Lessons

Lesson Info

Marketing to the Right People

So the question we're going to answer is, who are you talking tio that stella on a and this is really going to shape everything else from here? So now that you know about you and your thing and what makes you great, how you talk about it really is going too will be shaped by who you're talking to. So that's the question that's on our minds? Who are we talking to? Most people feel frustrated when they start putting out messages and their marketing because they is anybody listening, who's listening, and if you don't know who you're talking to, it can be very like shouting into the void, so we're gonna get really clear about that and see in traditional business advice, when you start a business, you know, in the traditional world, you first identify a need and then create a product that fills that need. But as a maker, you typically making what you want to make and then there's a question of what need does this fill and so that's what we're going to go over now you are going it, tio ident...

ify the need that your item fills, and then that will tell you who your person is, and we'll get deepened how to do that, and of course, I'll ask you five hundred questions in your work look so for a lot of people, the right person seems like a magical unicorn it's just like made up, and they don't really know and you might feel like as you start to answer these questions that you are making stuff up because you haven't met this person yet, and for those of you who already have businesses, you've probably sold at least one thing to at least one person or had a conversation about your work with somebody who's interested, so they're the person you want to keep in mind, and I just want to tell you, it's, not a magic unicorn your thing has a person who it's right for, but you really have tio be on board with that and be willing to believe that in order to move forward so you will learn, uh, why you need to focus on your right person, what this is going to dio how this will shape your marketing, what needed your work fills so often, artists who make fine art same, I think, doesn't feel a need it's just beautiful, but we are going to debunk that myth and get into the need that it fell, and we're going to talk about who your person is that's why there are all these questions is because you have to apply this to your business if you'd just learn the theory behind it, you you won't be able to use that we need to apply it to your business so that you can start talking to your person and create a marketing plan now why right people and what I mean by this is why um why we're even worried about who wants your thing why I call them right people and that's because your work is not for everyone and this is a very good thing one of my favorite pizza places they have ah brick oven pizza and bread have a big sign above the door this is not for everyone and they are very funky weird they do things interestingly and so it's not for everyone there's a lot of people that go in and don't feel comfortable for those that it is for those we love it and we love it because it feels like a totally different experience than any other pizza place in town so your work is also not for everyone and that means that you don't need to be talking to everyone yeah because talking to everyone is really overwhelming and scary and by focusing on your right person you were just focusing on the people who it's for remember we talked in the beginning that marketing is not about convincing anyone of anything because you're just talking to the person who will want what you have to offer and you explain to them why they want it you're not convincing someone who's not convinced the other thing is that knowing you're right person focuses your marketing, it makes you do the things and show up in the places where you're right person is going to be. So I said the example earlier of if you are selling to moms of six months, six months old babies, you're going to be in a different place than if you're selling to fifteen year old boys or if you're selling to fifty year old men focused, knowing who you're right person is means that you'll show up where you need to show up, and your messaging ovary et reflects not just who you are, but who they are and what they're looking for from you, for example, there's a big difference between these three phrases, there's I make sure it's or I make sure it's for cat lovers, or I make sure it's for preteen boys, you can see that each of those statements would cause you to do a totally different kind of marketing, and by knowing the difference between if you make sure it's for kat leverage, or if you make sure it's for preto teen boys, you will focus on different things. So obviously when you see it right, not like that issue is kind of dot, but in your own business, a lot of you haven't specified that yet. Just like you're saying in the last segment you haven't written about your own sparkle yet, you haven't talked about what makes your product different. Most of the time, we don't really sit and think about who are person is we just think I hope somebody wants this, I'm gonna put it into the world, my hope that they find me, but instead we're going to go about it, but we're going to define them, so then we can find them. Do you see the difference between just hoping they find us versus going out and being proactive and finding them? The other reason to focus on right people is that it will keep you from worrying about anybody who doesn't like your thing on this picture is actually right after I took this picture, this ram rammed me and knocked me over, so as we're flipping through, I was like, well, that is a guy who does not like me and my thing it's kind of about it, so you couldn't ignore those people on just totally leave them alone don't worry about convincing them and don't worry about their negative criticism because we're talking meaning about how emotional it can be to put the thing that you make and create out into the world and how stressful that khun b because there's the chance that people are not going to like it but we focus on right people to the exclusion of those people who are not going to like it so you can just ignore their criticism there's recently eh you're in maker who said that somebody told her they didn't like x yarden but that's what she does so I said so ignore that person like that's not a person you're going to be selling tio so stop paying attention to her opinion on things because it really send this person for a loop she's just like this but I was planning on doing and I had all this and then this person said she didn't like it and so the question izabal is that you're right person because if not forget it go on move on ignored her um this is the big thing this is what we're gonna do from here on out to focus to find your right people we're going to focus first on their needs because if you just think who will buy my thing that's very kind of tricky and heard to define but instead we're going to think about it as people who have needs who are these people and where would they be somebody who has the need for the thing you phil and yes, your thing fills a need even if it's art that hangs on the wall it's still those in need and somebody's life and we're gonna get to how exactly to figure out what need that fills? So this is muzzles her hierarchy of needs. So abraham, as law, had a theory in psychology about why people do what they do, what motivates us to act, and this at the bottom is the need that absolutely everybody has, and as it gets closer to the top, you can't get to the top until you've already filled the needs at the bottom. So the very bottom need is physiological. You have to have food, shelter, warmth for most of us are work does not feel that need boat people hear what need is your thing, phil, they get all worked up about it, and they're like, well, my thing doesn't provide shelter clothing, so I don't feel a need there so many more needs after that. Most of us also have the food, water, shelter, warmth fulfilled for us or your, uh, your buyers will they already have their house, their clothing, they're well fed one hundred two people, tio spend money on your product so that's not the needed fills, but the next one is safety, security, stability, not living in fear. Most of us, thankfully, also already have those needs met on our doesn't really address that, but then we get up into the ones that are does address like belonging and love. This is being connected to your friends, your family, your community feeling like you belong in the place where you are or that you belong in some group and this is where art you really start to speak to people in a couple of different ways that will come back to in a minute but I want you to start thinking about where your thing fits in this hierarchy the next up from that once you get your long your needs for belonging and love phil, do you start to think about self esteem and by that we mean achievement, mastery, recognition and respect what you were saying about getting your item well known and having a small amount of fame that falls into the self esteem thing that really is how we look at ourselves if belonging and love is how we feel in community self esteem is how we feel about ourselves. Did I do as well as I wanted? Tio have I accomplished this with my life and two other people respect me and recognize my awesomeness? This is also where a lot of our art and products can come into people's lives and then last minute self actualization which is when you are pursuing the thing that you want to do and you're filled and living your creativity your story about quitting nursing school tio work on your business like that is a story about creativity and fulfillment and so products that would help you meet that need meet you on that level then you want to think about this in, um relation to your work where does your work fit in with people? And I have some examples because I know this can kind of be tricky to think about, for example and belonging feeling like you're part of a group who's in the know when he was new shopping on etc and selling on etsy felt like you're in a group of people who are in the know even now I mean people have no idea what it is and so amongst makers there's this feeling of that you're belonging to something bigger than yourself knitters who nature pattern who are advanced enough to nature pattern they I have a sense of belonging of being you know in with the other knitters who d'oh you can also be part of a certain style or trend like if you're super on trend with owls which I think the house or not passe but by having your owl themed thing you will feel like a part of it maybe nots mustache is you feel like you belong in that group and your photo jori I totally see here because it gives you a sense of belonging to the people in your past and also and one up higher so self esteem with achievement, mastery, recognition and respect if you have enough money to buy something expensive that fits in there, if your thing is high priced and fancy or luxury, it fills that me that people have to feel like they've earned something worthy of respect and that they've achieved something in their life. Also accomplishing a really hard at knitting pattern gives you that sense of accomplishment. So in when you talk to people about your product, you wanna make sure and mention what it gives them, what need it fills for them that makes them part of a group if it makes him feel like they've achieved something in the last one, self actualization um, your work can help someone else express their own creativity. So even though you're the one that made it, and they're not making it, they are telling the world something about themselves by buying it. So if I buy your art and hanging on the wall in my living room, that is an expression of my creativity and decorating my home, and if I buy your scarf and I wear it with a really stylish outfit, that is me expressing myself in a way using your product. So this can sometimes be hard because people think, well. They're not the creative person. How can then give them creative fulfillment, both a lot of things that you wear on your body or your put in your home. You are expressing your creativity by choosing to buy that and that's the thing is it choosing to buy something usually lands you in one of these three things. It either makes you feel like you are belonging in some way. Maybe you bought if your fifteen year old boy the same shoes as everybody else in your peer group has, and so you suddenly feel like you belong, or if you buy the cool issues that nobody else can afford, or you accomplish something really hard with a product, you bought self esteem. So your photo, jory also fits into self actualization because you're showing the world, especially if it's, like you said, a vacation photo like this is the vacation I went on. This is the kind of person I am, these are the kinds of things I do. I want to show that off and so on page sixteen in your workbook, we're going to start applying this to you by the first question I ask is, how is your work, not for everyone, the clear you can get on who would not like your work, the cleary will be on who would and then how would focusing on your right people help you? But the big question you would ask is the third one on this page what need does your work, phil choosing from these needs? What need? Does it fill again? It probably doesn't fill, um, shelter warmth home food, unless you mail making sell food, it probably feels ah, higher need, but that higher need is also more emotionally stimulating is not very emotionally stimulating, tio be warm, but it is really you can get very emotional about something that makes you feel like you fulfilled your creativity or makes you feel like you stand out from the crowd. Please do so on the self a seam in the self actualization when you're talking about wearing a piece or a product that expresses yourself, it makes you feel good about yourself. What would you put that? Because they can kind of go under bulls in the sense where they would be the same thing they're they're worried about their self esteem, but it also gives them a creative fulfillment that they put that piece together with their outfit. I would say it's both, I would say you want to talk to both aspects of it that it is both, like, so one way that you would phrase the recognition respect is by saying, your girlfriend's will love your outfit and t j maxx does this all the time right? Like beef at a maxim ista or whatever they say like you in other words you'll stand out and everybody will notice how hot you look that's what they're selling right there this office name and then for the creative fully fulfilled the other thing is that knowing that they made about something that's handmade makes them look like a certain kind of person who buys things that are handmade and it also lets them express themselves in a way that buying something at t j maxx is not going to do so because it's something that is so unique you can only make so few of them that they're you know they're going to be one of the few people who own it yeah when you don't have a business yet uh well the people you're talking to are they the same people who could be future customers or are they different people? I would say to focus on the people who you will be talking to do you know the product you're gonna make? Probably yes, yes so focus on the people who wouldn't who would buy that product ok? And is that your question? Yes ok, yeah I would focus on them even if your business isn't started because those are the people who it's going to be for now if you are in you mentioned like illustration and pattern making earlier if you sell something to an intermediary, say your writer and you're selling your book to your publisher or you are designing like fabrics and pattern paper and stuff with your illustrations, then you and most of your marketing are going toe actually be focused on talking to the people who will buy that thing from you. If you saw wholesale, we'll be talking to retailers, but you also want to make sure that you have a clear picture of who the final customer is, because your publisher, your producer, your intermediary person will want to know that it's going to reach a bigger audience and that you've thought through the end user. So if you sell your products to shops exclusively, you don't sell them direct to the customer. You want to keep that shop in mind and have materials for speaking to her, but also show her that you know who her final customer is and that your things speaks to them and that your brand is really for the final customer. That makes sense. Okay, so let's, find out what need does your work, phil, what what kind of need can? Even and we talked a little bit about the scarves, but this is where we're going to start to figure out who you're right person is, yeah. I thought we were supposed to answer all of them, so I mean, but I think you absolutely should, um it does feel a safety need because, um, I think that most of my customers are buying it as a gift, and I put in my descriptions that it's guaranteed to please your customer I love that I've never given a bracelet that the person was not totally stoked when I got it that's awesome that's so cool, so that sense of safety like a guarantee? Yeah, like you know, that you're not taking a chance on buying something that someone may or may not like, yeah, you know, and that's actually here just such a good point about safety is feeling like you've invested your money wisely. That's our job is to make sure that the person who's buying it feels amazing about the purchase they made that's why we focus and talk about these needs so that they can see see how it's going to be fulfilled and how they're going to feel great afterwards because it's not their job to talk themselves into it or defend your good our jobs to tell them like that's so great that you tell them that straight out does anybody else wanna share the needs? They fell and you can go all the way through page sixteen because I ask you each individual need because like I said, it's going to fit in more than one, and by identifying all of them you'll have an easier time coming up with descriptions and writing about it yeah, I think I think for me, um, the self esteem one really stood out because I've gotten like several emails and testimonials how like it made them feel beautiful and they were like wearing it around the house and they take it off and I get several photos of, like, brides on their wedding day that send me those photos, and I like printed emails and, like post them on the wall and it kind of sounds like not like, I don't want to be like, boastful in it, but it, like, helps me get um I don't know, like feel better if sometimes I'm just like feeling down in the dumps can something can't no that's great, you definitely we're going to talk more about like keeping people's exact phrases they use but knowing that it fills their need for beauty, that tells you that that's what you should be saying back to them in your descriptions and when you write about it, you should focus on they have that need is a bride they want to look their most beautiful and this thing will make you feel like a princess since aground or whatever is you're for it do we have anybody sharing in the trap room yet there needs that feels and it's kind of a deep questions it's a deep question but we're having a deep discussion right now in the chat room over what need a book would fill so dnf says that they're puzzling over what need a book would fill would it be self esteem from reading that book or would it be creative because it stimulates imagination and everyone's kind of timing in and giving their opinion books can also be belonging it can do something where you read a certain book and people perceive you as a different way based on the book you're reading so any any thoughts on how that could be see if they're so smart on the chopper and those are great answers so it depends on if your book is fiction or nonfiction and what kind of diction so I think you said it was d that asked the question I might know this author deanna oh no ok, I don't know but so for like a nonfiction book that teaches you something it feels that need for you to uh that's office team so that you know this thing now right? I read a lot of business in nonfiction books and what the author how the author is going to convince me to buy it as if they tell me that I'm gonna learn the thing I want to learn that's kind of straightforward but for a fiction book that thing about belonging is so huge especially in the fantasy or really any genre where the fans are just huge into it and then you talk to your friends about who read it and it's just like we're seeing a movie right? Like you see the movie and then you talk to everybody that you saw the movie and if you didn't see it or your friends did oh no you got to run out and see it so that you can have that conversation with people is absolutely belonging and I think it's also at least for me reading is a lot of times a self actualization the fulfillment thing it feels so just pleasurable to be reading a book and to be, you know, whisked away to that place and and there's something about reading and having a sense of like yes I accomplished this I read the big book, you know, are there more questions about it? Let's see, we had a question that just came in sort of about as people are building these out this one comes from our secret tree house and they say we tend to have very distinct sets of people who love our stuff parents with young kids college or slightly out of college geeks and sixty plus ladies so how do you combine all of these different groups into your right person so I don't think you need to combine them I think that they're each you're going toe talk to them each in a different way I mean, you're probably going to talk to each of them on your web site like in one place, but you can mention the different things like, you know, are you looking for and then fill in the blank with what the recent grad is looking for? Are you looking for fill in the blank with with the sixty year old their needs are so each group will probably have a different set of needs and you'll talk to them you want to make sure that she talked to them but those air different kind of customer profiles that you have and so it's okay to have multiple kind of rights or is that more than one you have right people exactly across the same problem especially like on instagram because you're posting like one photo and then you have the description and it's like, well, that photo can pertain to different audiences so trying to come up with the description that will phil like, you know, hit the person and this person? So in that instance I'd pick one I picked one person for that one photo and literal stream tells a bigger story, you know? So all of your pictures together tell the story that speaks to multiple people but in and I think we'll get to this a little bit that when you're writing something you and I think with just one person in mind and right directly to that person so that they know that it's for them and so when I was talking about like talking to all the different people I really meant maybe on your web site make sure your web site covers all of that but in each message each block post email, instagram, post tweet you wantto you want to be clearly speaking to one person so that that person reads it and think they're talking to me like I worked with all the friends of people but when I I'm talking about doing something, I really specify who that person is also it helps right clearer and better and more focused but also let them know really speaking to me so even though your things those multiple needs your not going toe in every piece of content hit all of them you know you don't I just mentioned one from time to time and especially what's this what's amazing about instagram is one side like one of your photos or go back and I'll see all of them and so I'll get the vibe off like, oh this is I might not be a bride but I could wear it on this photo shoot or you know, like I'll find the things that apply to me