I know this is going to be hard to believe, but when most marketers sit down to write to their list... they've prepared Sweet.F.A!
No structure, No goal, NO research... Zilch, Zero, Nada!
And they wonder why their list is as cold and limp as a soggy shrimp sandwich.
Listen...
If you want a HOT, responsive list of eager people to beg for more of your wisdom, knowledge, and GIFTS... then discover exactly WHO you're writing to. Don't be like the majority who are naively wandering the darkened halls of ignorance. Nope...
Now's your chance to leap ahead and grab some well deserved attention!
ARE YOU READY?
List of Steps
Discover Who Your Audience Is
The very first thing you need to do (as I've said earlier), is figure out the basic demographic of your audience. This includes age, gender, location, marital status, whether they have kids, education level, job, income, etc.
TIP: You can find some of this information by doing a Google search (e.g., "flower gardeners demographics") as some organizations collect and share this type of information. But a word of caution... make sure you use reputable sources only. Professional bodies that have vested interests in such information. Maybe universities, or research organizations.
Secondly, you could survey your audience, and maybe give them a freebie for their support.
Find Out What Your Audience Wants
This step is to discover exactly what your readers want. And one of the best ways to do this is find out what they're already buying.
- Search for info-product market places, like... (Amazon, ClickBank, Udemy, or JVZoo) to see what products are popular).
- Also, check your competition and what they're selling on paid platforms (Google Ads).
Here's some more examples...
- What questions pop up repeatedly in your niche on sites like Quora.com and JustAnswer.com?
- What topics are flavor of the day on successful blogs in your niche?
- What topics receive loads of likes, shares, and comments on social media?
- What topics generate lots of interest on your platforms?
Discover how your audience thinks & feels
This step is where you take a deep dive to learn more about how your audience thinks and feels related to things in your niche. For example...
You can discover their frustrations, motivation, lack of motivation, and joy.
One of the best ways to do this is visit forums in your niche and spend time reading what they're saying. And eventually, you'll "really" understand where they're coming from on an emotional level.
Another way is to survey them by asking the specific questions outlined above. (what frustrates them? What makes them feel like giving up? What gives them hope? & What give them joy in your niche?)
USE their profiles
You have all this information - now what?
- Straight off the bat... when you've gathered all this crucial information about them, it allows you to target their desires specifically with finely tuned products/services.
For example... you discover your dog-training audience want to know more about "reactive" dogs on the leash.
This is the go ahead to write quality emails about that specific problem and solution.
Eventually guiding them to your newly created product/service. - Secondly, before you put pen to paper, take a moment and picture your ideal customer. Once you've "profiled" this person. They'll become the representative of your entire niche (and who you'll be communicating directly to)
- Thirdly, now you know all there is to know about your audience, you can use these nuggets of information to create content that resonates with them.
For example...
Let's suppose you run a promotion about special needs dogs, (diabetics). And then you discover a portion of your audience consists mainly of single busy women (students with part-time jobs). You emphasize with this group by...
- Talking about how money can be tight when you have a dog needing expensive meds and food (as most college students live on the breadline).
- Talking about how difficult it is to keep the dog's insulin schedule on track when you're juggling classes, work and a busy social life.
- Talking about how hard it is to care for a diabetic dog on your own with no partner to help.
Make sure you weave these stories throughout your tips, examples, etc, which will make your reader feel like you've created the content just for them.
Which you have... haven't YOU?
