.
If you didn’t know that, I bet you had a sneaking suspicion. You are here reading this post, after all.
And I know, the idea of a food fight might sound kind of fun, but throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks isn’t always the best option when it comes to figuring out what you should be offering in your business.
I may sound like a broken record at this point, but truly getting your audience… their needs, desires, expectations, wants, wishes, etc.… it’s only going to help you build up that know, like, and trust factor…
Along with your amazing stories, of course. Because that’s how you connect all the pieces 😉
It’s how you communicate with them in a way that actually means something.
It’s how you stand out among the others who do the same thing as you.
It’s how you offer solutions to your audiences’ problems. The ones they’re really looking for.
And I know… This is great and all, but like, hooooow.
How do you learn all the things you need to know to make sure you’re on the right track?
How do you figure out who your audience really is?
Of course, there’s no ONE right way to approach this. There hardly ever is. But here are a few things you can dig into as a good starting point.
Oh, one small note: these suggestions are among some of the less-complicated ones, but that doesn’t make them any less effective. If you’ve been running your biz for a while though, you might find you’ve already used these or have moved on to more data-driven techniques 😊
Identify your target market
Okay so first of all… take a step back. When you first started your entrepreneurial adventures, did you ever figure out WHO you want to serve? And if you’re thinking, well, I serve everyone! Everyone can benefit from my offer! That might be true, but it’s not going to help your messaging.
Let’s say you offer life coaching services, for example. Sure, everyone could benefit. But would your approach be the same for these two people?
>> A single mom with 5 kids who’s working a 9-5 while also building her biz during her “free time” (I feel for you, woman)
And
>> A married woman who never had to work because her spouse makes waaaaay more than enough, so she gets to work on her biz full-time even from the very beginning.
Maybe you can help them both, but the way you talk to them better be different. They don’t have the same needs, and a blanket “solution” isn’t going to catch their attention.
If you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll appeal to no one.
So figure out who your people really are. Try to narrow down as much as you can by demographics, interests, location, attitudes, aspirations, hopes, dreams… ALL of it.
Make up a person, your Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA), to represent who it is you’re serving in your business. Give them a name too! If you start having conversations with them, I won’t tell anyone 😉
Take a peek into your current network
It’s 2023… by now, just about all of us are connected with friends, family, acquaintances, and random people with similar interests on at least one social platform.
Take a little inventory on who you already know that actually might be your target audience and start a conversation with them. This doesn’t have to be anything in depth either.
Set up a little coffee chat via Zoom and dig into some questions, kind of like an informal interview. You can even create a super quick survey on Google to collect and organize info, if that works better for you (and them) than setting up a time to talk.
Have a list of questions ready to go, and focus on finding out what they struggle with, their needs, their pain points, etc.
But also, ask them about preferences. How do they prefer to learn and gather info? What do they wish they could find to help them overcome their problems?
Use this info to help inform the decisions you make on what you create and how you create it.
Show up where they hang out
One of the best ways to learn about exactly what your audience needs is to literally spend some time with them. And the internet has made it easier than ever to accomplish this.
Social media is your best freakin’ friend in this case (even if you not-so-secretly kind of hate it like I do.) Facebook, in particular, is super useful for the wide variety of groups that are available to join.
Do a little searching for some groups that are active and have rules in place to prevent them from becoming a black hole of spam posts, and then participate!
Talk to the people you wish to serve and ask questions, hang out like a fly on the wall and observe what they complain about or need help with, offer tips and suggestions to help them a little. All in the name of research, my friend.
Building true friendships and networking with people who are part of your target audience will give you so much more to work with than random Google or ChatGPT searches will. Plus, you might make a new friend or two, which is always pretty great 😊
You might also want to dig into forum sites like Reddit, with the crazy amounts of subreddits available to scour through. Full disclosure, my Reddit game is not 100% or even close to it. Yes, I spend time on there and yes, I try to pretend I fully understand it. It can be a rabbit hole but it’s also a great place to gain insight into those needs, pain points, and struggles you’ll be aiming to address in your biz.
Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Another great way to see if you’re truly understanding your audience is to create an actual offer you can promote.
This is NOT going to be a super in-depth course, membership, or service. It’s a small offering or a sneak peek you can put out there to test the waters and see who bites.
You might consider creating a lead magnet first (typically a freebie used to build up your email list) if you’re really starting from scratch…
Or if you already have a list you’ve been building, you can present your idea to your existing list.
This could be a landing page that clearly maps out all the things you’d like to offer or a video explaining in-depth what you’d like to create and how it’ll help your audience.
It could also be a beta-type offer that you promote for a low $$ amount that includes the basic ideas/offers/teachings you want to put out there and get feedback on before you spend time creating the rest of it.
This MVP will let you know if you’re a real MVP. (That was SO dumb. Who lets me say these things!?)
Which leads me right into…
Get ALL the feedback
You’ll want a way to collect feedback from the people who bought or tested this product/offer. These insights are SO valuable because they’ll let you know if you’re on the right track or if you’ve taken a wrong turn.
Make sure to find out what went well and what didn’t go well. What did they think about the info you provided as well as the way you gave it to them?
If the feedback isn’t so great, you’ll know you missed the mark somewhere. Maybe your message was too broad or you didn’t narrow down the characteristics of your target audience enough. Maybe the info was great, but the delivery was off. Maybe they just didn’t like it all together 😬
Or… if the feedback is great, your idea is now validated! And man, it feels great to be validated.
You’ll be able to take what you’ve learned from these people and continue on the same path when creating your larger offers.
You’ll also be able to get some testimonials from them, which is so valuable for helping build trust with people new to your community. Pop those on your website, your sales pages, landing pages, emails… social proof goes a long way (coming from a person who religiously reads reviews before buying anything).
Pivot if necessary
I know this might not be fun, especially when you have your heart and soul set on the best idea that you’ve ever come up with. But as I said waaaay at the beginning of this post… if no one in your audience actually wants or needs it, there’s no point in putting more time and energy into it.
You very well might need to go back to the drawing board. As you’ve learned more about your audience, had conversations with them, gained insights into their needs and wants, put out your MVP, collected feedback… you might find that your original idea just isn’t going to work as well as you initially hoped for.
And that’s okay!
You get to take everything you’ve learned and create something even more meaningful and powerful. Something your audience is going to kill for!
Create your own content
Sharing valuable content with your audience, (the people already in your community AND the ones who have yet to discover your greatness,) keeps them engaged and feeling more connected to you.
As you share more info, whether it’s through blogs, podcasts, videos, social media posts, etc., you’re inviting others to share their thoughts and ideas with you. This isn’t just small talk. This is just as valuable for you as it is for them!
See how different topics resonate with your audience, which ones get the most responses, shares, saves… any feedback is helpful (as you may have realized by now)!
Attend live events
Live events (in person OR virtual) are GREAT because they allow for a few things. When they’re centered on a certain theme or industry, you’ll get very specific knowledge that you can then use in your own business.
This could be info about the industry you’re in OR info about the things your target audience is interested in. For example, if you’re a designer who specializes in branding for vegan restaurants, you could attend events related to design OR vegan restaurants.
Attending these events also allows you to network in a live setting. Networking in Facebook groups is great but there’s a certain excitement and urgency about networking in a live event that you just can’t beat.
People are there for a reason and they want to connect with people who understand them and can help them. You have the chance to connect directly with your target audience and invite them into YOUR community, where you can further help them!
Getting to know your audience isn’t a one-and-done thing. Yes, you’ll have to do more work in the beginning but as you become more established in your business and your offerings, you still have to check in and make sure what you’re doing is needed by your community.
What works now may not work in 5 years… and actually, with how rapidly things always seem to be changing now days, maybe even less than 5 years 😳
The best thing you can do is always invite conversation from the people in your community. Stay connected with them. Share your stories and insights with them.
And as their interests or needs change, you’ll be the first to know and can then make changes accordingly.
Building up your own email list and sending weekly emails to your community is absolutely one of the *best* forms of communication you’ll ever have with the people who need YOU.
And your stories are going to be a powerful tool to help you build trust every time they read. Make Your Emails Unforgettable is my free guide that gives you actionable tips on how to use story-driven emails to create those genuine connections your readers are looking for 😍
What’s YOUR favorite way to learn more about your target audience? Have you tried something I didn’t mention? I’d love to know!
