Telling The Ugly Step-Sisters To Go Away

Let's start with something that needs saying. It's ok to tell people who aren't your ideal client "no".

It's fcking scary to do the first time. It takes balls. I used to do it all the time when working for others, but when you work for yourself you stress about turning away money.

First time I did it for myself was in June 8 days after I decided what my ideal client looked like and agreed with myself that I would only take on clients who fit this, doing the work I wanted to do.

Guy came to me and asked if I could write him an email marketing campaign. It was a ￡2k job... and I said no. I'd just decided to focus on the 3 things I enjoy doing and not do anything else. Email marketing campaigns didn't fall into the 3 things. So, I said no in a very polite way.

I thought I'd lost ￡2k. I hadn't at all. I'd kept the deal I made with myself to do the work I enjoyed, for people I wanted to work with.

It's something you should be doing too. Because your best content will come when you nail what your Cinderella looks like and create for them and them alone. Since that day in June, all of my content has been targeted at attracting my Cinderella. Before that? Anyone who needed marketing support with a pulse and money.

A quick detour before we jump into how to create content for your Cinderella... Your Ideal Client and Target Market are two different things.

Simply put, Target Market = any business profile that could need what you do, and has the budget for it. So, it'd look something like this: Service Based businesses in the UK, turning over ￡500k and have up to 10 employees.

Ideal Client = businesses within your target market that meet certain criteria. It'll look something like this: A service business where the owner is involved, knows that they have a problem when it comes to what you do, wants to fix it, has the budget to fix it, is open to working with an expert, will give ideas and suggestions but acknowledge you have the experience to make what they need happen.

That's a really simplistic version, but you get what I mean. So, the first thing you need to do is write down what your Cinderella looks like.

To help, here's mine:

Broken down, it looks like this:

Business + problem + thought process + budget + personality features.

Once you have this, it's then about creating content that attracts them.

Again, I'll use myself as an example. Let's take the super professional part. How do I create content that pushes away people who think that's the way for them to get business? I'm ridiculously casual, gobby, swear, and I'll upload videos of me sitting in my garden wearing old t-shirts. I'll go against every thought a super professional person will have. They will read my content and think "not a chance will I work with him".

That also attracts those who want to be themselves and not hide behind an online persona. I'm very much me. I am like this in real life. There's no difference. People who want to be themselves, will read it and think "If he can, why can't I?".

The style of my content simultaneously attracts my Cinderella and pushes away the Step-Sisters.

I also talk a lot about the problems they are facing within the services I provide. For example, if they are getting loads of business on LinkedIn, they are a step-sister. They don't need me. So, when I put out content telling people how to do this, it doesn't help them.

On the other hand, if they don't, then my content will help.

Pushes Step-Sisters away, and attracts my Cinderella.

The personality features I can't really establish until I'm talking to them... And when I am, I'm on high alert for red flags- things like asking for discounts (don't value what I do), refusing to complete a questionnaire (not willing to invest their own time), are things that will make me say no. If I get dickhead vibes off them, that's also a straight no. That's a bit hard to quantify, but you'll all have met someone and thought "what a dickhead". Same thing.

Budget-wise, I'll put out posts with my pricing on it. If they don't have the budget or don't want to spend that much, they push themselves away. If they do, they engage. I don't do this on every post, but occasionally. I'll also tell them my pricing when they first enquire, just to make sure.

You get the idea.

So, onto your content.

Break down your Cinderella in the same way, answering the following:

1. What problem do you solve?
2. How do you solve it?
3. Why you?
4. What style, language and tone match their vibe/personality?
5. Are you happy to put your pricing out there? (if budget is one of the things you want). I'll also add here that if it's bespoke, put out a "starting from" price.

Once you've got these answers, it's time to create some content.

I always break content into 4 categories:

1. Education and Advice
2. Case Studies
3. Personal
4. Sales

Education and advice is exactly what it says. You give people advice and educate them on how your industry works, what questions to ask, what to expect, and how to solve an aspect of their problem.

This newsletter would fall under this. I'm helping people create content, but not giving away the secrets my clients get.

Case studies again are self-explanatory. Tell people what you've done. Shout about it. But make it an enjoyable read.

Personal can be viewed in a couple of ways. I treat it as a way to let people know what I do outside of work, what I feel passionate about and my life in general. Some people just pick one aspect and run with that, others do a mix. It's what you feel comfortable doing.

Finally, the one everyone doesn't want to put out. A sales post. That's right sell. Let people know exactly what you do, why to choose you, and how much it costs. You may not get loads of likes and comments, but people will take note.

And that's it.

A whistlestop tour of how to create content that attracts your Cinderella and pushes away those ugly step-sisters.

So cup your balls and start creating content for your ideal clients and turning away everyone else!