Choose you audience before it chooses you.

This contributor mail was written by Tiffany Moore.

For most small businesses, finding your audience is primal. Having a vision of who you're selling to will not but assistance you along your path equally you communicate your value, information technology will too make your job of marketing yourself so much easier.

The key to remember is that while finding your audience is important, choosing your audition is even bigger. That'due south correct: I said cull.

When you first start out, information technology'due south like shooting fish in a barrel to call up that the audience y'all're speaking to is your actual audience ~ your mom, your best friend, and a few random folks you went to loftier schoolhouse with who saw your postings on Facebook. Merely because this is your current audience, you go to choose who you lot actually desire to sell to.

Focus on who makes YOU come alive:

Do you dear creating artwork for children's bedrooms that focuses on unicorns and umbrellas? Then don't try to sell to people who want tugboats! You make things that start with U — ain information technology!

Are y'all a photographer who hates crowds? Weddings probably aren't your thing then. Fifty-fifty if y'all think y'all *should* be a nuptials photographer, if large groups of people make you anxious, it's never going to work. On the flip side, if you detest one-on-i interactions and dear to slip into a crowd and take pictures of all the piffling bits that brand up a political party, you might want to stay away from selling yourself as a portrait photographer.

Close your eyes for a moment and picture your dream client: ask yourself these questions:

Who is it?
Where does this person live?
What does this person like to do for fun?

If you're able to, name the person. Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney (DEFINITELY on my dream customer list!), your Aunt Sara…being able to pic a real person as you lot piece of work on your marketing will make a world of difference.

The cardinal is: you get to choose your target market.

If a market has chosen you lot, and you lot experience resentful or it doesn't resonate, that's a really adept sign that it'south fourth dimension to step back and rethink things.

*prototype via LittleFotoFox: Easter Peeps (peeps! get it?!)

Tiffany Moore, co-founder of Teahouse Studio is a life and business coach. She helps creatives take their business concern (and LIVES) to the next level with her sparkly butt-kicking and thinks that everyone in the globe is beautiful, including you.