Last week was the first part of an excellent series where we bring experts in to shed light on how they discover, define and target their audience.
We talked about how this process can make the difference between a product/service/article released into crickets (people ignoring you) or released into the hearts and minds of an engaged audience (ready to buy something from you).
This episode is the second in the series featuring more honest answers from real entrepreneurs about how they discover, define and target their ideal clients and tribes as well as:
- Killer notes on Corbett’s audience defining process (who’s done this a bunch of times) so you don’t get stuck before you’re started.
- What your business needs to learn from cobblestoners and stoned masons. (Seriously.)
- Audience defining tactics and specific questions we used to create Fizzle. (These things led directly to a successful business.)
- The Empathy Map tool and how I’ve used it recently. (Super helpful tool we include in the free guide below.)
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“These tactics to define your ideal audience cost you nothing (and could make all the difference)”
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Free Exercises, Notes & Tactics
We’ve put together a handbook to help you get to clarity on your target market, ideal client, tribe, avatar, persona, whatever the kids are calling it these days. The guide includes:
- Bullet point notes on each of the expert interviews with links to specific tools they use.
- Worksheets and exercises to get to the truth about your audience so you can resonate and sell to them.
- The big list of questions to ask about your audience (including the two failsafe questions).
- Quick summaries of the most important concepts in customer development (that’s what the startup world calls it) to keep you on track (without wasting a bunch of time).
Download the guide and start cranking with these worksheets and insights from experts so you don’t make the mistake as the entrepreneur in the story I shared last week.
Download the Fizzle Audience Guide
Folks we Heard From
Josh Shipp — “Every kid is ONE caring adult away from being a success story.” • JoshShipp.com
Sarah Peck — “I encourage people to be brave, use their voice, tell their story, and cultivate kindness. I teach writing, swim outdoors, and love yoga.” • ItStartsWith.com
Nathan Barry — “Founder and Designer at ConvertKit. App designer, writer, traveler.” • NathanBarry.com
James Clear — “Entrepreneur, weightlifter, and travel photographer in 20+ countries. Good things happen to me for no apparent reason.” • JamesClear.com
(There’s more in last weeks episode. Did you hear those?)
Share Your Story
Send us your questions and we’ll answer them on the air. We’ve got experience. Share your story and we’ll give you what we got. (We’ll be doing another Q&A episode on Apr 25th.)
In the mean time, share in the comments which bit, from the numerous interviews in this episode, sticks with you and helps you most.
Learn how to set goals that actually stick!
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »
Wow, a Say Anything reference. And where is John Cusack now, I wonder?
selling processed things…
I absolutely loved what Sarah Peck said. It’s pretty hard for me to get a grasp of how complex of a person I am, how can I expect others to relate if I give them everything at once? I think that’s the real work, to figure out when to be which person.
First the ‘caring’ part mentioned by Josh, and then the ‘being yourself an active member of the audience’ mentioned by Nathan: both were really enlightening for me. Under the same context, both scenarios reminded me of creating something meaningful out of already existing, deep emphaty and understanding of a group of real people. Great interviews!
I feel the same. great bits.
It took me a while, but I think I’ve finally geared in on my ideal client/reader once I looked at them as a person (rather than group). For a long time, I tried to target a few different groups, but in the past week or two when I’ve focused on the ideal one person, my audience has been SO much more engaged. Thanks for the tips!