Have you ever had someone trying to sell you something and they just aren’t appealing to you at all?
I can instantly think of two times this happened to me, both when I was touring Fitness Centers. The first time the employee was trying to get me to go with the premium plan, he highlighted that with the premium I would have the ability to use the tanning room…. For those of you who aren’t connecting the dots, I’m on the darker side of the color scale. I don’t tan, hell, to be honest I pretty much avoid the sun.
The next time I was touring my current gym (which I LOVE) the guy was talking all about the awesome childcare center they have for guests as a perk of the gym, before knowing if I had kids or not, spoiler alert…I don’t.
Don’t get me wrong, these are great features for a gym to offer members but… they aren’t anything that I want or would encourage me to spend more money to have. I don’t think I’ll ever need to tan, I don’t plan on having kids and even if I did, right now I don’t even have a boyfriend.
This is why knowing your audience is so important!
I write for women, mostly for millennial women who have an interest in starting a side hustle, blog or online business while maintaining a full time job and a life, while men and all ages are certainly welcomed on my site it’s important to think about if the content I write applies to my readers or not.
To avoid confusion
While my focus is about sharing tips to help with time management, goal setting and digital behavior I do often share posts about products I love or experiences I’ve had that my clients would relate to.
Last year I posted a blog post about the Softcup, which is an alternative option to feminine products. Seeing how most women have their periods in their twenties this is something that my audiences wouldn’t be too confused by. If I choose to write a post about how to use your penis pump, then you might be confused. When you know who you’re writing to then you will be able to write more focused.
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To build real connections
Have you ever had a conversation with someone and it was obvious that they had no idea what the hell you are talking about, and didn’t really care to? Think of blogging like dating, you know who you are and you know what you have to bring to the table. If are an atheist, maybe don’t write about the bible? Okay, obviously a strong example, but it’s a funny thing Mariah Coz says all the time, “The right people will find you.” If you are being real and you aren’t just writing for a certain person but to certain people, you are going to be the person they want to come back and visit. I’ve read blog posts and been like, “Wow, that sounds like something one of my friends would text me,” I feel like they are someone I would like in real life. Then I proceed to cyber stalk them on social media (Seriously, I’ve been doing this a lot lately.)
To save time
Chances are your demographic has something in common with you. So why do bloggers continue to waste time writing content they don’t care about for people they don’t relate to? Save yourself the time and trial and error and focus on the people who get you and want to learn from you and more about what you do.
[bctt tweet=”Nicolas Sparks probably isn’t testing his books with the Stephen King crowd” username=”Diadoll”]
To know where to market
Sure I’d feel comfortable saying at least a third of the adult population in America is on Facebook (totally my assumption, don’t know the particulars) but where on Facebook, in which groups? Where do they look for the services you’re offering? What if they just have Facebook to stalk their ex and look for what you offer on Instagram? You won’t know unless you know who they are. If you were selling sweaters would you go to the beach in the summer? No because the people wanting to buy them probably wouldn’t be at the beach. This isn’t to say you won’t get lucky and have someone like your product and buy it in a place you wouldn’t normally find your demographic, but it would be a lot easier to just go where they are.
Cutting out unnecessary competition
While blogging is a beautiful industry that I’ve been fortunate enough to call my tribe, there are a lot off us. And there is a lot of information out there. I’ve recently joined a new community myself and when I heard all about the different things people are teaching or writing about I was blown away. Like, “Holy crap! There is a market for ___?!?” But there is pretty much a market for anything nowadays, so why set yourself up to fight to be cast in a starring role for a story you don’t even like (Hi, former theatre kid here)? If you figure out specifically who your audience is then you can focus on getting in front of them instead of just anyone and everyone. Think about it this way Nicolas Sparks probably isn’t testing his books with the Stephen King crowd. (If you read both, you’re versatile…I dig that.)
Hopefully if you haven’t already decided who your message was for, then I’ve convinced you that it is a great idea. If you need some help, feel free to sign up for my FREE email course, Define Your Brand, Define Your Niche. I have really upgraded it since it’s original release back in June and now it comes with a free workbook and daily audio lessons.
So tell me:
Do you write?
If so who is your audience?
What inspired you to write?
linda spiker
I do write. I am a food blogger. My audience is mostly female, between 25-35 and interested in feeding their families better. I was inspired to start a blog after I quit teaching cooking classes as a way to still ‘teach’ but to a wider audience. Thanks for the tips!
candy
All the time. Know your market and audience make those connections.
Chrissa - Physical Kitchness
Couldn’t agree more! Sometimes having a very specific niche is way better than trying to appeal to a mass audience!
Lucie
When I saw articles like this, I’ve always thought that this is useless: ‘Why should I define my audience?’ But after I read one of these articles, I understood. It’s really important to do that, to understand the needs of your readers. Thank you for sharing it.
Lucie http://www.inbluebox.com
Kate
Some very useful points you make. Whenever I feel insecure about a post I remember that if I’m interested in what I am writing about then there are bound to be others interested to. I also need to be more focused on finding my audience.
Dia
That makes me so happy! I tried to think of it like this, we all are super busy don’t waste your time or their time.
Dia
Haha yes! I know they say you aren’t writing for you but the truth is I’m writing for me about a year ago and I know what I would have liked I was there lol
Dia
That’s awesome. The internet has really let us open up the amount of people we can reach I love it!
Dia
Yes!
Dia
Right! I know I’m not for everyone!
Madi
Having just started our blog, this is very helpful! This really gets me thinking.
Jenny Blaisdell
These are all so very important! 🙂 As always, loved this post girl.
Elisha
So important to know who you’re speaking to. Thanks for the reminder!
sydney
This is so important and I think many business will think it doesn’t apply to them but it really does! and they will do so much better when they define who they want to target!
Justine Y @ Little Dove
I enjoyed this post and I agree, it’s important to know who your target audience is! For me, I would say that’s probably women like myself, late twenties, early thirties, mostly married with children. But, I also know I have lots of single or childrenless readers but I think that a lot of my content (diy, recipes) appeals to them as well.
Jenny
Great article about getting to know your audience…this is really key.
Sarah Jean Althouse
Great insight. My audience is women between 24-35 single, married or married with kids! Trying to do better about targeting them though.
McKenzie Allyshia
This is a great post – I agree that it is important to define your audience! It definitely helps build better connections because you and your viewers share similarities.
Dia
Sounds like your demographic is most of my friends lol Thanks for stopping by Sarah. 🙂 Good luck with your demographic targeting.
Dia
Yes! 🙂
Dia
Thanks Jenny!
Dia
There is some overlap I’m sure. As long as you have your idea.
Dia
Yes! Thanks for stopping by Sydney and for the supportive words.
Dia
Thanks Jenny!
Dia
Thanks Madi. I’ll be sure to check it out.