5 Reasons You Can’t Ignore Your Target Audience
Knowing your target audience is essential for sustaining and growing your business.
“When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one” — Seth Godin
By Robin Stephenson
Every good copywriter knows it takes more than cleverness to get someone to click on an ad or open an email. Copy that converts solves a potential customer’s problem.
Growth happens when you speak to the needs of your ideal customer
I knew I wanted a change after working for the same organization for 15 years, but I wasn’t sure what that could be. I was wearing a lot of hats at work, and I was exhausted. Starting my own business was not even on my radar.
Then I saw an ad from Filthy Rich Writer that said: Find out if copywriting could be the right career move for you. That spoke to me.
Copywriting was a significant part of my former position and I enjoyed it. The idea that I could make a 6-figure salary as a copywriter was new information. They understood my core need.
I clicked. I bought. And they delivered.
Ignore your target audience at your peril
In my career, I watched many projects tank because the audience was an afterthought. That is why I made an audience-centric approach core to my copywriting business. If you aren’t designing content for your target audience, you are setting yourself up for failure.
1. You are wasting money if you ignore your target audience.
According to Marketing Evolution, 60 percent of digital marketing spend is wasted. To keep more of that money in profits, don’t waste time on channels where your target audience is not. Nor do you want to waste time speaking to people unlikely to want what you are offering. You won’t sell cars to people who can’t drive.
2. You reduce your credibility if you ignore your target audience.
The market is saturated with bad ads and consumers have more agency in controlling what they see. If your content reaches the wrong audience, those people will block it or mark it as spam, reducing your credibility and making it more expensive to reach the right people.
3. You are wasting time if you ignore your target audience.
Valuable content is not cheap to produce. On average, it takes one to six hours to create a piece of content. Digital ads or email funnels not tailored to your target audience throw time and money down the drain.
4. You won’t see significant growth in your business
The success of any business hinges on growing your base of customers. Organic growth occurs when you offer something of value to your customers and they become your evangelists.
5. Innovation will stagnate or take a wrong turn.
Listening helps you better understand and anticipate your customer’s changing needs. You will also discover other problems of theirs you can solve.
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