The internet highway is super busy. How do you capture someone's attention so they'll stop & listen?

The internet highway is super busy. How do you capture someone's attention so they'll stop and listen to what you have to offer?

Know your ideal client

Defining your ideal client may feel restricting. It may feel like you're excluding everybody else. In reality, identifying the right people - those who are a perfect fit for your products and services - will bring clarity and focus to your marketing strategy, your prices, your tone and style, your blog topics, your collaborations with others, and much more. This in turn will create more leads and sales, and make for a more profitable business.

You can't be everything to everyone. If you try, your marketing message will be too generic to appeal specifically to anyone.

In this post I'll walk you through the 6 steps that will help you define your ideal client.

1. List out their demographic traits

Think about 3 to 5 of your favourite past clients. If you don't have clients yet, think about 3 - 5 people you now who will be a great fit for your business. What do they have in common?

  • Are they predominantly male or female?
  • Are they of a similar age?
  • What do they do for a living?
  • Do they fall in a certain industry?
  • What is their income range?
  • What is their level of education?
  • Are they single? Married? With kids?
  • Do they share similar interests and beliefs?

2. List out their psychographic traits

Becoming familiar with the demographics of your ideal client is a great start. But to really understand them, you need to go deeper. What are their fears and frustrations? What keep them up at night? What stresses them out on a regular basis? What do they secretly wish was true about their situation? This information will help you create products and services that will address their pain points and provide solutions to their problems.

"I need to get into my size-10 dress before my sister's wedding in two months time!"

"I wish our toddler's bed time routine wasn't such a struggle every evening."

"I want to stop living from pay check to pay check."

"I wish someone could tell me what exactly I should be posting on my Instagram in order to make more sales!"

"Why isn't there an easy way to get my email marketing software up and running without tearing my hair out?"

3. Where do your ideal clients hang out?

Are they Facebook addicts? Or do they spent time pinning on Pinterest while watching a Netflix movie? Perhaps they like interacting with their peers in specific groups and forums. Or read blogs in a specific genre (for example: fashion, tech, lifestyle, parenting, design, etc)

Knowing this information will help you understand where you should be publishing and promoting your content.

Spend some time listing the physical and online spaces where your ideal clients hang out. The more specific you can be the better.

Generic: "My ideal clients hang out on Facebook."
Specific: "My ideal clients hang out in the Marketing for Yoga Teachers Facebook group."

Generic: "They like to read magazines."
Specific: "They like to read Molly Makes with a cup of coffee and jot down ideas for craft projects while their toddlers take an afternoon nap."

4. What words and phrases do your ideal client use?

Your ideal clients are already using a specific language to describe their problems and frustrations. Your job is to find out what that is, and use it in your marketing materials and blog posts to continue that conversation in their mind.

People do business with people they like. And they're naturally drawn to others who speak the same language, get what they're going through and share similar values. This is how you can make someone feel "Wow! It's like you're talking directly to me!" or "It's like you're in my head!"

So, start paying attention and listening to what exact words and phrases people are using to describe their problems.

5. Create a dossier

Type or write out the information you've gathered in the previous steps. Give your ideal client a name. Imagine what he/she looks like. You can even grab an image from the internet to help you visualise this person. If your ideal client has a spouse and/or children, give them names and ages too.

It's well worth spending time on this step as it really helps to make your ideal client real. Keep the dossier nearby and refer to it when you're creating content and marketing materials for your business.

6. A day in the life of your ideal client

Imagine what it's like to be your ideal client for a day. What does her typical day look like? An effective way of doing this is to write a journal entry as your ideal client. Really dig deep into the emotions she feels, especially all the fearful thoughts that she wouldn't reveal to friends and loved ones in real life.

This should give you a lot of insight into your ideal client's persona and is golden information when it comes to crafting your marketing materials and your blog posts. You'll be able to connect with your ideal clients on a more emotional level.

How to define your ideal client in 6 easy steps.

How to define your ideal client in 6 easy steps.

How to define your ideal client in 6 easy steps.

How to define your ideal client in 6 easy steps.

How to define your ideal client in 6 easy steps.

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