Before you shop for software, before you go on line and read about ease of updating, before you shop for templates or themes, before you do anything involving a computer you have to first think about who is going to buy your products. I use the term buy your product to mean who is going to be engaging in your website to buy your product, read your information, or enjoy your jokes or call your store to get more information.
You have to think long and hard about who your audience is. Not everyone will be interested in you. Choose by demographic, hobbies, shopping habits, age, anything you can think of that differentiates your customer from everyone else. The more you can streamline your target the better your message will be. This is not a quick process. There are books and podcasts that can help you find you get started. I recommend Seth Godin, Bradley Sugars, Jeffrey Gitomer or Brian Tracy as good places to start. It’s good to think of an individual person, real or imaginary, that has the specific characteristics of your target audience. Name that person. List everything that makes them unique. Then you can have a face that goes along with your target. I’ve created a fictitious target: Lauren to use as an example. When making a decision ask yourself, “would Lauren like this?”
You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to picture someone specific when making decisions.
OK, once you have a target audience you should find out everything that will work to peak the interest of that audience. Shopping habits, trends, buzz words, motivators, past hobbies, you get the idea. You can start online by Googling simply phrases like: Shopping habits of millennials, or online habits of baby boomers. It’s a good place to start and it will get the ball rolling and your thoughts moving.
From there you need to tailor your design ideas to that specific target audience. Don’t pick colors you like or photos that motivate you. Pick those that motivate your target audience. This is harder than you think.
Remember you’ve got to make sure the people you want to see your message are the ones that are seeing it and are called to action to purchase, learn or inquire about your product.
