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Ep. 8: Finding Your Audience as a Small Business Owner
44 Plays1 year ago
Join hosts Chloe and Darci as they explore the essential first step towards brand awareness: identifying your audience.
Drawing on their own experience as busy small business owners, they discuss the pitfalls of trying to appeal to everyone and share recommendations for the best ways to direct your efforts and build an engaged audience.
Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just launching your business, this episode offers valuable advice for connecting with the *right* people and forming genuine relationships that drive your business forward. You don’t want to miss it!
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
The Catalyst by Create the Rules - the virtual, co-working and business support membership where Darci first tried out the done-with-you (DwY) service model
Follow Brand Jam:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/brandjampod/
Threads https://www.threads.net/@brandjampod
Website https://www.brandjampod.com
Follow Chloe at Chloe Arielle Design:
Website https://www.chloearielle.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chloearielle
Threads https://www.threads.net/@chloearielle
Follow Darci at Sweet Tooth Creative
Website https://sweettoothcreative.com/
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Transcript
Introduction to Brand Jam
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Brand Jam, the brand strategy podcast for colorful and compassionate brands. I'm Darcy, the candy-fueled copywriter behind Sweet Tooth Creative. And I'm Chloe, owner of Conscious Design Studio, Chloe Ariel Design. On the show, we'll be talking about what it's really like to build a brand from scratch when you're a business of one. And how to find what works for you so you can create a brand that grows with your business without burning yourself out.
00:00:25
Speaker
At Brand Jam, we believe there's no one right way to be, and embracing our differences enhances the experience for everyone. So if you're a fan of bold flavored branding and are trying to do business better, come hang out. We're so glad you're here.
Embrace Individuality in Branding
00:00:41
Speaker
Your personality is what can set you apart from other people in your market. Like, let yourself be weird.
00:00:50
Speaker
For anyone else who feels the ick about those things, like, don't fret. You'll find your community.
00:00:59
Speaker
Hey, everybody. Welcome to Brand Jam. Today, we are talking about identifying your audience. Brand awareness is something that we bring up a lot here. And the first step in that is knowing who you want to be aware of you. Yes. And especially when you first get started in your business, it can be hard to imagine who your ideal audience is. And it can be tempting to say, oh, I just i just want to work with anyone. I'm a little bit desperate for work, maybe. And i and anyone would do. Anyone who's willing to give me money. Yes, exactly. But doing that will probably not help you in the long run. It's not a long term strategy. there There might be a point where you do need to do that. yes But long term, that's not the goal. And that kind of strategy will contribute to a lot of burnout.
00:01:47
Speaker
So it is important to be thinking strategically about this, even if you can't act on that strategy ah every time. If sometimes you have to take work with clients who aren't a great fit, that's okay. That can be pretty normal in the beginning, but the goal is to gradually hone it over time so that tapers off.
00:02:06
Speaker
Yeah.
Ideal Client Avatars: Help or Hindrance?
00:02:07
Speaker
And if you've been and on the internet in the marketing small business world, you've probably heard about what I'm thinking is the elephant in the room right now, ideal client avatars or client personas. And you might be like, well, I figured all this stuff out. Like I know their copy order. I know what stores they shop at. Let's back up real quick. And for anyone that hasn't had the unfortunate experience of having someone recommend creating an ideal client avatar, let's explain what that is real quick.
00:02:35
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So an ideal client avatar or client persona, there's a bunch of different names for it. It's basically, you're just coming up with a bunch of information to show who your ideal client is as like a singular person or like as a few different people. Yeah, it's like creating characters to represent your audience, basically. Yes. I get sarcastic when ICA's come up, but it's not it's not bad. There is some value in it where my kind of o feeling around it is is that I see a lot of people and not this was true for me in the beginning too, getting stuck there. I think it is a sticking point and it should not be a sticking point. It's a tool. If it helps you, great. If it is keeping you stuck, leave it behind. Exactly. And we're kind of here to say today, like yeah, if if you're getting stuck on all these weird little details, like I need to know the store that my client shops at. I need to know what they eat for breakfast. like There are other things, if you're going to make a persona, that are going to be more important than those.
Meaningful Audience Targeting Advice
00:03:39
Speaker
And yeah, you don't need to get tripped up on weirdly specific little details.
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah, we're all about being intentional with where you spend your time and energy and those details are not it. There are other things you can spend your time on that will reap greater reward in the long run in terms of like narrowing down your audience, attracting the right audience and stuff, then, you know, creating this very specific character. That being said, like for me, I think trying to speak to like one, there's there's advice where you're like, well, when in your marketing, try and speak to one person. For me, that that kind of actually keeps me stuck. But I think for other people, Chloe was saying, like that's actually helpful. yeah So there are ways that it can be beneficial if it if it feels overwhelming to talk to an audience and it feels, I don't know, how does it feel for you, Chloe?
Conversational Marketing Techniques
00:04:31
Speaker
like It's less intimidating, I guess.
00:04:33
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think it's easier like when I'm creating content to just picture that I'm talking to one person and it immediately makes me more conversational in my writing voice and less like, I don't know, kind of robotic when I'm trying to talk to a lot of different people at once. That's definitely true. And that's something that a lot of people fall back on even I fall back on in my writing is going to like basically like reverting to high school, reverting to like or like corporate. Yeah.
00:04:59
Speaker
Yeah. Like thinking you're going to be graded, having it applied in taking you out of that conversational space. So in that way, yes, I love an ICA if that helps or pick someone, you know, and pretend you're talking to them, whatever, but definitely if it helps you not get stiff, awesome. I'm all for it. But if you're sitting there looking at the paper, trying to like map out all these things about this person and they don't really pertain to your business, that's where I find it not
Defining Audience through Experience
00:05:25
Speaker
useful.
00:05:25
Speaker
So let's talk about what is more useful. Oh, well, I mean, I'll jump right in one of the best like it would be great, as with all things, it would be great if you could just know ahead of time. But unfortunately, some of its trial and error in the whole public before perfect is true in your marketing. It's also true with your clients, sometimes you think a client's going to be a great fit and then they're not. Sometimes do you think a client is in a great fit and you end up loving it when you work with them. So in that way, I think trial and error is one of the best ways to help you kind of really define your audience outside of kind of your preconceived notions and what you think or what you expect and more basing reality. So like look at the clients you love working with and see why did you love working with them. look at the ones you didn't like working with, ask yourself why it didn't feel like a good fit, and then take those and apply it to your audience and who you target moving forward.
Learning from Client Observations
00:06:21
Speaker
And if you haven't worked with anyone yet, you can start to look through maybe some people you follow on social media that you think could be a good fit, people you admire, you know, things like that. you There are people in your world that you can, I'm sure, imagine what they could be like as a client, and you can start speaking to them if you haven't booked any clients yet to go from. Yeah. And that's ultimately, I mean, that's my best shortcut for your audience. And it's something we've talked about before is going back to your brand values, like going back to your values, going back to your personality. I think, I mean, this certainly depends on the industry you're in and all of that. But as
00:06:53
Speaker
a neurodivergent disabled business owner who like doesn't have the capacity or the energy for like the extra fluff and the masking, and and I don't mean COVID masking, we should be wearing masks, but I mean like the social masking that happens for people who are neurodivergent and requires a great deal of energy. like My favorite is when I don't have to do that with a client, when I get to just be my whole self, so even though it sounds cheesy like, Lean into who you are, lean into your values because that' that connection always feels the best. I think when your audience or your client that you're working with, you're just on the same page in those terms.
Building Genuine Relationships vs. Followers
00:07:29
Speaker
Yeah. And that gets into kind of like the the brand awareness and kind of brand consistency and attracting your client to being yourself. Like part of my messaging is talking about how your personality is what can set you apart from other people in your market. like Let yourself be weird. Let your sparkly personality shine through. And if you do that consistently, your ideal clients who are of the same mindset or admire your your weirdness will start to come to you and start to see you as as their go-to for what you're offering. Yeah. and And I think, especially if you are providing one-on-one services, i mean there's a pressure to have a larger audience. like You need more more buyers, more listeners, more followers, all of that, depending on your business model. But when you are a one-to-one service provider, especially when you're just starting out, your capacity is limited. there it's There's only one of you. You may have a team later on, or you may
00:08:28
Speaker
like like me choose to stay a business of one, but there's only one of you and you don't want to spend your time working with people that aren't a good fit. So even though it is hard when you are, you know, in scarcity to be like, well, I don't want to work with them anyway, because you're like, really, I want to work with anyone who will pick me.
00:08:47
Speaker
It ends up not feeling good. It ends up being more draining. And it's just, if there's one audience targeting strategy to go with from the start, it's to try and find people that are gonna really be enthusiastically into you. Yeah. And it's not, you've brought up the follower count, which is really important. Like you don't need to have hundreds or thousands of followers to make meaningful relationships and start booking your clients. If you just have a few really engaged people, like that can be enough, especially as a starting point. and Ultimately, like engagement is the more important metric here, and everything we're talking about is more about driving engagement. Yes, for brand awareness, it helps to get in front of more eyeballs, but if you are not connecting with those people, then it's not going to work. There are plenty of people who have been like, I built ah this huge email list, but the conversion rates were really low. The click-through rate was really low. you know I built a huge audience on social media, but my engagement was in the toilet. and it's like i I hear the same thing from people with small followings where they're like, yeah, I don't have impressive social media numbers in terms of followers. but my engagement is really good and people buy my offers and you know i a lot of people return and that is what you want to be aiming for. over you know just there Yes, there are certain business models where you are going to need a big audience too, but if you aren't making sure they're engaged as you grow them, you're going to have problems down the line. All of the clients that I've booked previously or at least the majority of them have come from building genuine relationships with a relatively small audience. and it is possible. And that another good point is that the clients that really click with you are more likely to recommend you and then you're more likely to click with their friends like so it you know affinity is important. Exactly. Okay so let's talk about another strategy when you're trying to identify your audience. I know one thing I do and I think Darcy you do this too sometimes is to start with your offers and then start working backwards and seeing you know okay I have this offer What does it provide and then figure out who it would be a great fit for from there?
Developing Offers from Strengths
00:10:56
Speaker
Yeah, I will go both ways with it. Like I think more in the beginning, I was doing a lot of that like, okay, well, I'm good at this thing. I feel confident in my ability to deliver on this thing. So this is the offer and then work back from that.
00:11:10
Speaker
to be like who needs it and all of that. Then as my business evolved and I was able to gather data on in terms of like firsthand experience with okay this client was a great fit this client wasn't and my audience started to take shape. Then I was able to create more strategic offers that filled in gaps for my audience and made sure that I was basically tending to the needs of everyone in it because people are going to come with different needs and or expectations and so i was able to create an offer for people at this stage of the journey people at this stage e etc so i think yeah i think in the beginning i definitely work more from like.
00:11:47
Speaker
What do I want to offer? And then I'll find the audience for it, but then it brings you around in a circle and helps you create this business that really covers all the bases and is really cohesive. But that's all trial and error. You're not going to get, I tried to do that from the beginning to be like, I want a cohesive offer suite, but I just didn't know enough. I didn't have enough data. Yeah. It takes time. Yeah. So starting off that way is definitely, I think probably more efficient. And there are other ways too to try to, I mean, it might not be perfect, so it might not be your exact audience or people you've actually worked with. But if you haven't, you don't have a ah big previous client list. You can also try to find groups of people online that you think might align with your business, and your offer and yourself. Like there's a lot of Facebook groups, there's a lot of like networking groups where people are putting their pain points, they're putting their difficulty things in like comments and posts. And you can look at that and kind of find where the gaps are that way too.
00:12:42
Speaker
that That's actually definitely was very helpful for me in the beginning. Now this was years ago and Facebook groups are different now and the algorithm is different now. So I'm not saying I necessarily recommend specifically this, but at the time I was starting out, you could go into business Facebook groups and people would be like, I'm really stuck on this thing with my copy. And I'd be like, oh, well I know about that and just respond to them. And then they end up working with me. And that was never the expectation. I am someone who just says, like always happy to help. I don't know why, it just compulsively. But that was really great for me in the beginning as far as like figuring out what people are struggling with. Because unlike me, they didn't want to spend hours learning how to write copy and all of that. So how could I solve it for them without them having to go and do that.
Informal Market Research Techniques
00:13:30
Speaker
And then like you mentioned, just creating genuine connections as we what I'm seeing lately moving away from kind of the old way of doing it where like you're all in a Facebook group and certain posts come up and people are active and you get to know people because you're posting a lot whatever I'm sure plenty of people are active on Facebook but I don't know it's not me and I get some of that like i I have connected with people on Instagram in a similar way and as far as like maybe not
00:13:58
Speaker
in a group because obviously that's not how it goes there. But like, oh, I connect with them. Oh, over time they interact with my posts. I interact with their posts. We start maybe we DM or they respond to one of my stories and like it builds a relationship from there. And that helps me find related people, find other people I've had with all of that. That's really great. But what I'm seeing emerge more and I'm so excited about it because this has been absolutely pivotal for my business's success. is the rise of like dedicated business communities and groups and I've seen it that's been around like I said Facebook groups this is not new but the way it is I have seen a shift in the way that it is delivered and particularly because like I'm part of a group where you do like basically it's blending with co-working now And I love that because being a small business owner can be really isolating. But these co-working groups that basically give you a blend of that like community, you would kind of feel on Facebook, but still I feel like you were hanging out with people. Whereas like when you go into these co-working rooms, it does feel that way. You feel like you're hanging out with people.
00:15:03
Speaker
And then on top of that, you're hearing other business owners and their problems because you're just hanging out. And I pivoted my entire business model this last year to all Done With You services. And that's entirely based on my membership, like me being a part of this business community and seeing that Done With You work. for copywriting, which I never would have thought, like, I wouldn't have thought I would like to be on the spot trying to come up with copy because copy is always ugly at first, and the clients don't recognize that. And so I was worried about being judged for that. But then when it's like, I'm just having coffee, I'm sitting here doing my work in this co working space, and so and so has a copy problem. And I'm like, Okay, well, you could do this or that. And I feel a little bit of those terms, but I know this person. they know me and also like it's not a transaction. And so I just helped them and that got me comfortable with it. And now my business looks completely different and I love it more than ever. And I all i learned all of that from being in community with these other business owners. So as I'm seeing more communities like that pop up, I'm really excited because
00:16:00
Speaker
We're going to need a lot of them because it kind of has to stay somewhat small to be authentic. And we need different ones for people to vibe in different ways and all of that. So, but I just think that's really exciting. And so if you do, if you are starting out and you're maybe you've joined one of those groups or you're considering it, I would say go for it. And I'm not recommending any specific group, but I'm saying you could learn a lot about your audience, especially if you provide a service to other business owners by being in those groups.
00:16:30
Speaker
but it will be in a very authentic way and a low pressure way, which is great. Yeah. I find when I'm even in like networking calls or just co-working calls with people, I find myself writing things down when they're talking about, I mean, we're just having a conversation, but I'm like, oh, that's your pain point right now. Oh, that those specific words that you just said, you need help with that. Okay. I'm going to note that. And sometimes I ask if I'm like literally quoting them like, um, can I write that down? But that's it's super helpful. And then it makes my messaging more accurate and more and more specific to a more and more specific audience, which the longer I'm running my business, the more specific I've gotten about who my audience is. Yeah. And it just feels so much more human that way than to try and not to keep chilling. on the ICA, but to try and like make up a big person or to be like, I gotta analyze the data and I gotta get this tool for that and I gotta understand the numbers. And I really was hoping I was done with math because I'm a copywriter, why do I still have to do so much math? But here we are. It's just so much nicer to just be in a room with people and just have a conversation. yeah
00:17:28
Speaker
I wonder if we should put a name on like, like people are always talking about market research, market research this market research that and it sounds like a really intimidating
Humanizing Marketing Terms
00:17:36
Speaker
thing. But like the stuff we've been talking about is market research, like listening to people taking notes about things that they need, like going back through your old posts, even checking the engagement there and seeing seeing what people do like it. That's all market research. It's not it doesn't have to be some formulaic big thing. Yeah, or or like this heavy data analysis or you know, I yeah, i I definitely agree. And I think that's true of a lot of the marketing terminology, it kind of needs to be like re humanize or humanize for the first time, maybe, but market research is definitely one of them. And like networking, even like I know when I was for the first couple of years, I was in business, I was like, networking scared me. the idea of network. If I pictured a big like land conference, not conference room, like a banquet hall and like a junior. Oh my gosh. Name tags and everything. And like, I can't do that. I don't want to do that. And then I realized that I have been networking this entire time just by being like, Oh, I like you. Let's be friends. Because it's just how I am. I'm just like, I mean, that's literally how we met. I feel like is one of us said, hey, I don't remember who but like, yeah, well, we, we actually met in a marketing group, like a a specific group that was helping with a marketing problem. But it was one of those social communities kind of thing. And that's how we connected and that's networking. But when you said networking to like baby business Darcy, that's not what I pictured as networking. And then when I realized being just talking to people, talking to people counts. Cool. Okay.
00:19:17
Speaker
Yes, I know I in my brain, I have shifted the word networking to just building relationships, building community, talking to people. I mean, there are some like, if you go to like a networking event, I think some of them still
Authentic Networking Strategies
00:19:29
Speaker
are kind of like that. I've been to some online ones that are like, everyone's just pitching themselves. And it's just like pitching into a void. And everyone's just waiting for their turn to talk. And I do not like those. But there are some groups, like I just found a group that there's a larger group at first. And then we break off into smaller groups that are like four or five people. And the great thing about this is that the first round of everyone talking, you're not allowed to talk about your business. You have to talk about like, it's like an icebreaker, which usually those make me very anxious, but it's not too bad. But you, you have to connect with people on a human level before you're allowed to talk about your business, which I really love. Yeah. And I just think like i think you can structure communities that way, or but I've also seen it where people just lead by example um and just kind of set a tone. And both I think are great, but I just think like there unfortunately still is, and I'm sure it will persist as long as capitalism does, that there's always going to be the people that come in and you know they're really viewing you as potential clients.
00:20:27
Speaker
And it's just like, I can't change that about people. And it obviously works for some people, but like for me, for my brain, for my vibe, it just gives me the ick. I don't like it. And it's so for me, it's not sustainable because who can keep going when they feel like that? I know that I'm not the only one, obviously, kind of.
00:20:49
Speaker
co-host this way. like And so I just, for anyone else who feels the ick about those things, like don't fret, you'll find you'll find your community. You just have to like have faith that they're out there and keep being you. And all of these things that we've talked about, like having a brand voice that sounds like you keeping your tone conversational, leaning into your values, they're going to help you find your way to these people.
00:21:13
Speaker
I talk a lot about how like eight force proximity stuff like I love, I love that my business like I can work with people. I've worked with people in Australia, I've worked with people in journey and grants and you know, all across the US in Canada, like I love that that anyone that just vibes with me can find me. Whereas like, you know, you're growing up here in school, your friends are your classmates, because that's the pool you have to select from.
Patience in Community Building
00:21:39
Speaker
And I think one of the best things about online business and especially being an online service provider is that you're not limited that way. But it can feel lonely in the beginning because it takes time to build real connections. But it is out there and you will find it. It just takes time.
00:21:55
Speaker
Yeah, and I'm giggling over here because all I can think is hate force proximity unless it's in a romance novel. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Sorry, don't come for any book talk. I'm down with that trope. Okay. ah My romanticy. We need the force proximity. but maybe Maybe not in the business.
Summary and Call to Subscribe
00:22:12
Speaker
Okay, so to summarize a little bit, identifying your audience, no matter what stage of your business and thinking about that is a good idea. It's going to evolve as your business evolves, much like everything else will. And that, you know, when you start to combine it with everything else we've talked about will create the foundation for building a really strong brand.
00:22:36
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Brand Jam. Check out the show notes for links to the resources we talked about. If this episode hit the spot, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. It helps Brand Jam reach more listeners, so we really appreciate it. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you next time.