Four Ways To Reach Your Target Audience

How to Actually Understand Your Target Audience (Without Guessing)

There comes a point when you’re ready to stop just posting and start actually growing.

You’ve set up your offer, maybe even designed your first ad.

You’ve got the visuals, you’ve watched the tutorials, and now you’re about to hit “Launch campaign.”

But here’s what I know from doing this myself and helping others:

If you don’t truly understand who your audience is—it won’t matter how good the design is or how clever the headline sounds.

You’ll be stuck paying for clicks that don’t convert. Watching traffic come in, but no sales. And wondering why it’s not working when you did “everything right.”

That’s because you skipped the step that matters most: getting clear on the actual humans you’re trying to talk to.

And not just age, gender, or job title.

I’m talking about how they think, what they scroll past, what problems keep repeating in their head, and what kind of message would make them pause and say:

This is for me.

Here Are 4 Non-Basic, Real Ways to Analyze Your Audience (Before Spending a Dime on Ads)

Create a Fake Buyer Persona—and Stress-Test It

Yeah, I know this sounds like a marketing school exercise, but hear me out.
Build a detailed character: their lifestyle, how their day flows, what they Google when no one’s watching. Then stress-test it.

✅Ask:

• What would totally turn this person off?
• Would they click this ad or scroll past it?
• What do they wish existed that no one’s offering?

If you can’t answer those, you’re not ready to run paid ads yet. The best ads feel like they were written just for that person.

Use ChatGPT—but Feed It Real Data, Not Assumptions

Don’t just ask, “Who is my target audience?”—that’s too vague, and honestly, it won’t get you anything useful.

You need to go deeper than surface-level info like age, job title, or location.

You want to understand what they’re really dealing with. The kind of stuff that keeps repeating in their head at 2 AM.

Here’s how I do it:

• Go to Amazon reviews, Reddit threads, Facebook groups, Quora, YouTube comments—anywhere your audience is already talking.
• Focus on 1-star and 3-star reviews (that’s where the raw emotions live).
• Look at what’s missing, what people are frustrated about, and what they wish someone would finally get right.

Then copy 10–15 of those comments and paste them into ChatGPT.

✅Ask:

• “What are the deep emotional pain points in this feedback?”
• “Summarize the unspoken fears or frustrations behind these comments.”
• “What does this audience need to feel safe, understood, and supported?”

That’s where messaging gold lives. Not in generic avatars—but in emotional patterns and lived experiences.

When you understand someone’s deeper struggle—not just what they say, but what they feel—your content and ads hit different.

It’s the difference between “Get more organized” and:

You’re tired of feeling scattered and overwhelmed every Monday. Let’s fix that.

That one hits the nerve. And that’s the whole goal.

Turn a Casual DM into a Goldmine

If someone liked your post, saved a carousel, or said “I’ve been thinking about trying this…” — that’s your green light.

DM them. Don’t overthink it, and definitely don’t make it weird.

You’re not pitching. You’re connecting.

Here’s what I usually say:

“Hey! I saw you were checking out [X]. I’m in the middle of refining something and would love to get your honest take—just 2 mins, no pressure.”

This kind of message opens the door to real feedback and shows them you’re paying attention.

And honestly, these moments? They’re even more powerful when you’re running a webinar.

During or after a webinar, you’ve got a warm, engaged audience. They showed up. They listened. That’s your chance to reach out and ask:

• What made you join today?
• What stuck with you or felt valuable?
• What would make the next step a no-brainer for you?

These quick follow-ups give you raw insights.
They help you shape your offer, your next webinar, your content—and position everything in your audience’s own words.

That’s the kind of data you can’t find in a dashboard.
It’s human, direct, and game-changing.

Study Other People’s Comments (Yes, Really)

You don’t need to guess. People are already telling you what they want.

Go into the comment sections of brands, creators, and businesses in your space.
Look at:

• What people are loving;
• What they’re frustrated with;
• What keeps coming up again and again.

Copy it. Screenshot it. Build your messaging from what your audience is already responding to. You’ll speak their language better than your competitors.

Because Paid Ads Aren’t Just About Views—They’re About Hitting the Nerve

Running ads is the easy part. Anyone can boost a post.
But making someone stop, feel, and click? That only happens when you know who you’re talking to.

So before you spend a single dollar, do this work first.
Your creative, your visuals, your hooks—they’ll all hit harder when the message is actually built for the right people.

You don’t need a massive budget. You need clarity.
Once you have that, running paid ads becomes not just easier—but profitable.

Get on Social Media

Let’s keep it simple: most of your target audience is already on social media.

They’re scrolling, searching, saving, and buying—right there in their feed.

That’s your signal.
If your people are there, you should be there too—with a message that actually speaks to them.

But here’s the thing: showing up everywhere isn’t the goal.
You need to know where they hang out, what they engage with, and how they talk.

That’s where light research goes a long way.

• Use Instagram polls, question boxes, or community tabs to ask your followers what platforms they spend the most time on.
• Search comments on niche accounts or communities to see how your audience is thinking and what they care about.
• Even ChatGPT can help summarize patterns once you feed it enough real content from your audience space.

Once you know where they are—and what matters to them—you can build social campaigns that feel like conversations, not ads.

Ways to Reach Your Target Audience: Get Up and Talk

If you want to cut through the noise, you’ve got to show up and speak.
Literally.

Whether it’s a casual webinar, a quick live video, or even a raw, unedited vlog—putting a face and voice to your message makes it real.

People want connection, not just graphics and captions.

When they hear your tone, see your energy, and get a feel for your personality, they’re way more likely to trust what you’re offering.

This doesn’t mean you need to go all-in on a high-production setup.

Just start talking. Share what you do, how you help, and why you care. Be useful, clear, and human.

A few ideas that work great right now:

• Host a short Q&A or “behind-the-scenes” session
• Go live and break down one small problem your audience is dealing with
• Record a quick video explaining the why behind your offer

Because when people can see and hear you—not just read your captions—they start to connect.

And connection leads to trust. And trust?

That’s what makes people take action.

Of course, sometimes that even means meeting them in person by scheduling client meetings, arriving at job quotes or appointments with work truck rental, or having a premises people can visit.

Your target audience is your goal. So, could you do what you can to get to them?