In a recent Copyblogger Podcast episode, Tim Stoddart and Ethan Brooks described an interesting angle on customer avatar development.

When identifying your customer's pain points, instead of going through the usual exercise of listing demographic features like age, occupation, gender, marital status, and so on, it's better to use their psychographics: list out their biases and interests [1].

Two people can have very different needs, yet have the same demographic features—the same family size, physical features, geographic location, etc. Two people can have the same needs, yet differ wildly in their demographic features.

Stoddart's message is that you don't want to start with a product idea, then try to find an audience for it. Instead, immerse yourself in an area of interest and interact with people who share that interest. Over time, you'll notice their problems, needs, and desires, and that will lead you to a product they'll pay for.

That said...

Once you have a product idea, studying demographics can uncover ways to express how your product can solve a person's problem. If you developed a meeting management SaaS solution, knowing how project managers typically schedule meetings can help you weave stories that reflect their daily life into your content marketing.

This builds a deeper connection with your reader. If you can identify commonalities between your users, you can write blog posts that resonate with a large percentage of them.

Do they tend to work in large corporations? Do they usually hold senior positions? These details would be helpful for crafting how-to content that keeps them engaged because they can see themselves in your examples. Your blog posts become immersive mirrors of their world. They'll think: That's me.

Use knowledge of your customers' demographic makeup:

• When choosing images for your blog articles. You're less likely to choose photos of scantily clad nomadic beach bums if most of your customers are corporate executives at large organizations. (Unless your article is about helping them retire. 🏖️)
• When writing sales copy. You're less likely to sprinkle your landing pages with bubbly, offbeat humor when your SaaS helps healthcare startups manage sensitive patient data.
• Anywhere you create content for your customer. Describing scenarios they encounter daily, in words and phrases they often use, makes them feel you understand them.

Use Similarity to Get Them to Like You

Similarity has such a powerful effect on liking that car salespeople are taught to notice your hobbies; if you left a tennis racquet in your trade-in, they might comment they hope it won't be too windy during their doubles match next weekend [2].

You don't have to make it up. If you take some time to research your customer's demographic and psychographic features, and find that you genuinely share an interest with them, it wouldn't be deceptive to mention that in your writing. You don't even have to do research; just incorporate your beliefs, preferences, and values in your stories and examples, and you'll attract people with similar traits.

"Finding the salesman you like, plus the price. Put them both together, and you get a deal."—Joe Girard [2], record holder for most cars sold in a year

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[1] Starts around 11:50 into The Copyblogger Podcast with Tim Stoddart, "How to Build an Email List Without Paid Marketing", https://anchor.fm/copyblogger-podcast/episodes/How-to-Build-an-Email-List-Without-Paid-Marketing-e1dee6p, January 26, 2022.

[2] Cialdini, Robert B. (2021). Influence, New and Expanded (pp. 84-85). Harper Business.

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