One thing that will trip you up time and time again when it comes to producing content is knowing you ideal customer. You might think it is a little bit ‘out there’ but if you skip this step, you’ll always struggle to create content that converts, because you don’t know who you’re creating it for.

Now, I know first hand that you want to rush ahead and just ‘dive in’ and create, but STOP! Taking the time to fully understand your customer base, will pay dividends.

Who are they?

First up, who are your ideal customers? I’m not just talking about gender & age here… Really get to know them! What hobbies do they have? Where do they hang out? Do they prefer cats, or dogs (not really, but you get my point) Immerse yourself in their World… Becomes them. Heck give them a name… Sharon!  Really get to know Sharon and how she spends her day. What are her daily, weekly or monthly issues and problems?

What you’re looking for is the opportunity to solve her problems with your product or service. Say Sharon really struggles with getting her dog Sandra in the back of her car (because Sharon has a bad back). Your doggy ramp would solve that. But you’re not just getting Sandra in the car, you’re resolving the issue that Sharon struggles to lift Sandra in, because of her bad back… Look for these cues in your ideal customers lives. Are they time poor, have fitness struggles… Get to know them.

How do they feel?

Understand the language that your ideal customer uses… Pay attention to the emotional words. Is Sharon overwhelmed or stressed when said issues arise?

What would Sharon say if you solved her issue?… Would she be ecstatic, relieved?

Pay attention to the words they most relate to. Whether It’s emotional or desires… When you use these in your content, they act as triggers to your ideal customer. i.e Feeling overwhelmed about X? Ditch overwhelmed and feel ecstatic instead. Don’t be an stressed solopreneur, skip to relieved CEO.

How can you use this in your content?

No longer is your content a walking sales brochure, just talking about the benefits of the service or products… It’s starting to talk about the issues it solves, because you now fully understand enough about your customers… You know their issues. You know the first thing they think about in the morning. You know what keeps them awake at night and you know exactly where your product or service slots into the mix. You know how to talk to them in a way that resonates and stops the scroll, because ‘wow’ that caption is exactly how they’re feeling.

So, go and get to know them. Interview existing or past customers… Listen on the shop floor, or Zoom calls, Root around in FB Groups about your niche… Even poll on Stories and find out direct from your social media followers.

See the difference getting to know your audience really makes to the way to look at creating content for them.