Up Market |
- 17 Reasons Why Your Target Audience Isn’t Listening to You
- Why Entrepreneurs Should Keep Journals
- Leveraging Chaos
- Get In the Practice of Being Perfect
| 17 Reasons Why Your Target Audience Isn’t Listening to You Posted: 17 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT
You get nothing. Not even a chirp. Before you give up and overanalyze yourself, your market, your product and every other conceivable reason things didn't work out as planned, check out the following list of 17 of the most common issues that could make your target audience reluctant to take action. 1. They're Not Really Your Target Audience "Dog owners" is not a target audience. Neither are gardeners, internet marketers or cake decorators. They are hobbyists or professionals – but not a target audience. You've got to add in demographics and psychographics to mix to truly define who you want to reach. Single moms over 40, making $55,000 a year or more, who own their homes, work outside the home and need extra help caring for their children? That's a target audience. Now ask yourself – what's keeping them up at night? What are they truly afraid of or concerned about? How can you help them? Find a problem that you are uniquely suited to solving for them – then solve it. 2. You're No Different than Everyone Else What makes you different? Don't get pigeon-holed into a mold you can't break out of. Express yourself and share your personality. It will resonate with the people you truly want to reach – and deep down, all of us want to connect with people. Share your own life experiences and what's gotten you this far. People don't buy products, they buy people – and the solutions they offer, and if your expertise can give them what they want, so much the better. 3. Your Offer Doesn't Apply to Me For whatever reason, your target audience thinks you couldn't possibly be talking about them. They might think they're too young/old/inexperienced or whatever the case may be. An easy way to fix this would be to address your target audience directly in your copy – such as "An important message to all women over 50 who are tired of just 'making ends meet'…" 4. The Timing/Price Isn't Right It happens to the best of us, sometimes. Maybe the timing isn't quite right. If your launch is hot on the heels of another authority in your industry, you may have to let the enthusiasm die down a little before you make your announcement. If price is the sticking point, try an alternative pricing strategy such as a payment plan, or even a lower priced trial for the first week. You may be surprised at what will spur people off the fence and get them to take action. 5. You're Not Well-Known Enough (Yet!) This is usually only a problem the first time you launch a product. After that, you'll have learned so much from the process that you'll be better prepared the next time…and the time after that. If you're worried that you really are an island and don't have the following or the fans to get the momentum you want, you may need to partner with a more well-known name and co-launch the first time around. Even then, this method isn't a fail-safe, especially if… 6. You Haven't Rallied the Troops The "troops" being your joint venture partners, subscribers, Twitter followers, Facebook fans and the like. There are a million things vying for our attention, especially on social networks. Make sure you have reminders in place for both pre-launch, during-launch and after-launch events. Notify your list and social contacts a week before the deadline, three days, and one day. During the launch, have a "Plan B" in place in case things fall apart – either technology or program-wise (because they ALWAYS do when you're not prepared!). After the launch, post a few snippets of what's happening and add a notification list for future attendees to alert them when the doors are open again. 7. You Haven't Answered a Specific Frustration They're Facing This ties in with Reason #1 "They're Not Your Target Audience". Make a list of some of the issues you feel like your target audience is struggling with. Browse forums, ask on social networks or conduct surveys so you know your market research is solid. There needs to be at least one or two gems in there that you (and only you) are uniquely suited to solving for them. Make that the focus of your offer! 8. Your Offer is Too Broad and All-Encompassing We want to be all things to all people – but there's just no conceivable way for any one product to fulfill a huge job like that! Are there areas of your product where you could narrow your focus? People tend to pay more attention to a specialty item if it meshes perfectly (or near-perfectly) with a concern or a problem that they have – rather than trying to cover every single base. 9. I Can Do Without What You're Selling In marketing-speak, this translates to "You haven't given me enough reason to want to say yes, yet." Unfortunately, this is where many people pile on the bonuses. This kind of reaction has the adverse effect of cheapening your offer rather than adding value to it. It makes prospects think "why do they have to dump on all these extra products to make the original even better? Isn't it good enough on its own?" Ask yourself – what kind of information or solution could I add that would make this launch absolutely irresistible but won't cheapen the value of the original product? 10. We Aren't on the Same Wavelength It happens. Sometimes your offer, style, communication or whatever simply doesn't jive with some people. And that's okay, because those that it does speak to – will be your greatest advocates and brand champions. 11. Your Promises are Too Vague This is a big issue for first-time launches. In their rush to be-all-things-to-all-people, they make large, all-encompassing promises that are vague at best and simply can't be fulfilled. For example: Our three week session will help you discover the true purpose in your life; the underlying current that energizes you every morning and leaves you feeling rejuvenated and restored. What exactly is the promise here? How will you measure fulfillment? Rejuvenation? Energy? 12. You've Got No "Who" Some people find a demographic (and even a psychographic) for their target audience and leave it at that – thinking they've hit the nail on the head. But take this process one more step by adding "who" after your ideal customer description. For instance: My target audience is young, married, urban professionals between the ages of 25 and 37 that hold a master's degree or higher, make approximately $XX,XXX per year, WHO… (fill in the issue that you're solving here). 13. You're Selling What You Think I Want and Not What I Need Mention that you were an Apple fan in the 1990s, and you might get a few quizzical looks and some snickering behind your back. Mention it today, and you'll have legions of like-minded people echoing all the virtues of the company and standing in line with you for hours to buy the latest product. What brought about the change? Simply put, the early Apple computers were designed around what the engineers and programmers thought people wanted (beautiful design, lots of raw computing power), rather than what they really wanted (multiple software programs, lower prices). We already know what happened next. Fast-forward to today and you'll see that, while price is still a factor, the biggest hurdle that Apple jumped in making its products more well-known was making them compatible with PCs – as it did with iTunes in the early 2000's. With this in mind, ask yourself – are you selling what people really want, or what you think they want? 14. You're Shouting in an Echo Chamber If you're an online marketer, and everyone you follow on social networks is an online marketer – you're preaching to the choir. Make sure that you've properly segmented your list and that your offer is going out to the people who could most benefit from it. 15. You're Too Focused on the Sale People don't buy from salesmen. They buy from people they know, like and trust. If you're someone they can get to know, learn to like and eventually trust – then you don't have to sell anything. Come up with a list of ways that people can get to know you, and concentrate on what you can do for them – not the other way around. Like the old Zig Ziglar quote – "You can get whatever you want if you help enough people get what they want." 16. You're Too Serious We overwhelmingly buy based on emotion – but we back it up with logic. Make sure your offer appeals on both levels. If you're too focused on the practical side of things, your content could come across as too stiff and robotic. Add in powerful words that visually compel your readers to take action. Tell a story that your readers could see themselves in. Then back that up with real, workable facts that lend themselves to your offer's strengths. 17. You Feel Like Giving Up If you don't update your blog for months on end – that automatically tells your readers that you're either too busy to help them, or you're on the verge of giving up. Remember, your site is like your calling card and your identity on the web. Keep it fresh and up to date with relevant information, so your customers can see that you truly care about keeping them informed and sharing what you know. Image credit: kevin dooley |
| Why Entrepreneurs Should Keep Journals Posted: 17 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT
“Why did you do that!” “Wow, that was really dumb.” Then, there is my personal favorite: “Don’t go in there!” This is the benefit of the third person view. You are capable of seeing the obvious that the players miss because they are so close to the action. Entrepreneurs are often too close to the action of their businesses to be objective. What is obvious to an outside observer can go right over the head of the entrepreneur. It is not possible to have someone standing over your shoulder observing and guiding your every move but there is a way to get the benefit of this type of observation on your own. Keep a daily journal of your activities. This is no substitute for mentors and coaches but it is a powerful nonetheless in gaining better self-awareness. An Accidental DiscoveryI accidentally stumbled upon this gem while writing “Presidents, Pilots & ENTREPRENEURS.” While recounting a number of experiences during the writing of the book, I had several head slapping moments. I found myself asking similar questions to those above. What started as a book project turned into a journaling exercise of sorts that helped add real meat to the book. As I wrote the book, I found myself taking a third person, observer position. This allowed a more objective view and the extraction of the most important lessons. Not until we step back and view our lives from this angle can we gain true insight. Journaling Best PracticesThe following best practices will help you get the most out of journaling.
Could Be Profitable in the FutureIf you ever decide to write a book, the information in your journal will prove priceless. Imagine being able to draw on events from several years ago in full detail. The information can also provide great content for your blog. So start today, right now. No need to be fancy. Open a blank Word or Pages document and simply start typing. Years from now when you finally decide to write that first book, you will be happy you took this advice. Image credit: Stock.XCHNGE |
| Posted: 16 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT
Like many of us, I grew up thinking that things happened in a linear way – first this, then that, one building block upon another in a definite order — cause and effect. But over the years, I’ve noticed that when you have a larger vision and experience that vision as though it has already happened, things tend to occur in a whole different way. Often what we experience is a chain of seemingly disjointed events that are in reality very connected. Think of watching a movie of a glass shattering, only in reverse motion. Pieces fly together from all directions in a disjointed fashion and assemble into a perfect whole. Each piece is absolutely necessary, though in and of itself incomplete and inconceivably connected to a larger picture. We will experience ups and downs and travel down roads that deviate from what we originally anticipated. Nevertheless, these seemingly divergent paths may in fact be prerequisite to experiencing the totality of our vision. At times the healing process entails pain, discomfort or other symptoms. While we may point to these as signs of illness, we could alternatively consider them evidence of our recovery. Similarly, a phase of growth and expansion is often preceded by a period where things unexpectedly fall away. We can look at the void as a loss, or recognize it as the space necessary for new creations to take root and flourish. Though we may not realize the significance or relevance of our chaotic experiences until much later, in hindsight we often realize the importance of enduring specific challenges, setbacks, delays, or what felt like irrelevant nuisances. These obstacles give us a greater perspective on who we are, deeper appreciation for where we have been and where we are going, and compassion for others who have experiences similar to our own. As we rise up to these little challenges, we find strength we didn’t know we had and realize we are far greater than we thought we were. And as leaders, we can help others appreciate and leverage their own chaos as well. Image credit: aloshbennett |
| Get In the Practice of Being Perfect Posted: 16 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT
When you approach a prospect half-heartedly, or when you're tired, or not on your "A" game, you re-enforce mediocrity and erode excellence. You're better off to spend a low energy day doing paperwork or rest or pursue something else rather than spend a day being poor to mediocre. It's too easy to justify one bad day, only to see bad days become habits. Practice excellence in all that you do so excellence becomes a habit, not a surprise. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle Image credit: JFXie |
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