3 Ways To Find (And Attract) Your Audience 

You won’t get the right clients until you find a way to speak to them.

I have seen too many contractors, consultants, and other freelancers make the same mistake of going after anybody and everybody who could need their services. 

This does a disservice to your offering, and it does a disservice to your capabilities. 

Each person who works for themselves comes with a unique background. Some of us have been in certain corporate positions for years, others have degrees inside and outside their fields, none of us are the same. Not to mention we all enjoy different things. 

When you generalize you are competing with everyone in your field. 

Everyone who has been doing this for years. Who has the referrals, the connections, the resources you likely don’t have if you are just starting out and trying to establish yourself. 

That is a losing game. 

What is a winning game is narrowing down who you want to work with, and finding the unique problems that person needs to solve, then showing them how you are an expert in solving those problems. 

Case In Point 

When I started ghostwriting I wanted to write for anyone who would ask for my services. 

Now I turn away more work more than I accept. Not because I couldn’t do the work, but because I wouldn’t enjoy doing the work. And because I wouldn’t enjoy doing the work, it wouldn’t be the best work I could do for that client. 

When asking myself who I wanted to work with I asked myself who my best clients were. 

I found they were the people who had been in their industry for several years. They had a lot to say about what worked, and what didn’t. Which made them a bit rebellious to those who followed them. 

I coined these people the “rebellious leader.” 

But that wasn’t concise enough. There are many rebellious leaders in the world, some are running multi-million dollar organizations. Others are sitting in a corner office, unheard of, and sharing their unique thoughts with a minor few. 

So, I scrutinized what I can do to solve problems. 

I worked in sales for a decade, but I wasn’t just any pushy saleswoman. My mentors through that decade taught me value based selling. Which means I deeply understand how to identify the needs of buyers and speak to those needs. 

With that understanding I looked back at the rebellious leader. And I found one type in particular who would likely want a book. They were the rebellious leader who was currently growing. Who wants to form an audience and to build their authority so they can become a thought leader. This might lead to speaking gigs, high paid consulting gigs, or simply more recognition of their insight. Either way, this brought me to my value statement: 

“I unleash the written voice of rebellious leaders so they can build their audience, and their authority.” 

Talk about specific! 

The results? I’m currently booked out a year in advance. 

Getting specific about your audience is how you win your outreach. Here are the three steps you can take to find your target audience (and attract them): 

1. Narrow Down Who You Want To Work With 

Knowing that you want to work with “business owners” is not enough. 

I’ve heard too many potential clients tell me their target audience is entrepreneurs. This is too broad.

Too broad. 

Remember, refusing to be specific does a disservice to you and your offering. 

Look at your current span of clients and ask yourself who is your favorite to work with. Then ask yourself why they are your favorite? 

The goal is to find more clients than one client you love. Do they specialize in something? How many years of experience do they have? What is their title? If they own a company what is the makeup of the company (employees, revenue, industry)? 

Create a profile for this person. 

2. Find The Unique Problems This Person Needs To Solve 

Once you have a profile on who you want to serve, you need to understand their problems. 

And I’m not talking about wanting to save time and money. Everyone wants that. You need to get specific here. Being general does nothing to help you stand out in the market. 

1. What are the deeper issues this person is likely facing in their career? 
2. What specific challenges are they facing in their current role or industry?
3. How do these challenges impact their day-to-day work and long-term goals?
4. What are their biggest frustrations or obstacles that hinder their success?
5. Are there recurring themes in the problems they discuss or seek solutions for?
6. What emotional or psychological effects do these challenges have on them?
7. How do these issues align with or contradict their values and beliefs?
8. What are they currently doing to try to solve these problems, and why isn’t it working?

By answering these questions, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of the specific, nuanced issues your audience is grappling with.

Then you can move to step three. 

3. Show How You Can Solve These Problems 

Once you know who you want to serve, and the problems they face, you can look inward at your own specific skill set. 

How can you solve their problems? 

For example, my offering is ghostwriting. On the service I solve the problem of writing a book. But my service is much more than that. Because of my background in sales and business I understand market positioning. Which means everything I write hones in on how to help my clients stand out in the market and create value for their audience. 

Which is why the real problem I solve is growing your audience and your authority through ghostwriting and copywriting. 

Your background, your knowledge, and the industries you love influence how you can solve the problems of your clients. 

Hone in on this. 

When you clearly define and communicate how your services or products address the specific issues your audience faces, you position yourself as the go-to solution for those problems. This clarity attracts the individuals who are actively seeking solutions, turning them into prospective clients who pursue your offerings. 

This is the key to both finding your audience and how to attract them. 

And as business owners, we love tackling two birds with one stone.