How to Define and Find Your Startup’s Audience: Write Your Startup Issue 3

Who do you think you’re talking to?

No, seriously, who are you talking to?

The most fun I have as an Entrepreneurial Storyteller is probably creating business names. It’s a task that appears simple, but it’s extremely complicated and tedious. And anything complicated can benefit from the creation of a streamlined process.

At the start of my journey naming hundreds of businesses on Fiverr, I created a process for getting unique and valuable information from clients. The better the information I receive, the more likely the name options I create will resonate with the business owners, and more importantly, their customers. This process includes asking a series of questions: ?

-??????? What are you selling?

-??????? Why are you personally starting this business?

-??????? What names have you considered up to this point?

-??????? What differentiates your business from competitors?

-??????? Who is your ideal customer, and why?

The first four questions are relatively easy to answer, and I usually receive a paragraph or two in response to each. But when it’s time to answer the fifth question, which is intended to help me understand WHO the business name should attract, I often receive a one-word answer – “Everyone.”

Are you trying to talk to everyone? If so, your content will fail. But when you know who you’re talking to and are able to connect with and influence these people, you shorten your path to success.

Have you ever read something that instantly made you start shaking your head up and down – something that connected with you on such a high level that you felt like it was speaking directly to you?

When we feel like something has been written just for us, it probably was. This is what you want -- to connect with customers on a level where the right people are shaking their heads in agreement. You want them to eat up what you’re saying and to be excited to take the next step.

This issue of Write Your Startup answers two questions you may have:

1.????? How do I define my target audience?

2.????? How do I find that target audience?

Hint: The second question is extremely easy to answer after answering the first.

How Do I Define My Target Audience

Whether you’re selling comfort food or dropshipping haircare products, your audience is never “everyone,” so stop writing for everyone. For your content to capture the attention of potential customers and connect with them, write directly to them!

Your target audience is a laser-precise model of who you’re writing to. This could be potential customers, partners, investors, employees, etc., but to have the impact you want, you need to carve out a specific description of your target audience. This is often called a customer avatar.

Example: “Anna, 40, is an entrepreneurially-minded mother who wants financial independence and to build something for herself. She started a dropshipping business and is currently learning how to build and promote it without a large marketing budget. She has just started a blog page on her website, but she doesn’t know what to write about.”

I created the above avatar before writing a course on how to generate blog topics. While I’ll never say Anna’s name during the course, nor would I mention that she’s who I’m really after, by creating content directly for Anna, I’m able to speak to the hundreds of thousands of people who are just like her, have similar wants and needs, and who are likely to be looking for the help I provide.

Create your customer avatar below:

Name: _________________________

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Age: ________

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Occupation: ___________________________________________

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Annual Income Range: ________________

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Geographic Location: _____________________________________________

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Relevant Customer Problems:

Examples: Anna doesn’t know what to write about on her new blog. Frank spends too much time on Facebook. Tim doesn’t like the way fast food makes him feel.

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1.????? ?___________________________________________________________________________

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2.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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3.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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Your Customers’ Goals:

Examples: To write blog posts that engage her audience. To find a better use of his time. To find healthy, affordable meal options locally. ?

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1.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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2.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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3.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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The Biggest Reasons This Person Won’t Buy from You Are….

Examples: She doesn’t know this course exists. Frank is using social media as an escape activity and doesn’t have a good replacement. Tim is loyal to the local fast-food chain that he’s eaten at for 20 years.

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1.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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2.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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3.????? ___________________________________________________________________________

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Now, use this information to write 1-2 paragraphs to summarize your customer avatar and share it with me!

How Do I Find My Target Audience?

Finding your target audience is the easy part. Where do Anna, Frank, and Tim spend their time online? What are their most likely habits and how do they make purchasing decisions? These questions are easy to answer once you know exactly who you’re speaking to.

Anna is trying to learn more about blogging, so she’s most likely in several related Facebook groups, searching about blogging on Google, and she likely has a website. These are clues that help lead you right to your Anna, Frank, or Tim.

What questions do you have about defining and finding your target audience? Please comment below!

Also Read:

-??????? Storytelling Statistics and Trends (Go-Globe)

-??????? The Power of Business Storytelling: Hear Ideas from 9 Experts (Piktochart.com)

-??????? The Ultimate Guide to Storytelling in Marketing & Business (HubSpot)

About Write Your Startup

WYS guides you through building content that connects with customers. We’re geared to help the following:

·??????? Builders

·??????? Solopreneurs

·??????? Startups

·??????? Nonprofits

·??????? Small businesses

What questions do you have about crafting cleverly convincing content for your small business? Ask below, and I’ll answer it in an upcoming issue.

About Michael Luchies

I’m an Entrepreneurial Storyteller, and my mission is to bring businesses and people together with compelling stories. I am accepting new clients. Email me at [email protected] to set up a call to explore how I can help your business move forward and capture eyeballs and new business.?

Follow me here on LinkedIn.