Where Can I Find My Audience?

How to Find your Audience & What To Do Before You Find It

​One of the most common questions I get asked is 'Where can I find my audience?' Over the years I've found that the real question every business owner should ask themselves first is "Am I even READY to find my audience?"  Here's why.

The audience for your product or service can be verified by you in one of two main ways:

THE 'TRADITIONAL' WAY

The first way is by identifying your desired audience ahead of time and creating a traditional customer avatar.  You're probably familiar with this one.  This is when you go about naming the exact demographics and behaviors of your customer
to-be beforehand either on paper or on a worksheet.  In this case, before you can find your audience you need to ask and will ask and answer 'Who exactly am I looking for?' (Otherwise you'd be in for a pretty tough game of hide and seek right?)

THE SOMETIMES 'MORE REALISTIC' WAY

The second and other realistic but lesser talked about way you can learn about your audience is through the 'discovery' method.  This is a trial and error process during which you put your product, service or content very related to your product or service in front of a very broad audience (almost anywhere and everywhere) to see who it most resonates with.  You then narrow down your audience from there.
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In this case, before you go trying to find more of your specific audience or even before you put your product or content in front of the initial broader audience, you need to first ask and answer the question 'What am I selling or offering?" (in the case that you don't have a paid product or service to offer just yet).  If you don't yet know who your specific audience is, you need to get ready to speak clearly about whatever it is you're providing.

A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE... WHEN IT COMES TO GOING OUT AND FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE

You may have noticed that in either of the scenarios above, (whether you plan to use traditional audience targeting by defining your customer avatar ahead of time... or to play the field a bit and see who is a best fit for your product first...) you are still left with a question that must be answered first before you are really ready to 'find your audience.'  'Who is my audience specifically?' or 'What am I clearly offering?'  You should be armed with the answer to at least one of these questions before putting a great deal of energy into 'finding your audience.'  Otherwise, you are going to find yourself spinning your wheels.

If you're a new entrepreneur, take a moment to pause and ask yourself first "Am I really READY to find my audience?" If the answer is no, there's no need to panic. You've just got a little homework to do. It can sometimes some take time but it will be worth it.  That homework?  Answer at least one of the unanswered questions above.  Do I know exactly who I want to work with?  Do I know and can talk about exactly what I'm providing?

KNOW YOU'RE READY TO FIND MORE OF YOUR SPECIFIC IDEAL CLIENT OR AUDIENCE?

Already defined what you're selling or providing and / or your exact client avatar? Then, you are indeed ready to get into more accurately answering the question 'Where can I find and reach my audience?' or 'How can I find out where the audience for my business hangs out?'

Here are a few tips to get you started.

Firstly, avoid getting too hung up on 'trends.'  With the natural pendulum swings of time, your audience (or any business's audience for that matter) will migrate around from time to time. In other words, where your audience 'hangs out' will shift now and then.  The best way to combat that is not to panic and run around chasing them. Set yourself up for success up front. Instead of worrying only about learning the latest social media platform or technology, worry first about taking the time to lay a good foundation for yourself by really outlining your message and getting good insights into the your audience's needs.  These things will tend to change less than hang out spots do... and with them firmly defined, you will be more prepared to ride out any changing tides in technology or otherwise.

The best way to see where your audience hangs out right now is to ask, to look around to brainstorm.  I like to break down this audience brainstorming down into two categories - 'in real life' and 'online,' (where your audience is online or in the digital space).  When brainstorming where your audience hangs out, really think outside the box and go deeper than just 'what social media platform is the age group on.'

Taking just a little time to do your homework before asking and answering 'where can I find my audience?' can really pay off.  Skipping a few steps can seem like you're racing forward, but in the end you'll find yourself spinning your wheels and taking longer to really get going in the long run than you would have should you have prepped ahead of time.  

Use this expert resource to help you brainstorm where your audience hangs out or 'seems to be hiding.' I've personally created The '15 Prompts to Brainstorm Where your Audience Hangs Out' worksheet to help you make sure you're not leaving any audience hiding spots behind.
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Download the 15 Prompts to Brainstorm Where your Audience Hangs Out PDF to help you brainstorm and perfectly hone in on your your audience 'is hiding.' 

"Hey! Where is everybody hiding?!"