How to Define Your Target Audience
Defining who your target audience is and being very specific about who your podcast is for or who your podcast serves is essential to the success of your show.
“I don’t want to exclude people.”
“I’m worried about limiting the growth potential of my show.”
“What if my audience is too niche?”
We hear these concerns all of the time when talking to potential clients.
But here’s what you need to know:
Niche beats general podcasting every single time.
We’ve never seen a single case where a general audience podcast launches more effectively than a niche podcast.
When you are looking for content, whether this is books, television shows, movies, etc., you are probably looking for something very specific to your needs.
You’re looking for something that’s funny to you, entertaining to you, educational to you – the list goes on.
In niche-specific podcasting, what we’re trying to do is create an audience or community, and have our content connect with and educate those folks.
The more specific we can be about who those people are, the better.
There are ways to go about doing this without excluding people.
In fact, there are two concepts that make all the difference:
SAY YES TO DEFINING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
Instead of specifying your target audience and saying no to a lot of people, think about it as saying one very big YES to a specific group of people.
You’re saying a big YES to your group of people.
A big YES to the folks you’re trying to educate and connect with.
You are saying YES to the people who are going to get the most out of your content.
Being that specific allows these folks to feel like you’re actually trying to connect with them.
They’ll feel like you’re putting your show out there for them.
So, you’re saying yes to your audience, your community, and your people.
Not a no to everyone else.
THE BULLSEYE APPROACH TO DEFINING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
The second concept is something we like to call the bullseye approach.
What you’re going to do with your podcast is think of a general audience.
Let’s use Cashflow Podcasting as an example.
Our general audience is entrepreneurs.
We focus on entrepreneurs who have businesses or brands and want to use podcasting as part of what they’re doing.
That is our bigger target.
Within that general target, there is the bullseye.
Who are those people that fit right in the center of who you are trying to connect with?
The absolute defined niche that you’re trying to connect with.
For us, this is industry professionals.
These are financial advisors, business coaches, and law offices.
Entrepreneurs who are using podcasting as part of their brand as an educational tool and resource to bring in clients over time.
They are an educator or leader who is putting value out into the marketplace.
We use the term industry professionals, and these people need to be established businesses that are clear about who they’re serving and how they bring value to those people.
HOW TO CREATE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
The more specific you can be with your bullseye, the better—because everybody wins.
When you are creating content, you are doing so for your bullseye audience.
All of the folks who fall into your general audience also get to see your content, and they get a lot of value from it, but the people in your bullseye really get the sense that this is for them.
We have two blog posts focused on how to define the absolute best audience for your podcast based on your business and market.
How To Target The Best Podcast Audience Possible (Part 1)
How To Target The Best Podcast Audience Possible (Part 2)
You can use these blog posts to help you really hone in on your bullseye audience.