This checklist is designed to help you remember the important aspects of determining who your ideal audience is. Keep in mind, your individual business may or may not need all of this information. In addition, you may need to add some factors we have overlooked.

    Demographics to Know

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Marital Status
  • Household Size
  • Ethnicity
  • Location
  • Occupation
  • Income
    Psychographics to Know
  • Values
  • Personality Traits
  • Lifestyle Choices
  • Attitude
  • Opinions
  • Interests
  • Goals & Challenges
  • Activities/Hobbies
  • Habits
  • Religious Beliefs
    Other Things You May Want to Know
  • Their worries or fears
  • Their deepest desires
  • Influencers/mentors they follow
  • How they like to consume information (online, offline, video, written material, etc.)
  • How much time do they have to learn and apply what they are learning?
  • How do they prefer to be contacted?
  • Which brands, products or services do they like most and why?
  • Where are they now compared to where they want to be? What is keeping them from getting there?
  • Why they want to get there. What’s at stake for them if they reach their goal?
  • What inspires them to purchase
  • What turns them away from purchasing
  • What frustrates them when trying to research something

    Ways to Gather this Information

  1. Look at your existing website analytics
  2. Post questions on your blog and social media accounts then watch the comments
  3. Look at other people’s blog posts and the comments
  4. Watch social media to see what’s being liked, shared, asked and commented
  5. Survey your existing customers or clients
  6. Interview your best customers or clients
  7. Participate in focus groups, private groups and forums
  8. Search for research data from 3rd party companies
  9. Email your audience and ask about their biggest frustration or some other question.
  10. Research your competitors, what they are saying, doing and offering.
  11. Keyword research will help you determine what your audience is searching for.
  12. Visit the websites of major magazines to see what headlines are being published.
  13. Visit sites such as Quora and Yahoo Answers to see what questions are being asked
  14. Check Amazon for books in your niche. Read titles, table of contents and reader reviews.

 

Use this list as your guide to decide which information is important for your needs – it will help you to create your own ideal customer avatar.

In addition, this Ideal Audience Planner (excel) is FREE to download and use when you design your avatar.