When you think of your business, what customer do you see walking through your doors? Are they 75 year old married women with millions to burn? Are they stressed out 28 year old stockbrokers? Finding your ideal client is the key to finding your true business opportunities.

When Matt first started designing invitations as a freelancer, he did everything he could to get the word out there. He featured his work in design showcases, he advertised on all the design sites, he used FaceBook ads, LinkedIn ads, Twitter campaigns, he called companies, everything. But there was one fundamental flaw in his entire advertising campaign.

He was advertising to the wrong person. His work, while beautiful, was being seen by all the designers in the world and while they loved it, they certainly were not buying from him. They were using his work as inspiration for their own.

So, what had to change?

He figured out exactly who it was that his customer was, where they visit and what do. Who buys invitations? People that are organizing events. Weddings, birthdays, corporate functions. The people that organize these are the people he needed to contact.

As soon as he changed the direction of his marketing business took off. His work was already amazing, he just needed to show it to the right people.

How can you figure out exactly who your market is?

The biggest question to ask is: Who would buy my product? Who do I want to buy my product? Figure that out first, and everything else will follow. You can’t sell your product or your services to anyone except the people that would buy it. Sounds simple, but it is crucial.

Next up is figuring out how to market to them. What do my buyers do? Where do they go? What do they do as hobbies? What magazines do they read? What websites do they visit? See any marketing opportunities in here?

One of the first questions I ask my clients is “Who is Your Customer?” And half of them have no idea. The magic is in the answer.