This is the 3rd part of the series – “How can Creators get started with Email Marketing”
It’s pretty natural for me to think that I know what is best for you.
Most of us are very attached to our opinions and our view of this world.
“My view is the right view”, is what all of us say – either directly or indirectly.
If a Marketer approaches the world with this view, then this is a recipe for disaster.
Far too many times Marketers make this mistake. We assume that we know our target market. We assume that we know the biggest fears and aspirations of the people we seek to serve.
And more often than not, we are wrong. The assumption is a terrible mistake. Marketing can fail due to multiple reasons, but this reason perhaps is the biggest of all.
Knowing your audience is the key.
The best Marketers in the world have empathy for the people they seek to serve.
People will join your email list because they feel that you are capable of leading them to a better place. They believe that you take them on a journey and make their life better. And for you to be able to take them on a journey, you need to know their underlying fears and dreams.
For example, someone who is in the business of selling fitness products might assume that the audience wants to buy fitness products just to lose weight. But is it that obvious?
Why would your audience buy your fitness product?
Well, duh. Because they want to lose weight.
Okay, but why?
Because they want to look good.
Okay, but why?
If you don’t ask why enough times you will still be stuck at the superficial level. We wouldn’t be able to figure out the deep underlying layers of the problem.
Yes, someone might be wanting to lose weight because they want to experience the feeling of going shirtless on a beach. Someone else might be wanting to lose weight, because his wedding is coming up. And someone else might be wanting to lose weight because their health has been a problem; they are afraid of dying.
The key thing here is this –
- You need to pay attention to what they say.
- More importantly, you need to pay attention to what they don’t say.
Not everyone can articulate their problems. People know their problems intimately. But quite often, they do not know what to make of them. The audience might not tell you what they want. But still, you need to understand them.
How do we do this by the way?
One of the simplest ways of doing this, is by using the internet.
How to use the internet to get to know more about your audience?
- Find Facebook or Linkedin groups where your audience is hanging out. (For example, if you are catering to authors, find groups related to authors.) Observe their behavior online. What questions are they asking? What are their real problems?
- Another way to do this is by checking the Amazon book reviews. Here what we do is find a book on amazon that your target market would be interested in. In the review section, pay attention to the 1-star reviews and also the 5-star reviews. The 1-star reviews would let you know what people are dissatisfied with. The 5-star reviews would let you know what your TG really resonated with.
- Platforms like Reddit and Quora also help in better understanding your audience better.
Online research is just one part though.
The best way to get in the head of your target market is to have an actual interaction with them.
This can happen in a few ways –
- Arranging a skype/zoom call with someone from your target market. While it may seem challenging to get them on a client call, you can always offer them something of value – a free coaching session for example.
- Arranging free group coaching sessions would also work. Remember the idea here is to gather info.
- The other way of doing it is by actually meeting the people in your target market in person.
What type of questions do you ask?
It’s important to note that in order to really understand your target market, there is no one particular recipe. Insights can be gathered in different ways. However, there are still a few questions that you can ask, in order to get a sense of their struggles and aspirations. Let’s take a look at a few questions that can be asked –
- What is your biggest struggle related to X?
X in this case refers to your offering. For example, if you are a meditation teacher, you could ask “What is your biggest challenge right now related to Meditation?”
- What have you done so far to overcome this challenge?
This question is vital because it shows us if a target market actually cares about a particular problem. If the target market has done nothing to solve this problem, then perhaps they don’t want to spend money to solve this problem.
- What will your life look after you have solved this problem?
This answer to this question gives you an insight into what your audience’s life will look like after this problem is solved. It helps you understand their aspirations.
Humility is the key. Let us not assume that we know what others want.
Intro music credits: Dan O songs.
This is the 3rd part of the series – “How can Creators get started with Email Marketing”
It’s pretty natural for me to think that I know what is best for you.
Most of us are very attached to our opinions and our view of this world.
“My view is the right view”, is what all of us say – either directly or indirectly.
If a Marketer approaches the world with this view, then this is a recipe for disaster.
Far too many times Marketers make this mistake. We assume that we know our target market. We assume that we know the biggest fears and aspirations of the people we seek to serve.
And more often than not, we are wrong. The assumption is a terrible mistake. Marketing can fail due to multiple reasons, but this reason perhaps is the biggest of all.
Knowing your audience is the key.
The best Marketers in the world have empathy for the people they seek to serve.
People will join your email list because they feel that you are capable of leading them to a better place. They believe that you take them on a journey and make their life better. And for you to be able to take them on a journey, you need to know their underlying fears and dreams.
For example, someone who is in the business of selling fitness products might assume that the audience wants to buy fitness products just to lose weight. But is it that obvious?
Why would your audience buy your fitness product?
Well, duh. Because they want to lose weight.
Okay, but why?
Because they want to look good.
Okay, but why?
If you don’t ask why enough times you will still be stuck at the superficial level. We wouldn’t be able to figure out the deep underlying layers of the problem.
Yes, someone might be wanting to lose weight because they want to experience the feeling of going shirtless on a beach. Someone else might be wanting to lose weight, because his wedding is coming up. And someone else might be wanting to lose weight because their health has been a problem; they are afraid of dying.
The key thing here is this –
- You need to pay attention to what they say.
- More importantly, you need to pay attention to what they don’t say.
Not everyone can articulate their problems. People know their problems intimately. But quite often, they do not know what to make of them. The audience might not tell you what they want. But still, you need to understand them.
How do we do this by the way?
One of the simplest ways of doing this, is by using the internet.
How to use the internet to get to know more about your audience?
- Find Facebook or Linkedin groups where your audience is hanging out. (For example, if you are catering to authors, find groups related to authors.) Observe their behavior online. What questions are they asking? What are their real problems?
- Another way to do this is by checking the Amazon book reviews. Here what we do is find a book on amazon that your target market would be interested in. In the review section, pay attention to the 1-star reviews and also the 5-star reviews. The 1-star reviews would let you know what people are dissatisfied with. The 5-star reviews would let you know what your TG really resonated with.
- Platforms like Reddit and Quora also help in better understanding your audience better.
Online research is just one part though.
The best way to get in the head of your target market is to have an actual interaction with them.
This can happen in a few ways –
- Arranging a skype/zoom call with someone from your target market. While it may seem challenging to get them on a client call, you can always offer them something of value – a free coaching session for example.
- Arranging free group coaching sessions would also work. Remember the idea here is to gather info.
- The other way of doing it is by actually meeting the people in your target market in person.
What type of questions do you ask?
It’s important to note that in order to really understand your target market, there is no one particular recipe. Insights can be gathered in different ways. However, there are still a few questions that you can ask, in order to get a sense of their struggles and aspirations. Let’s take a look at a few questions that can be asked –
- What is your biggest struggle related to X?
X in this case refers to your offering. For example, if you are a meditation teacher, you could ask “What is your biggest challenge right now related to Meditation?”
- What have you done so far to overcome this challenge?
This question is vital because it shows us if a target market actually cares about a particular problem. If the target market has done nothing to solve this problem, then perhaps they don’t want to spend money to solve this problem.
- What will your life look after you have solved this problem?
This answer to this question gives you an insight into what your audience’s life will look like after this problem is solved. It helps you understand their aspirations.
Humility is the key. Let us not assume that we know what others want.
Intro music credits: Dan O songs.