5 Reasons Why You’re Struggling to Find Your Dream Clients
As a brand and web designer, the number one question I get from aspiring female entrepreneurs starting their new hustle is, "how do I find and attract my dream clients?" People seem to think it's some kind of secret magical formula that only the pros know about. Now I'm about to lay a serious truth bomb on you, are you ready for this?! Attracting your dream clients doesn't just happen magically overnight. There's no quick fix that will bring you instant success. The good news is that attracting your dream clients doesn't have to be hard!
If you follow these simple tips and tricks that I have to give you today, you can understand what's needed to find and attract your dream clients. Next, you’ll be well on your way to having your dream clients queuing out the door to buy from you! Are you ready? Let's dive in!
1 | You’re not entirely sure who your dream clients actually are
Now this one’s a biggie. I truly believe this is the biggest roadblock that stands in most people's way. At the end of the day, if you don't know who your dream clients really are how are you supposed to draw them in and get them to buy from you? The most common thing I see is people being too vague when it comes to talking about who their dream clients are. I see this all the time when working with my brand and web design clients. If you're targeting female entrepreneurs or online service-providers and nothing more than that, then keep on reading, and let's talk about it!
Now you may have heard about the exercise of creating your ideal client avatar. This exercise involves writing down key details and information about your ideal client in order to create an ideal client profile or avatar. The big mistake I see here is focussing too much on demographics, including...
Name
Age
Location
Hair colour
Eye colour
To a point, demographics are important and can help you to create a clearer picture of who your dream client really is. However, in order to truly understand and attract your dream clients, the most important details to focus on are the psychographics. Now if you're thinking to yourself, "Kate! What even are psychographics?!", let me explain…
Psychographics focus on a person's...
Emotions
Values
Attitudes
Personality
Lifestyle
This stuff is the real gold that will help you book dream clients! At the end of the day, if you decide your dream client has green eyes and brown hair - that's not really going to help you connect with them (unless you're a skincare brand or makeup brand that are creating products specifically for people with brown hair and green eyes!) and entice them in to buy from you. If you focus on the psychographics, you can deeply connect with them on an emotional level and make them feel like you truly understand their needs and desires instead of just having the same hair colour.
There are some key elements to your ideal client that you want to focus on when marketing your business and creating content for Instagram and social media. This includes...
Biggest struggles
Pain points
Goals
Desires
When you have a deep understanding of these four things, you'll be setting yourself up for success and a tonne of leads in your inbox. Once you can pinpoint these key things you can use this information to guide your content on your website, social media posts, they can even help to structure your products/services/offerings and what words you write on your website. If you're looking for some more guidance around how to get clear on who your dream clients are, download my free Brand Discovery Workbook right here! 👇
2 | Your brand isn’t speaking directly to your dream clients
Now that you have clearly defined the kind of person you would love to work with, chances are that other areas are going to need some adjusting. First, your messaging and content need to take your target audience from point a to point b. This means that you're acknowledging the struggle they are facing and then providing a solution through your products and services. You want to position yourself as the solution to their problems and the go-to person who truly understands their needs and desires.
Next, your copy needs to clearly speak to the right people. If I could give you one bit of copywriting advice, it would be this - get super clear on your dream client’s biggest problem in relation to your offerings, and talk directly to them. So instead of the word “I”, use “you” to target people and grab their attention. Think of it like this - you're having a one-on-one conversation with your number one dream client. Switching the tone in which you write your content from generic and impersonal to flowing like a real conversation can help to build an instant connection and make your number one dream client feel like you're speaking directly to their soul! Don't be afraid to get super specific in the words you're using. For example, you can specifically say "branding and web design for female entrepreneurs" or "online yoga classes for new mothers" to only attract your dream client!
Third, your packages and services now need to be tailored to reflect the research you've done and all the things you've learned about your ideal client. What problems are they facing? How are your services providing the answers? What kind of environment or support will a person need to flourish in your programs or packages?
3 | You’re not marketing yourself in the places they hang out
There are tons of social media platforms out there, which is going to have the highest amount of potential clients? Certain industries or age groups are more likely to be on Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, or even the up and coming platform Clubhouse! Put yourself in your ideal client's shoes and see where they will be spending their time and looking for answers to their problems.
You can do some research online to see what kind of people make up the majority of users on specific platforms, then give them each a go and see which works best. As a business owner myself, I love Pinterest and Instagram!
4 | Your portfolio isn’t showcasing the work of your dream clients
If you've just started your business and have some free time in your schedule, work on projects to build your portfolio that your ideal client will be obsessed with. For instance, if you’re a fellow brand and web designer who wants to work with creative female entrepreneurs (like me!), consider creating a feminine website design passion project that showcases your skills in a way that will appeal to that particular group of people. Really think about the branding that your ideal client would be looking at on Pinterest - what colours, elements, fonts, and feelings are they attracted to? This strategy can work just as well even if you’re not a designer. Think about ways you can display your work to appeal to your dream clients. Be selective about which projects you choose to include on your website. Highlight key testimonials and quotes from past clients that emphasise amazing results that you know your dream clients will be looking for.
This point can also be applied to your own brand; it should be created with your audience in mind. While it should be something that you personally enjoy and align with, it also needs to resonate with your clients so when they visit your website or social media, they automatically know they want to work with you.
5 | You’re not being consistent enough with your marketing
Sometimes we only try something briefly and stop before we can actually see results. It's important to try something for an extended period of time, this can be a month or longer before reflecting on how far you've come. Don't set too high of goals for yourself - gaining thousands of followers or going viral doesn't dictate how successful you are.
Once you've found a marketing platform that works for you, it's important to stick to a schedule - especially if that platform you've chosen is Instagram. The platform rewards you for two things: spending lots of time on the platform and being predictable. Engaging and posting at the same times and sticking to a consistent schedule will push your content to more people and get your business in front of more ideal clients. This also allows Instagram to put more content in front of you that is guaranteed to get you to engage. This can be ads and accounts similar to the ones you follow - another reason why you should be following your ideal clients and not just industry leaders who are looking to coach you.
That’s all today folks. Let’s quickly summarise the key points we covered today:
5 Reasons you’re struggling to find your dream clients:
1 | You’re not entirely sure who your dream clients actually are
2 | Your brand isn’t speaking directly to your dream clients
3 | You’re not marketing yourself in the places they hang out
4 | Your portfolio isn’t showcasing the work of your dream clients
5 | You’re not being consistent enough with your marketing
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