When I’ve thought of branding myself, I’ve had vague notions of a particular blog theme, a certain reputation, or a creative way to stand out from the crowd.
All of these aspects are important.
But we have to lay the foundation before we build the house.
The Smart Person’s Way for Branding Yourself starts with this step: Identify Your Ideal Audience.
The smart, business-savvy person knows from long experience that you’ve got to identify your ideal audience before you do anything else.
I know everyone writes about this. But it’s crucial. And I’m still learning how to do this.
John Jantsch, from the Duct Tape Marketing Blog, has identified simple, time-tested steps to help you identify your ideal reader/customer.
Who is your ideal reader and customer?
Look at Who’s Visiting Now
Whether you’re starting out or have been around for a while, examine who’s commenting on your posts, interacting with you in social media, or has purchased from you.
Who’s your most loyal fan? Who buys from you the most?
Who do you most enjoy interacting with?
Your loyal fan appreciates your approach. And you enjoy interacting with certain readers because you feel most helpful to them.
Pay attention to your email list, the people who comment on your blog, and visitors who comment on your Facebook or Google Plus pages.
Who Are Your Referral Sources?
John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing points out from his experience, that happy clients refer. They’re happy because they appreciate how you write, communicate, and problem solve for them. And so they may be just the types of people to include in your ideal client profile.
So pay attention to the compliments you receive, or those thank you emails that pop up in your in-box from time to time.
They are the best kind of market research, because they come to you without any work on your part!
What Are Their Demographics?
How are your most loyal readers alike?
Do they share a specific age range; occupation; or location? What is their income level?
You can get a partial picture by checking out your Alexa ranking’s demographics.
Or you can merely Google some of your readers to build demographic information. Put an Excel or Google docs spreadsheet together to start identifying trends for your ideal reader/customer profile.
Examine Their Social Behavior
Where do they hang out?
Are they on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook?
Do they enjoy specific types of business conferences?
As you better understand their preferred social platforms and offline professional hangouts (e.g, trade associations, or other associations), you can learn where to make your presence known.
Zoom In
If you’re site has relatively low traffic, or if you’re just starting out, think small!
This takes discipline. Rather than trying to be a network marketing blogger, you might want to target 30-year-old single mothers in network marketing.
Or, as I recently heard in a podcast, you might want to target Brazilian jujitsu enthusiasts who are looking for specific workout gear.
Rather than try to attract huge volumes of traffic through fancy SEO strategies, start with a small yet passionate demographic, interact enthusiastically with your audience, small as it may be, and create a community.
As you add value to that community, you’ll attract more loyal fans, and you can repeat the above process all over again.
It All Starts With Your Audience
It’s really all about your audience.
When you’ve identified your ideal reader/customers, you’ll find that doing business is both profitable and pleasurable.
Have you found your ideal target audience? What further steps are you taking to refine your understanding? Please comment below!
photo credit: marfis75
Thoughful article Steve. I must admit I struggled a bit with the branding thing last year. With my background in marketing, I was very comfortable with the concept and process, but I had to make a choice between branding my blog and business or branding me as an author. I opted for the author role because that’s my passion, and it’s required me to take a giant step outside my comfort zone as I focus on my name as a brand. Really kind of funny because not too many years ago I was under a lot of pressure (by other people) to change my name to something more mainstream and easier to pronounce!
marquita herald recently posted…Are You Hanging on to Expired Dreams?
Marquita, thanks for sharing your experience. Are you considering re-branding your blog under your name? Or will you simply have an author site that also redirects to your blog? Or will you keep them separate? Also, have you determined, as an author, who your ideal readers are?
Thank you for your informative article, that you went to a lot of time and trouble to write so as to provide people with free information. It explained everything I needed to know and I appreciate your time.
Candice Michelle recently posted…reflexology
You’re welcome, Candice!
Steve, one thing that your own business illustrates is successfully developing two brands, each with its own audience. I often ask that question of other branding experts. For example, I have my training business in the semiconductor equipment supplier business and my focus on collaboration in the online marketing business. Sometimes it worries me but I see that you have managed something similar.
One little thing that got me thinking from this pieces was thinking about your market from the types of live events or “types of business conferences” they like. I am not a fan of jumping around and dancing in conferences, nor rubbing the back of the person beside me. I find that my ideal customers and clients are kind of like that themselves.
Richard Goutal recently posted…JV Partners – Why They Don’t Knock on Your Door
Richard, that’s quite a visual: customers jumping around and dancing 🙂 I think you can find conferences and business networking events that aren’t just hype and dancing, so to speak.
There are pros and cons to building different brands. One, of course, is time. In my case, I just have a passion for both, so it seems to work for me. Darren Rowse of Problogger has built two very different sites. He has Problogger of course, but I know he also has a very successful digital photography website.
Stephen,
you did a great job to share so much information and sample of how to start branding your self and ways to do it and most of all identify what is your target.. well, my friend, I heard and read about this thousands of times… but so far could not pinpoint what is that I need to do for my self.. mind you I feel to be on the right track these days more then ever before but, I am still a beginner and so I will keep working along the pathway I chose and for certain my branding will come out load and clear soon.
Your suggestions are great and will keep them to mind.
Thanks so much once again.
nickc
nick catricala recently posted…Reaching Out…
Nick, I’m glad this was helpful to you. Like you, I’ve heard this a lot. But after a bunch of hearing and reading, we all need to take the leap and actually start targeting a particular demographic or customer. It really helps in the long run.
Stephen,
Very important and useful blog. I have many areas of interest and expertise. However, when I present many different areas, I find my audience becomes confused and instead of embracing me, they shy away. That has forced me to get more focused on what is truly my greatest passion. And just as Marquita shared that hers is writing, I have realized that writing is at the top for me as well. Second to writing, is working with private clients, groups, online clients and anyone to help them heal their relationships to their body, their intimate partners and to anyone in their life. All my other interests and knowledge bases can be added into these two domains.
Warmly,
Dr. Erica
Dr. Erica Goodstone recently posted…In the Eye of the Storm
Dr. Erica, like you and Marquita, I’ve found a real love for writing. I think of writing as my channel of expressing what I want to get across to my target audience. Thank you for sharing your example!
I have to agree with you that no matter how many times we’ve heard this basic tenant of branding our heart wins out over our head every time. With what image do you want to leave people? Which people?
With all of the analysis we are “required” to do I am beginning to wonder if it isn’t taking all the fun out of writing your weblog? I know you are right, Stephen, but after all is said and done it really sounds like… wait for it… hold on just one more sec… are you ready??? It sounds like WORK! UGH!
Regardless of my thoughts, your points are well made, well taken and important for the pro blogger and branding.
Who is John Galt?
Thanks,
RICK
Rick Lelchuk recently posted…Chocolate or Vanilla, Choose!
You’re right, Rick, it does take some work. But it’s work that’s well worth it. Once we’ve done the work, we can write with our own individual flavor. And we’ll know we’re not performing for an empty room 🙂
I totally agree that it starts with your audience. You must know what is appealing and who you are trying to appeal to. Thank you very much for sharing.
Gary Young China Sourcing recently posted…China Sourcing: Setting Goals.
Gary, thank you for the feeedback. I know you have a very specific target audience: Your title says it all: China Sourcing!
Stephen,
Its great to see someone writing about this. All too often I see people starting out and putting the cart before the horse.
They start this pretty site with all kinds of content that no one is reading because there isn’t an audience for it. Hopefully now they will see your post first and start from the real beginning of branding.
Yes, Clint: everyone learns about this the hard way. Hopefully, my own experiences and failures can help them circumvent my mistakes 🙂
Wonderful blog post, Steve. i am really enjoying your writing style. It’s clear, straightforward, and very informative.
I thin we all have to take a good look at our marketing and branding. Finding our ideal customer or client gets easier as time passes, I believe.
i, too, put the cart before the horse when i first got started. Now I do things the right way. It might take a little longer to think things out first, but then you are much more effective and efficient.
Angela Arnold recently posted…Facebook Marketing Magic
Angela, thank you for your kind feedback. One of the challenges as time passes is finding out that your current readers are different than your intended target audience. I guess at that time we can decide whether to shift our ideal audience, or continue to market to both our current audience (which has become part of our ideal audience) or to our ideal audience, or both.
Hi Steve,
This topic has occupied a lot of my time over the past two years since I came online. I have struggled with it, simply because I could not identify my perfect client. And I read lots on this subject, I know just how important it really is for success. I still can’t identify it exactly but I believe I am doing a much better job. I finally chose to focus on what I am passionate about and what I have years of experience in – holistic health. My audience is of a certain age and demographic but the truth is that I appeal to a wide audience because so many people are seeking help with their wellness. However, I am not convincing people that they need help, I am appealing to those who already know, and are looking for a credible and honest viewpoint.
Thanks for a great discussion!
Clare
clare@cellularwellness recently posted…What your tongue says about your health
It’s great that you know what your audience’s age and demographic is, because you can continue to study how your average reader likes to consume information; specific trends about that age and demographic; and where this audience “hangs out” online and offline. As you write for this audience, you’ll also attract others who are interested in holistic health as well.
An excellent choice of mentor Stephen. John Jantsch is a very knowledgeable and likeable person.
I have been a member of the Duct Tape University for 3 years or so and John is both helpful and approachable 🙂
Sadie-Michaela Harris recently posted…The way we do business
Wow, Sadie-Michaela. Knowing that you’re a member of Duct Tape University is going to make me pay even more attention to your material! Thank you for endorsing John 🙂
Hey Stephen – thanks for amplifying the points I write about so often – I don’t think this message can be reinforced enough – let’s keep spreading the word. I also love to employ a mixture of Google Analytics goals and reports to zoom in on where my best clients/readers are coming from online.
I set up goals for say those that do 2 or more page views or stay 2 or more minutes on site (I set these goals by looking at average and aiming higher) and then I filter a report by referral source and find, for example, I get some of my best traffic from a specific site or social network.
John, it’s quite an honor to have you stop by! Thanks for sharing your strategies about setting up the Google Analytics goals. It really is a great way to find out more about who our interested audience members are.
Agreed with these steps. The very first to know when building a brand is to know your niche market. Excellent post, Stephen!
branding consultants recently posted…Fast Company: The Truth About Being “Done” Versus Being “Perfect”
Thanks for your input!