No, I’m not asking you to try out for America’s Got Talent.

Your audience or your potential audience is otherwise known as your target market.  Your target market is made up of the people who will read your blog, subscribe to your newsletter, and buy your products.

You need to know who they are and as much as possible about them.  Really – you need to know as much as possible about your target market.

Here’s a quick list of questions you need to answer:

Are they male or female?  Does it matter?

How old are they?

How much education do they have?

How much money do they make?

Do they have children? Pets? Grandchildren?

What are they interested in?

Where is their pain?  By “pain” I mean – what is causing them problems?  A problem that you’re going to solve, of course.

Want an example?  Here’s my answers to those questions about Moms Biz Kit.  Let’s see how well I describe you.

My target market:

Female

Age between 28-48

Graduated high school, attended college.  May be a college grad as well.

Has a job she hates, most likely in an office.  She makes less than $50,000 a year; her family income is $75,000 or less.

Married with 2 or more children.  The children are still in school or young enough that they haven’t started yet.

Her interests include mom things like childcare and parenting advice, possibly managing a home and/or cooking, crafts, and she has a TV show or two she never misses.  Friends would describe her as a good mom, friendly, thoughtful, and cute.

She is intelligent and isn’t challenged by her job.  She may be overworked and she certainly misses being home with her kids.

She is comfortable online, belongs to a social network or two, and at least two forums.

Her pain is that she wants to start a successful online business and make some money (and stay home) but she doesn’t know where to begin.  That’s where Moms Biz Kit comes in.

How did I do?  Did I describe you pretty well?  (If I didn’t, please don’t leave.  A lot of that doesn’t describe me, either, but I would still be interested in a site like this even if I didn’t create it.).

I’d love to hear your comments – let me know how I did.  Then start answering the same questions for your target market.  Need help?  I’m here.