In marketing, business owners often try to get every-one’s attention. I mean more is more, right? Wrong! What they don’t realise is that in trying to get everybody’s attention, they’re spreading a very diluted and generic message that will speak to nobody… so nobody will buy. The real solution to successful marketing is: how do you determine your target audience for some killer copywriting and kickass content?
Have you ever spent a lot on marketing only to find it was a thorough waste of money? Or are you working your butt off to grow your business but feel like it’s hard slog for very little reward?
The reason might be as simple as do you really know who you are selling to?
If you think everyone is your customer, you’re dead wrong. It may go against your gut, but marketing to everyone is marketing to no-one. That’s because when you try to get every-one’s attention, you’re spreading a very diluted and generic message that will speak to nobody… so nobody will buy.
Here’s an example.
Trying to sell to everybody often means selling to… nobody
Let’s say you’re selling audiophile grade headphones. They’re expensive because of the highly engineered components, but they also offer an incredibly balanced sound that makes every avid music lover drool.
If you want to sell to every man and his dog, your message will be very generic: ‘great headphones for great sound’
Who will buy your headphones? My guess? Nobody.
But if you know your target market, you know that potential buyers for your headphones are a market of audiophiles who are often middle-aged men with an average to high income. Music is their escape from the stresses of life. It’s where they lose themselves.
All this information tells you how to speak to them. “Get lost in your music and hear the detail you never knew was there.”
Now, this will get their attention.
The question you need to ask to nail your own business killer copywriting is: Who is your target audience?
How to figure out your target audience as a foundation for brilliant copywriting
There’s not one single way to figure out your target market. It will require some research. This is how you do it practically:
· Check your available customer data. You may have a customer database for regular newsletters. That’s a treasure chest of information. Look for things like age, location, budget/income, hobbies, profession, dreams and frustrations.
· Your daily interaction with your customers tells you a lot. This may be on the shop floor, but it could also be on social media. Think about it and analyse.
· You can also send out a client survey. Be very clear that the survey does not intend to sell anything. What you want is to improve your services. On top of that, you may want to consider a reward for the effort. Stick to what’s essential and keep it easy. We’re all busy people and nobody likes a survey that goes on forever. SurveyMonkey has a free service that does the job.
· Tools like Google Analytics are free and they will tell you a lot about who visits your website. The Audience Report tab will help you understand the Demographics, Geo etc. to fine-tune the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Creating Persona for killer copywriting
The details you look for are the usual who, what, when, where and why. Then dig deeper: Location, gender, age, family life, hobbies, personality, income, job, etc.
All that information helps you create ‘persona’ or your ‘typical customer’. It helps to find a picture to represent them, and this is what you use when create content or write copy.
Having a visual while writing reminds you of the person you are speaking to and the challenges they are facing. Your audience will feel you understand them. It’s the end of speaking to everybody and….nobody.