Who's my "Target Audience"?

This is one of those questions that pops up every so often on Etsy forums and blogs. Honestly, I think people make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Your target audience is not who likes your stuff. It's not even who buys your stuff. It's actually just the imaginary person in your head who love, love, loves your style, and for whom you design everything for. Most likely... your target audience is you (not that you're imaginary... at least I hope you're not).

Basically this is the deal... you need a picture in your head of your ideal customer (aka: your target audience). Is it a 20-something woman who lives in the city and loves mocha-lattes? Is it a 40-something man who drives a cab and likes to ski on the weekends? I would guess that as soon as I described each of these people, you had a picture in your mind of what each of these people like, what they wear, what they sound like. Defining a target audience is merely the mental act of telling yourself, "Okay I am designing knit hats (or whatever your product is) for the 20-something woman who lives in the city and loves mocha-lattes... not for the 40-something man who drives a cab and likes to ski on the weekends.

Of course technically speaking, anyone... even an 80-something pit-bull trainer from Tempe, Arizona who likes to collect bird feathers... may actually end up buying your product. But... that's not really the point when defining a target audience. You're creating a mood... a brand... an image. You're creating an idea for people to buy into.

Think about it this way. We don't shop at certain stores because we look like the models wearing the clothes... we shop at certain stores because we want to look like the models wearing the clothes. In other words... we want to be their target audience. It's the same for people shopping at your Etsy shop or reading your blog. You've created a world based around a type of person who is interested in everything you say or create... people resonate with that vision and want to join in!

Shouldn't I be more inclusive than that?

There's a certain school of thought that your "target audience" should be everyone. Which... if you think about it... doesn't actually make sense. The 80-something pit-bull trainer from Tempe, Arizona who likes to collect bird feathers is probably into different things than the 20-something woman who lives in the city and loves mocha-lattes. This is not to say that they won't both love... and buy... your products. Just to say that you'll market your products differently depending on which of those types of people you're speaking to. You'll choose different colors, maybe a different font for your banner... you might even end up with a completely different product line altogether.

Narrowing your product line to one target audience isn't actually as limiting as it sounds. It just means that you're focused and that your product line becomes more cohesive. It means you have a specific point-of-view and tone-of-voice. Believe it or not, people will be more likely to buy what you're selling if they can feel a certain vibe from your shop. It'll get them excited to be the type of person to whom you are designing things for. If you keep your product line vague, open, and "appealing to everyone" though, you'll actually end up appealing to no one.