Blogging is great for business right? You’ve probably heard and read that many times.
But what if you don’t know who your target audience is? Who are you writing for?
What if you don’t know what your target audience is interested in? Who are they? Where do they live? How old are they? What do they want to know?
Defining your ideal customer is not always easy. Especially if you are just starting out.
If that sounds like you this post might just be what you have been looking for.
No matter what blog or book you read on blogging or content marketing…
Here is what almost everyone will tell you:
- Know your target audience
- Find out what they are interested in
- Learn about their most pressing problems
- Know what language they use
- Which social platforms do they use (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Find out what hobbies they have
- Are they single or married?
- What’s their average income?
- How often do they have sex (just joking!)
- etc… etc… etc…
I’ve been stuck with the exact same question for quite some time now. I’ve spend hours and hours on thinking about who my ideal customer is. What I can write about to help them solve a problem and what language to use to attract more of those “ideal” readers.
The thing that bothered me most is “use the language of your target audience”, Uhhh??? Really? I’m supposed to change my voice just to attract my “ideal” reader?
No way… that’s not gonna happen!
Here is what to do instead
Ask yourself who you want to do business with. Who are the people that you really enjoy working with?
I’ve been running my own business for more than 5 years now and here is my answer to the question “Who are the people that I enjoy working with?”:
I enjoy working with people who have similar values to mine. People that are open minded. People that are looking for change, that want to grow (in life and business). People that believe in quality, honesty and that see opportunities rather than problems.
Or simply… I want to work with people that resonate with me. With who I am. With how I write and how I see the world.
Here we go. How is that for a target audience?
Do I have to change my voice to attract more of those people?
NO!
If someone does not like the way I talk or write… well… that’s perfectly fine with me!
I’m not intending to write for everybody out there. If someone doesn’t like my writing they probably don’t like me in person either. And if they don’t like me in person chances are that we will never do business together anyway.
Don’t change your voice – Be yourself!
So what’s the point of changing the voice in your writing style when the person your potential customers will meet in the offline world is very different? Well… there is none!
Just write the way you are, be yourself, be authentic and be cool with it. The people you are looking for will naturally gravitate your way.
You’ve probably started your business because you have a passion for what you are doing. You love what you do and you want to add value to other people’s life. People can feel that in everything you do – including your writing!
Just start writing away about the things you want to write about and make corrections along the way. If you are interested in a certain topic chances are your “ideal” customer will be too!
You might find yourself writing a lot more than you ever thought possible. Or maybe you start writing about totally different topics that you originally did not think of. And that’s fine!
What about you? Ever had that feeling of not knowing your target audience? What did you do in that situation? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
Have a great day!
Fabian
PS: Thank you Mike for asking the right question at the right time!
Photo credit: dellphotos