Who are the people who will visit your website and value your content?
Say you sell shoes on the web. Who is your client? Anybody?
Probably not. Not if you want to be really successful. If you tried to sell all kinds of shoes to all kinds of people, you’d have a heck of a time managing your stock and your site. So you have to find a niche, a specific group of people you are committed to serving.
So you think about the people who buy shoes on the web. They do so for lots of different reasons. Maybe they hate shopping in stores. Maybe they don’t have the time. Maybe they have hard to fit feet. Got really narrow feet? You go to TheNarrowShoe.com They sell shoes for narrow feet. You tell your friends with narrow feet to go there because they have exactly what you’re looking for.
Your ideal client
That’s the person you really want to do business with, the person you want to read your site, and the person you want to buy your products and services. I’m guessing you’ll actually LIKE this person if you met them on the street.
Then describe your idea client—in detail. Heck, find a picture of someone who looks like your ideal client. Write a short bio. Give the client a name. Then write your content like you are speaking to that person.
It will keep your message clear and your voice consistent.
For example: In my coaching business, Map the Future, I like working with engineers and geeks. People who get the straight line but also have the creativity to move it around a little. [Please note: I’m not coaching any more. But the example still has value.]
Here is my ideal coaching client:
Pete, works for a tech company. Loves what he does. And takes pleasure in saying the most with the fewest words. He wants to be taken seriously as a part of the team. And he wants to have fun doing it. Sometimes he’s seen as a clown. But he knows his stuff. He also knows he’s making some decisions that aren’t getting him what he wants. He’d like to be able to identify them quickly so he can either fix them or keep from making them again. He has some money. He is obviously fluent in technology and wants to find outside help that other people he knows maybe don’t know about. He doesn’t want to work with a tool. I am not a tool!
For great information about how to create your own profile, check out the article, How to Create Reader Profiles/Personas to Inspire and Inform Your Blogging over at ProBlogger.net
