As a brand, you know that your product is not meant for everyone.
Not every person you reach will benefit from your product or is even willing to buy right now. But you want to reach those who are in a buying mood.
As a copywriter, you need to know who to address to make your copy impactful. You need that one person to keep in mind to produce a relevant and strong copy.
However, finding who is likely to buy a product and crafting a message that has to reach them at the right time and at the right place can be easier said than done.
Here is a short guide you can use to discover your target customers and write a marketing message that resonates with the right person.
Discover Your Target Customers
Most brands have detailed writing guidelines or style guides for copywriters. These guides dissect their brand voice and more. They’re tailored for their specific target audience.
When you (as a copywriter) collaborate with a brand that is still finding its footing, you may not have guidelines at your disposal.
How can you uncover who benefits the most from your product? Start with this:
Look into a brand’s existing clients
Talk to people — both potential customers and customer service
Check out the competition — who are they addressing in their copy?
Sometimes, you’ll discover your target audience through trial and error. Some brands uncover their audience after realising they have targeted the wrong crowd.
Identifying your target audience is a science and an art. But one thing is certain — you have to be as detailed as possible.
Therefore, what helps is creating buyer personas.
Create Detailed Buyer Personas
To get to know your target audience deeply, create a couple of buyer personas for your brand. Give each person a first and last name. Define their age, interests, hobbies, dreams, life goals and whether they’re a part of a subculture.
Word Nerd's buyer persona is Poppy Beaumont.
And also Millie Montague.
With a concrete face in mind, it’s easier to identify:
Which social media would your dream customers use
What kind of content would they read
What are their pain points
How they speak
Reaching Your Target Audience
Where can you reach your target audience, all the people who are (or will be) ready to buy your product or services?
After you pinpoint which target group benefits and needs a specific product the most, you’ll know roughly whether they are male or female, to which age group they belong, where they live and where their interests lie.
Luckily, social media has plenty of data based on which you can compare whether your target audience is likely to spend time there.
For example, the stats below shows the user demographics for LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook in 2023. It’s based on gender and age.
42.8% female
57.2% male
60% of users are aged 25–34
21.7% of users are aged 18–24
15.4% of users are aged 35–45
2.9% of users are aged 55 plus
Instagram
48.2% female
51.8%male
27.4% of users are aged 25–34
25.1% of users are aged 18–24
5.2% of users are aged 65 plus
Facebook
43.7% female
56.3% male
25.7% of users are aged 25–34
18.1% of users are aged 18–24
18.1% of users are aged 35–44
This data can help you limit your search for a target audience — especially if you use targeted ads.
You don’t need to be on every social media platform out there — especially if your budget is limited. Choose one or two and focus your efforts there. Later try other social media platforms to expand your reach and grow.
Always prioritise quality.
If you’ve had a website or social media presence for some time, you can check Google Analytics to see the age, location and gender of your most frequent visitors.
Also, consider the role of your product in their lives. If it introduces art in their homes, choose Pinterest or Instagram. If it helps them develop professionally, focus your energy on LinkedIn.
Address Your Target Customer in the Right Time and Place
So now you know where your target audience is. Other factors you need to consider are:
When to post
Are they people who will read long-form content
What kind of content would be valuable to them
Test different posting times and experiment with different kinds of content.
Writing to One Person(a)
“Write to one person” is common advice for content writers and copywriters.
It may seem counterintuitive, but when you address one person, your message resonates with more people.
The words you use in your copy should make them feel seen and heard. When you focus on one persona’s specific pain points, needs and wants, your message feels personal and more relevant to your reader.
Choose one buyer persona and write to them. Start your copy with their name.
For example, write “Dear Marija” and follow it up with your copy. Delete “Dear Marija” after you complete it.
Make sure that this person recognises themselves in your writing. Mirror the way they think, talk and communicate with others.
Know Where Their Knowledge Stops
Nothing alienates your target audience more than talking down to them by over-explaining simple terms or making assumptions that they don’t know something.
Avoid salesy phrasing such as “I bet you didn’t know”.
If you write for experts (such as tech-savvy people), don’t explain jargon or use it in the wrong context.
For example, let’s say you’re writing a blog post in the cybersecurity niche called “4 Common Causes of Ransomware”. You don’t need to spend a lot of time explaining what ransomware is. Your target person googled “ransomware causes”.
Because they know what it is.
True, it can be difficult to know exactly where one’s knowledge stops and where you need to fill in the gaps. But you’ll get the hang of it after writing for a specific industry for a while.
Suspect You Got Your Target Audience Wrong?
It’s frustrating to get ads that aren’t meant for you. Some signs that you write to the wrong audience are:
A myriad of likes and followers on social media that don’t translate to sales
People are unfollowing your brand on social media
Your bounce rate is high on your website
Engagement is non-existent
Sometimes, the culprit is the wrong place or time. Other times, the message could be clearer or calls to action more straightforward.
Do you need help with crafting the message that will reach the right audience?
Writing a copy in a brand’s unique voice is what we do every day.
We’d love to meet you.