How to Nail Down Your Ideal Client

How to Nail Down Your Ideal Client       Do you struggle with getting engagement on your profile? Do you struggle with getting people to not only buy what you’re selling, but getting them to follow you in the first place? Well my friend, there’s a way to fix this.

Do you struggle with getting engagement on your profile? Do you struggle with getting people to not only buy what you’re selling, but getting them to follow you in the first place? Well my friend, there’s a way to fix this. It’s narrowing down your ideal client. Often times in business, we want to try to reach as many people as possible, because we think that will allow us to maximize our potential income and business growth. But here’s the deal- the more you try to be for everyone, the more you’re actually for no one. Marketing is just as much about repelling people as it is attracting people. I KNOW it’s scary. I know you hear that word repel and you cringe and feel a jolt of anxiety run through you. You’re probably thinking “I can’t REPEL people, I NEED people, because I need to make money to keep the lights on.” But let me tell you a little secret- the riches are in the niches my friend. And with that, let’s dive in.

If you’re anything like me, this topic is one that I struggled with for a long time. I could just never figure out HOW to nail down my ideal client. Even once I had her in my mind, I didn’t really know how to use that knowledge to move the needle forward in my business. Once I learned how to nail down my ideal client and speak to her, things really started changing for me!

So let’s start from square one. 

Now we all have things we’re good at right, they’re our business “superpowers” if you will. Knowledge and experience that’s unique to us. Our superpowers are what help us nail down our niche. It’s like how I realized newborn photography isn’t for me, and I landed on my niche of wedding photography. Weddings were much more for me because I was raised in a family full of strong marriages and loved everything to do with love. It was something I was passionate about whereas anything else, I had zero excitement for. 

The first thing you’re going to need to know is what you’re good at doing that allows you to serve a specific niche in your business. Remember, marketing is just as much about attracting the people you want, as it is repelling the people you don’t want.  So who are the people you want to serve. What niche is it that excites you? Again, my example was realizing wedding photography was my talent and goal, whereas all other kinds of photography like newborns and families had me feeling like I’d rather go back to my desk job. My goal was to ATTRACT wedding clients and REPEL all other clients. For you it could be bridal makeup versus prom/event makeup. It could be creating hand lettered signs for home decor over escort cards at a wedding. You need to find your niche.

Knowing your niche is only the first step. After you know your niche, you need to decide what your ideal client in that niche looks like. So for me, I narrowed down my superpowers to wedding photography. Knowing that was my superpower, my ideal client would be a bride. However, not ALL brides are my ideal client. I had to think about what my ideal bride was like, and then market to her specifically. 

The more narrow and specific you are with outlining your ideal client, the more likely you’re going to be able to “catch” them.

Let’s create your ideal client. How old are they? What do they do? What do they want? Work through these questions to really nail down who your ideal client is so you can start focusing on them.

1.) What are your ideal client’s top 3 pain points. 

2.) What are your ideal client’s top 3 desires.

3.) Who are their role models & who do they follow?

4.) What social platform are they most active on?

5.) Where do they go to learn new things and get information?

6.) Where would they hang out in real life?

Here’s the deal, when we can nail down our ideal client, our message becomes much clearer because we know WHO we’re talking to! Not only that, but when we know what they’re struggling with and what they want, we can speak right to them!

Once you can visualize your ideal client, you’re going to speak to her (or him) and that’s it. If you’re having trouble getting people to follow your business or page, it could be because you’re so busy trying to be for everyone, that you’re not attracting anyone. They more specific you are, the more you’re going to attract someone. Do you struggle with getting people to engage on your profile? You’re going to be getting tons of engagement when you’re speaking directly to your client and giving them content that speaks to their heart, their fears, and their personality. 

If you’re vague, without a clear mission, and all over the place dipping your toe in here and there- you’re not going to see that needle moving because you’re not committed to a specific kind of client. You’re not digging deep enough to resonate with them. So that’s what I want you to leave here thinking about today.

So to wrap it up let’s go over three action items we can do today to move the needle forward:

1. Action step #1: Go back through the 6 questions and write down all your answers. Seriously. I have my paper on my ideal client on my desk. Always. Because sometimes I need to remind myself of my ideal client to stay on course!
2. Action step #2: I want you to edit your preferred social media profile and website accordingly. So think bio section, wording, colors- start applying the things that you think your ideal client is drawn to.
3. Action step #3: Start writing your captions directly to the ideal client. I don’t want you to think about everyone else, I want you to focus in on your ideal client and just write like you’re talking to her

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XOXO