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Figuring out what your target market is thinking AKA their psychographics

There’s a lot of ways you could go about this. There are a lot of ways you could research

your target market’s psychographics. If you had the money, you could even hire a research

company. You could conduct focus groups. You could do surveys. You could do a lot of fancy

stuff.

But the reality of the matter is that you aren’t going to do those things.

You’re probably not trying to become a professional copywriter; you just want to sell your

stuff, and learn how to write some damn good copy that will accomplish just that.

So what I’m going to recommend is something a little different. Something that’s a simple, but

effective test that’ll automatically help you glean the psychographic information you need--

without jumping through all the hoops.

Ready?

There is no math. No formulas. No numbers. No calculations. It’s very simple, and I’m

convinced it’s just as effective--it’s my go-to when my clients don’t have as much information

as I’d like.

Simply answer the following three questions:

What do they do on Sunday mornings?

What do they do on Monday mornings?

Why?

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If you can answer these three deceptively simple questions, you’ll gain more psychographic

insight than you could ever imagine--and certainly much more than their basic demographic

information.

Let’s start with the first question: What do they do on Sunday mornings?

You can tell a lot about a person by what they do on a typical Sunday morning.

Do they go to yoga class?

Are they out running? (Often a big difference between those two groups.)

Do they go to church?

Do they sleep off a beer hangover?

Or do they sleep off a wine hangover? (Big difference there alone.)

Are they gardening alone?

Fingerpainting with the kids?

Writing a novel?

Catching up on their favorite TV shows?

On their way to a baseball game?

Or perhaps on their way to NASCAR? (Again, big difference there alone.)

Lighting candles to communicate with the dead? (No judging.)

Sleeping in until noon?

Taking a spontaneous road trip?

Volunteering in their community?

At the art museum?

Practicing with their underground metal band?

Getting a new tattoo?

Getting a facial?

Going to an AA meeting?

Cooking a big lunch for their in-laws?

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Whatever they do on a Sunday morning says a lot about them. Someone who’s religiously in

yoga class will respond to different copy than someone who’s religiously hungover.

Someone who’s cooking a big lunch for their in-laws will respond to different copy than

someone who’s on their way back from a spontaneous weekend in New York City.

Because they’ve got different worldviews, and the activities they choose to engage in are a

reflection of those worldviews.

So who they hell are you writing for, and what do they do on Sunday mornings? Check.

Now, ask the next question: What do they do on Monday mornings?

Do they suit up and go to Wall Street?

Do they put on sweat pants and go teach high school phys ed?

Do they take their kids to school?

Do they show up to work to serve other people all day?

Or do they show up to work and sit quietly behind a desk all day?

Do they spend their Monday mornings at the spa?

Do they spend their Monday mornings sitting in lots of traffic?

Do they bike to work?

Do they carpool?

Do they spend their days working from a laptop at home (like me?)

Do they rush to the airport to catch yet another flight?

Do they have the entire morning off because they work nights?

Or do they stay in bed with their lovers?

What your target audience does on a Monday morning says a lot about them, too, adding

an extra dimension to what we already know about them, helping us get a clearer picture of

what this person’s lifestyle is like. It says a lot about what they’re most likely dealing with on a

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regular basis, giving you a really good chance at guessing their daily frustrations, and being

able to position what you’re selling in conjunction with those frustrations. It says a lot about

how they view the world, too. Someone who’s a stay at home mom may have different values

than a woman who spends 12 hours in the office.

And last but not least?

The third and final question you want to take a look at is...why?

Because it’s the why behind behavior that’s really going to be most useful to you. I could sit

here and tell you that I get up every single morning and work out, but unless you know why, it

doesn’t give as complete of a picture.

I might be getting up to work out because I’ve got body issues and I’m tired of being

overweight. Or, I might be getting up to work out because I’m battling depression. Or, I

might be getting up to work out because I’m in exceptional shape and I’m training for a

marathon. Or, I might be getting up to work out because my doctor told me I’m going to die

twenty years sooner if I don’t. Or, I might be getting up and working out because it’s the only

time I can justify taking for myself, since I’m a workaholic.

Whatever that reason is? Will help you get inside my thoughts, and position yourself as

someone who GETS ME.

So--who the hell are you writing for, what do they do on Sunday mornings, what do they do on

Monday mornings, and...why?

Think about your past clients. Who are they? What are they doing on Sunday and Monday

mornings and why? If you don’t have any clients yet, envision your ideal client. What are they

doing on Sunday and Monday mornings and why?

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Let’s take a look at an example:

Let’s say I’m opening an online flower shop. (Just thinking of that makes me smile--can you

imagine how good your home would smell all of the time, keeping all of the stock?)

Let’s say I’m getting my website up, and I’m trying to write product descriptions that are

going to:

a) Set me apart from all of my competitors (you’re grimacing just thinking about

1-800 flowers)

b) Make people order from me.

Period. Simple.

So if I haven’t taken Brandgasm, I’m going to go about writing these product descriptions

the old-fashioned way: By describing the product, inch by inch. Because, it’s a product

description, right?

Wrong.

(And by the way? We’ll be talking a LOT more about product descriptions later on in the

Brandgasm class - but to illustrate our current point about intimately knowing our customers

and using that knowledge to craft compelling product descriptions handmade, with love, for

them.)

So here’s an actual product and product description from who other than 1-800-Flowers

themselves:

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In case you can’t read that, it says:

Serve up Spring with our beautiful blooming tulips! Sprouting from a charming, reusable

white pitcher, our fresh gathering of vibrant yellow tulips is hand-designed by our expert

florists to capture the sunny spirit of the season.

Arrangement of yellow tulips are hand-designed by our florists in our exclusive

food-safe white handled ceramic pitcher; measures 7.75”H

Later, they can reuse the pitcher to serve beverages or to display more

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springtime bouquets

Large arrangement of 20 tulips measures approximately 15”H x 14”L

Medium arrangement of 15 tulips measures approximately 14”H x 13”L

Small arrangement of 10 tulips measures approximately 13”H x 12”L

Our florists hand-design each arrangement, so colors, varieties, and container may

vary due to local availability

Alright. Typical, right?

Also typically boring. Is there anything in this product description that’s making you want this

bouquet of flowers more than any other bouquet of flowers you’ve ever had?

Probably not.

And while you might be thinking that customers buy based on product images alone? You’re

wrong. (Again, we’ll talk about this more when we learn how to write compelling product

descriptions, but J. Peterman is my favorite example of this. Their copy is so compelling they

don’t even need product images--they sell their products using only a sketch of the product.

And they do WELL.)

Customers might be looking for a certain item like flowers, yes, but which item they choose,

and who they choose it from? Has everything to do with the copy--particularly when you’re

selling online.

Which brings me to the reason why I asked you to do task #2 in the copywriting prep -

to track which things you found yourself buying, and noting why you had selected that

particular product instead of a competitor’s. It was an exercise in awareness, and for this

exact purpose. Perhaps you found yourself noting things like:

Because this one seemed more like me

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Because this one had cuter packaging

Because this one just seemed better

Because it was cheaper

However, I’m willing to wager a bet with you and say that the things you bought because

they were cheaper were most likely interchangeable commodities like toilet paper, dish soap,

or bottled water. Weren’t they? Because those things are, more or less, the same. So since

they’re the same, they can compete on price.

But guess what?

Whatever you’re selling online?

Isn’t a commodity. And that’s good news. Because it means that you can give people other

reasons to buy from you other than price. Reasons like “because it seemed more like me,” or

“because it seemed better.”

Those reasons? Are perceptions. And those perceptions are made because you’ve helped

them formed those perceptions through your copy and your design. And that’s precisely

why we’re here today--to learn how to fine tune that skill.

Now maybe you’re thinking that, for all intents and purposes, your services are more or less

the same as everybody else’s. Life coaches. SEO writers. Marketing folks. English teachers. So

maybe you’re feeling a bit like a commodity, eh? Maybe you’ve thought to yourself, “How do I

set myself apart in a sea of life coaches/SEO writers/marketing folks/English teachers?”