How to find your audience using the Target Table

Before you start any type of advertising, branding, or marketing campaign. You need to think about who your target market is.

Before you start creating an add there are two main things you need to nail down:

1. How to get in front of your target audience
   For example, If I ran an ad for bourbon in a pregnancy website, not only would that be in bad taste, it wouldn’t help my business grow. If however, I marketed it on a website dedicated to fine dining – I would reach more interested people.

1. Ho to appeal to your target market
   For example, if I wrote a short essay on why a monkey sock puppet is the perfect toy… That’s not likely to get any results. But if I showed a video of a kid having a blast playing with a monkey sock puppet, and then how easy it was to wash. That would appeal to both parents and kids!

[click_to_tweet tweet=”I like to use The Target Table before I start any marketing campaign. It helps me come up with great ideas (and avoid marketing to the wrong people).” quote=”I like to use The Target Table before I start any marketing campaign. It helps me come up with great ideas (and avoid marketing to the wrong people).”]

To create a Target Table, all you’ll need is a piece of paper. I prefer to create Target Tables freehand rather than on a computer because I like to force myself to continue writing down ideas until I just can’t think of any more. I also make sure I write down my bad ideas because sometimes I just need to get them out of my head and onto a piece of paper to make room for more good ideas.

If you’re creating your first Target Table, I recommend setting a timer for 15 minutes. Keep working on the Target Table until the timer goes off.

How the Target Table Works

Start by writing a list of hooks. These are any features, benefits, or unique aspects of your product that would entice someone to buy your product. Write down everything you can think of, and don’t be afraid to get weird… I once ran a campaign for a probiotic soda all about healthy bowel movements… sometimes weird works.

Across the top of your table write any potential audience who would be interested in your product. Get specific, if you’ve written down “Mothers” ask yourself “What kind of mothers?” Are they overwhelmed mothers, high-income mothers, stay-at-home mothers, working mothers? Every time you write something down, challenge yourself to get even more specific.

How big should your table be?

Your table should be as big as you can dream. I’ve had tables as big as 20×25. I usually find the minimum size is at least 5×5.

What do I do once I’ve created my table?

I use my table before any campaign I run. It helps me figure out where to place my ads and who to market to. I do this before doing Facebook Audience Insights research, whenever I run Facebook Ads. I also use my Target Table to help me think of new blog posts my audience will enjoy.