Grabbing the "right" people's attention [idgaf 001]

Okay Reader,

I was going to do an email about my pErSoNaL jOuRnEy - but instead I thought I'd tackle this reply I got to my welcome email:

"My challenge is attracting the kind of audience that actually want to invest"

I've definitely been there, so in this email I'll run through how to (hopefully) solve that issue.

When I started on social media as a business owner, and started networking, going to events, meeting people - I'd end up talking to LOTS of different people.... but I had no actual idea out of those people:

It took me a while to figure out how to talk to the right people more often. And by right people, I just mean the kinds of people who would be more likely to buy my stuff.

This will come down to what you do and how much it costs.

People are more willing to pay for stuff that the value they think they get exceeds the cost they have to pay, so the right people for you are the people that need what you're offering and will get more out of it than the average.

At Creative Click, I build custom websites that I'd say are leaning towards the higher end, and my fees are usually over $10k.

The "right" people for me need to get WAY more than $10k value out of me making them a custom site. That's worked out to be service or SaaS companies with small/medium sized teams that are investing money in marketing. A well done custom website can easily have a 6 figure impact on their growth, making it a good choice.

But for a small solopreneur who makes 50k a year, even the most amazing website probably isn't going to have that same level of impact. It becomes a lot harder to justify a $10k spend for a website (FYI - I'd tell them they were an idiot for considering it).

Let's say I had a training and education business, and have digital products and 1 on 1 training for a specific skill, with a range of offerings from $100 up to a few grand.

I'd need to target people who will be able to make serious money from learning or improving those skills. Maybe they're newer to the industry, or a solopreneur that wants to DIY. They aren't quite good enough yet, and want to learn how to get better.

Larger businesses though, they'd probably just hire someone to do it, so not a good fit.

Ultimately, the trick to finding the right people is to think about:

And then make sure you're there and connecting with them.

In my case I'm active in two main places:

To attract these right people we've identified, we need to grab their attention and get them to know, like, and trust us. On the surface, this should be easy. You just talk about stuff they care about (in relation to what you do), and because they care, they'll pay attention. Then your content showcases your expertise and builds up that trust over time.

BUT (this is important), we've got to remember that there are loads of other people targeting the same people we are, writing the same types of content. Without exaggeration, there are 978 trilllion people on LinkedIn alone that build websites as a service. They're all posting the same bland content.

"Here's why your website isn't generating leads""Websites are about conversions, not being pretty""How much should a website cost""Check out this site I built"

So if I go and post the same stuff, I sound just like all these other people. And if I sound like everyone else, I'll be treated just like everyone else, which means potential clients will probably compare me based on price. Then I've gotta get cheaper, which I find offensive.

So... we've gotta do something different. And I think there's three ways we can go with it:

Still write about the same topics but make sure your content is sharper, more tailored to the person, addresses their frustrations and fears more than other people, and uses attention grabbing language to stand out.

Figure out fun and interesting ways to say the same stuff everyone else says. Ask more insightful questions and use different phrases. Being different wins, even if you're talking about the same boring topics.

This is what I've fallen into. Since I already had regular leads from networking, I decided I'd just use LinkedIn as a place to joke around, so I started leaning into my natural personality way more. I posted jokes, made silly and usually inappropriate comments, and focused on making friends - just like real life! I rarely posted "professional" content.

But people started reaching out anyway! It made me realise that people don't need me to say "I build lead generating digital presences for ambitious business owners" for them to understand what a website is, or what can happen if I do a good job for them. But since they liked my personality, knew what I did, and saw I'd keep turning up, they reached out when they needed help.

What I'd recommend to most people would be to combine these two options.

Yes, talk about the stuff in unique ways. But also show your personality! Be yourself! That way you get the benefit of showing everyone you know your stuff, while also building a network of people that like you.

You've got to remember, with all these AI tools bringing professional sounding content to the masses, it's going to be your personality that shows you're NOT a commodity. And that's how you get to charge the big bucks instead of the small bucks.

If you're going down the personality route, it might help to be clear on your actual personality first.

Are you funny and witty? Are you inappropriate? Are you passionate about causes? Are you an animal lover? Nature lover? Do you have hobbies? What sort of stuff lights you up, or makes you happy? Bring that into your content.

And importantly, stop worrying about seeming unprofessional. That's how you end up trying to smooth out your views and self-censoring, or you talk in ways you wouldn't normally... and you remove all the cool shit that makes the right people like you.

Changing things up because you're worried about the wrong people not liking you just makes you way less appealing to the right people.

This email ended up long af, sorry! I just started writing and the words wouldn't stop. But the TLDR version:

If you're not sure how to show your personality online, reply to this email to let me know what you're doing and I'll give you some ideas that might help.

Until next time!

Cowabunga,Nick Gulic