The power of personas

Let's start with a scenario. You're standing in front of a crowd of, say, 5,000 people, ready to give a speech. You've been preparing for this for three weeks. The big moment has finally arrived. 

There's just one tinny problem.

You can only see the back of your audience. You can't see anyone’s face. Can’t look them in the eye. Can’t tell if they’re happy or sad, young or old, male or female. You don't know if they're paying attention or dozing off in the middle of your speech. They have no clue who you are. You have no clue who they are.

Sure, you could make some educated guesses based on their hair, clothing and body language, but you don't have a clear picture. You only have a vague idea. 

Now, imagine that this is an audience of your potential customers—people who have raised their hands to say, "Yes, I'm interested." Is a vague idea enough to understand and meet their needs? Probably not.

Because.

A vague idea merely produces spaghetti content.

And you don’t want spaghetti content.

You want to know your audience—what they're interested in and the best way to help them solve a problem. To walk and talk like your audience, you must first get clear about who qualifies as  your audience.

This is where audience personas come in. Personas are at the center of your marketing strategies. Marketing without a well-defined audience persona is like selling hamburgers to vegetarians.
They'll never bite.