How to Stop Marketing to Everyone and Find Your Ideal Client

Have you ever thought that your work was for everyone, and then it ended up being for no-one’ or felt like your marketing just isn’t landing? 

Well in this video we’re going to break down how to create your client avatar.  This is the ideal person who will be your mega fan and actually wants your work, your products, and your content. And this isn’t about making up a fake person or picking a random age and name that you are selling to.

In this video, we’re going to discuss how to make a simple, actionable, and actually useful client avatar, so that by the end of this video, you’ll have a clear idea of who you’re speaking to. This will make everything that you do, from your social posts to product planning and launches way easier to execute. 

 

What a Client Avatar Actually Is 

So first, let’s talk about what a client avatar actually is, because I find that it can be really easy to overthink or overcomplicate it. Your client avatar is simply one specific person your work is meant for. Not everyone who could possibly buy from you. Not every type of customer. Just one person that is your ideal client. 

Your client avatar is the person who gets the most value from your products and services, and is the most likely to say yes to your offerings. They’re the person you’re picturing when you write a product description, when you film a video, when you sit down to post on Instagram, or when you send an email. When your audience feels like you’re speaking directly to them, they will actually connect with you, and over time this is how you build a loyal client base and community around your work.

 

Start With What You Already Know

Now, the easiest way to create your client avatar is to start with what you already know. You probably already have a lot of the clues sitting right in front of you when it comes to how to create your client avatar. Start by looking at the people who are already interacting with your work.

You can think about: Who has bought from me before? Who leaves thoughtful comments? Who replies to my emails? Who DMs me with real questions?

These are huge signals that you are getting from real people in the real world already telling you that they love your work. If you already have sales, even just a few, just think about the last person who bought from you and why they did. What problem were they trying to solve? What were they hoping your product or service would help them do?

If you’re newer and don’t have customers yet, your client avatar can be based on who you want to help, or even a past version of yourself.

I know for me with this video and the Artrepreneur Series and my coaching sessions, my client avatar is actually me about six or seven years ago when I started getting serious about my business, but I didn’t know where to start. Perhaps that is where you are today, so my hope is to help you to not make the same mistakes that I did along the way in hopes that you might save time and money. 

Go Deeper Than Demographics 

When thinking about your client avatar it’s really important to go beyond just demographics. So for example "My ideal client is a 30–45 year old woman who likes handmade things."

That’s a great start but it falls kind of flat right because demographics don’t tell you why someone is buying your pieces. There can be two people can be the same age, live in the same city, and have completely different reasons for clicking ‘buy’ on your products. 

The thing that matters most here is what’s going on in their head.

So instead of focusing on age, gender, or location, I want you to think about your client and think about: What are they struggling with right now? What are they frustrated by? What do they want to feel after they buy your work or work with you?

For example, when someone buys my crochet patterns, along with the pattern they’re buying a pattern that they will be able to make confidently without feeling overwhelmed.  Something that has a boho and alternative style and will be able to make something either for themselves or can give as a really thoughtful gift. 

So, once you understand the emotional layer of your clients, your messaging starts to sound very different. This is where you can begin to not only describe what the product will do for your client but also how it will solve their problems. 

How to Use Your Client Avatar

Now that you have a clearer picture of your client avatar, the next step is actually using it.

Any time you’re about to write a post, film a video, or create a product, I want you to pause and ask: Would this make sense to the one person I’m creating for?

For example, instead of writing a product description that just lists features, you can frame it around your client avatar’s problem.

So instead of saying, "This is a beginner-friendly crochet pattern," you might say, "This pattern is for crocheters who want to make something modern without getting overwhelmed by complicated stitches."

The same thing applies to your content, video titles, captions, and emails should feel like they’re answering a question your ideal client is already asking. A really practical tip is to write down a short description of your client avatar and keep it somewhere visible while you are working.

This way, when you sit down to create or write descriptions for your captions, you’re creating and writing with this specific person in mind. You can even give them a name so that it’s easier to keep them in mind.

So here’s an example of a client avatar that I use: So the person that I’m creating videos for is basically me about five or six years ago when I was completely overwhelmed with my small art business.

This person that I’m talking to is a creative or handmade business owner who already knows how to make things, but feels stuck when it comes to selling them. They’re skilled, but unsure how to go about with the pieces that they are creating way that connects with the right people. They feel overwhelmed by marketing and often second-guess what to post or what to make next. They want to know who they’re creating for, what to focus on, and how to explain their work without being too salesy or generic. They want their work to feel intentional and appreciated by the right audience. The core problem that they have is that they don’t have a clear ideal client, so their marketing feels scattered, all over the place, and exhausting.

So once I started creating content around this client avatar, I have had a lot of success with this channel, and my goal has basically been to help fellow artists who are in the spot that I was in about five or six years ago. So I know this person intimately because I was this person, and I was completely lost about where to start and how to continue with my business. But over the past eight years I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and skills from very technical stuff like how to set up a website, and filming and editing social media content that connects. Then for the art and products that I make I have another client avatar, so you can even have multiple client avatars even for different services or products that you may offer, so that you can stop spinning your wheels and actually make progress in your business. 

Also as you go along you’re allowed to refine your client avatar and even make it clearer as you go along. Clarity comes from taking action, paying attention, and adjusting as you learn more about the people you’re actually helping. But it’s good to start with  one person and one main problem, and start speaking directly to them.

If this blog post helped, I’d love for you to comment below with one sentence describing your client avatar or the main problem you help solve. Let’s all stay positive in the comments and connect with each other down there. 

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