Do you know who your fans are? Like really know and understand them? When you create a marketing piece or video, do you know who you are talking to and how you support them?
Fans are your very best people. They love the heck out of you. They recommend you. They leave great reviews. They aren’t whiners or complainers. They are amazing people you want to work with as much as possible. They are kind and wonderful people.
Your goal in business is to bring more of these people into your business.
Your Business Is Like A Planet
Pretend your business is like a planet. You are creating a planet for your fans – for the very best people in your business. Grab a pen and paper, and let’s get to work. (This is an activity that we create together in Launched Academy.)
Download this template!
Your Fans
First, draw a circle on your paper. This planet is your business, and we are setting it up to attract fans. We want fans. We want them to come. We want them to come in droves to talk to us.
Now, the only way to do this, the best way to do this, is to know them crazy, crazy well.
I want you to make a list of their likes. Seriously – stop reading or write their likes. Here are a few examples of things they may like:
- Family
- Friends
- Being in the woods
- Coffee
- Chocolate
- Their business
Whatever it is, write it down! Write down everything you can think of that makes a good fan of your business.
Their Goals
What are your fan’s goals? What do they want out of life?
Here are a few examples of goals:
- Have a successful business
- Learn to repel
- Learn to Ski
- Eat good freakin food all the time
What do they want? What is their purpose?
Their Dislikes
What is everything that your fans don’t like? For example, I hate loud music at a restaurant. I want to hear the person across from me. If the music is too loud, I somehow lose my cognitive ability and don’t know how to process words. It’s a huge turn-off for me.
So, what turns off your fans and sends them again?
Their Fears
What is keeping your fans from accomplishing their goals? What is in the way of them getting the things they want most in this world? What are they afraid of doing?
If you teach people how to repel, are they afraid of going off a cliff?
Are they afraid of investing in themselves? What prevents them from taking the next step?
Why Would They Hire You?
Now on the circle in the middle of your paper, write down why they would hire you.
How can you help them? Why do you matter?
You know what they like and dislike. You know their goals and what’s preventing them from reaching them. So why are you relevant to this story? How are you helping them? How are you helping them reach their goals?
Writing this out is important so you understand how you fit into their business.
I am helpful to my clients because I’m the “step-by-step in the right order” guide. My clients like spending time with their families and learning new things. They like working for themselves. They aim to have a business that supports their family and makes good money. They dislike wasting time and being talked down to. They dislike unhelpful and ineffective programs. They fear investing in themselves. They often think, “What if this doesn’t work again?” They fear not being a good parent, taking too much time on their business, and failing.
My business supports all of this. It helps them reach their goals by teaching them exactly what they should be doing and in what order. Step-by-step, easy net gain, next steps in the right order.
If you want a business that supports your family, but you’re afraid of failing, the Launch Your Business Academy can help you.
Do you see how writing all of this down helps me understand my fans? It makes everything easier and more effective: writing ads, social media posts, marketing, networking, etc.
Getting Their Attention
The next thing on your planet is the signposts. These are the phrases or images that get people’s attention.
What gets them to pay attention to you? What unique things are you pushing out to people all over the place?
How Do You Add Flavor
Draw a few moons around your planet. These are not the typical things you push out everywhere, but they are ingrained in what you do.
For example, I make a fair amount of nerd culture references. I made three Lord of the Rings references in a recent workshop. The people that got it thought it was really funny.
So my moon says, “nerd culture.” I like dorky things. They make me happy.
Add a few moons. Not too many because that’s overwhelming, but a few.
Your Brand
The final one is your brand and brand values. These can be things like:
- We believe anyone can start a business.
- We believe that business education should be fun.
- We care about the planet.
It can be anything. What is important to you?
Mine are:
- Women can do anything.
- We believe in positive support.
- Business isn’t boring.
- Anyone can start a business.
You are writing these out because these are the things that your planet revolves around. You really need your brand for your planet to work around. This is what gives it light, direction, and purpose.
You’ll always know what to write about or create a video about. You already wrote it out and know what your fans care about. You can talk about what’s preventing them from reaching their goals and how one of these things matters to them.
Whatever your brand is – supportive or happy or cranky – you can sprinkle in a little bit of your moonlight from your moons and have a fantastic base for your ads, marketing, or whatever else you are creating.
