How to create an ideal client avatar (ICA) to help you write podcast content
If the first step to starting a podcast is to find a topic to talk about, then the second one is undoubtably ‘who will be listening to this’.
Starting a show without a clear idea of whom you’re talking to won’t just make it difficult to plan your podcast in the long term - it will make it nearly impossible to stay motivated because you have no clue what works and what doesn’t!
Find a preliminary podcast avatar
But how do you do that? It’s not as difficult as it sounds, because you likely already know something about your listeners, because guess what? They are your clients and customers. You’ve already done all the market research when you started your business. And if you’ve gotten feedback, testimonials, or coverage in the media over the years, you know exactly who you are podcasting for. You’re already ten steps ahead.
Refresh your customer knowledge by revising your social media accounts in the insights section. That will tell you at least gender, location, age bracket, and interests.
Start by answering the questions below…and if you’d like to get our downloadable with extra prompts and questions, keep reading…
Gender (how they identify)
Age bracket (you don’t need to think about a specific age, you can start with a 10-year age bracket)
Location (are they a local, national or global audience?)
Education or studies (are they highly educated, or highly skilled in the trade, or are they at the beginner level?)
Income (do they have disposable income or are they thrifty?)
Tech literacy (are they comfortable using different types of technology, or are they timid using it?)
Do you need an example to get you started? Here’s ours:
Understand their technology literacy
Every listener’s journey is different, and you should meet them where they are, not the other way around. Adapt your calls to action (CTAs) to your audience’s tech comfort.
If your ideal listener is very tech-savvy, then you will probably be able to send them to your website to read show notes, download a worksheet, or subscribe to your newsletter. But if they’re the kind of person who only listens to your podcast on Facebook (and who doesn’t want to exit the platform), then they will need a more direct call to action like, “Drop us a message below, and we will contact you.”
Extra tips about podcast audiences:
People listen to podcasts alone - don’t treat them like a group. Talk directly to your listener individually. Use sentences like ‘I know you’re a busy person, so I’d like to thank you for tuning in today’ or ‘I am sure you’re thinking about the one time you struggled with your content too’.
Don’t create content to please everyone. You’ll end up talking to no one specifically - and the listeners that convert best are the ones that see themselves in the content that you create in each episode.
Your audience may shift as you grow, and that’s ok. It’s important to keep an eye on topic trends or episodes that outperform others!