Struggling to find your target audience?

Last 2 emails, we talked about how to create content that hooks readers and finding your unique positioning. Missed it? No biggie.

Check it out here (but after reading this please)

All that blood, sweat and tears you put into creating mind-blowing content and building a unique identity will go flushing down the toilet if you don’t know who you are writing for.

In other words… Your ICP.

6 months ago when I heard this, I was scratching my head wondering what the heck this means. Instant Coffee Packet?

Now I am wiser and know it stands for “Ideal Client Profile” or as I like to call it…

“Ideal Cash Pockets”.

Why? Because these are the people who will buy your product/services (as we are here for business, not staring at vanity metrics. Right?)

Ideally, we divide them into 2 parts:

1) You 2-steps back before achieving XYZ

This is for you of you’re at ground zero, like I was 6 months ago, the point where we scramble around with our eyes closed.

Clueless.

At that point, the easiest way to get your game kicking is to imagine yourself when you were struggling with a particular goal.

Why? Because you know exactly what

• gave you sleepless nights

• the daydreams you used to dream

• the “solutions“ you would spend hours on

Hence, you can pinpoint the pain points with surgical accuracy. How can you not? After all, you literally know everything about them because you FELT what they FEEL.

You can trap them in an inescapable net of “emotions“.

So, tailor your solution to bandage all the pain points and trust me, they will treat it as an elixir.

2) You have the solution to their problems

Now, not all of us have achieved some extraordinary goal from the get go, have we?

And please, don’t be one of those who sell something they haven’t achieved. “How to get a 1000 followers in 2 days” when you have 51 followers yourself.

That is the scammiest scam to ever exist.

You don’t earn 1K/month? Fine! Nothing wrong with that. You don’t have to sell it.

Buy hey, you can write stories? Great! That productivity blogger needs your services. She is a solid block of non-creative.

She is your ideal client. But wait? How do I FIND her?

For this method, you do need to put in a little extra effort. So grab yourself a cup of double-shot hot espresso and roll up your sleeves. Its time for research.

Let’s keep using the same example.

So stories, huh. Who might need it?

People with a corporate mindset, those who have the stories but doesn't have a clue on how to word them.

Who might these people be and why will they need you?

• Solopreneurs (writing relatable copy that converts)

• Real-estate bloggers (stories that entice people to buy a home)

• Personal brands (for writing out their own stories)

And more…

Whichever ones overlap with your expertise are the ideal ones.

But then the list is so diverse!

Where do I find these “specific“ people?

You have social media like X, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, right? Now think about it from their shoes…

If you had a fashion brand for example, where would you be hanging out in? Which place seems the most relevant?

“Hey, I am still not sure…“

No problem. I suggest you start from X and LinkedIn and pivot later if you need to. But in my opinion, these are the best places to start out. X is a hub of diversity and LinkedIn is teeming with businesses.

Once you are there, go to the search bar and type in some keywords to further narrow it down. What I like to use is the BOOLEAN method. Funny name, but insanely useful.

Uses AND, NOT, OR.

For example “Female AND coach OR founder“. Much MUCH easier than scrolling through a 1000 bios that don’t even fill your criteria.

Now, make a list of a 100 of them and

• go through their profiles

• drop them a follow

• send a personalized DM

Don’t freak, you can do 5 or 10 a day. Go at your own pace, no pressure.

Now, how to send a GOOD personalized DM that gets replied (not ghosted and forgotten)?

I wrote a detailed post about it a while ago. You can go check it out if you have an account in X or LinkedIn.

If not, just reply to this email with ‘DM template‘ and I’ll send it over.

But whatever you do, DON’T PITCH RIGHT AWAY. Think of it like courting. Will you approach a stranger on the road and ask for their hand? No, right? (Unless you have the sudden urge to get slapped…)

Same way, selling in the 1st message means you have a high HIGH chance of being blocked and ignored.

So build up the trust and talk like you would with a friend.

Go slow, but surely.

BONUS: This is also where you do market-research. Chat with them and ask

• What are their goals?

• Which platforms do they use?

• What problems are they facing?

Write these down, find the patterns and then you may pitch.

But wait… WHAT to pitch? That is for the next email.

“How to craft the ultimate irresistible offer?”

Until then,

Take care, stay safe and drink lots of water.

Love,

Khadija