Draw Your Ideal Client

I’m lucky that I like to write … its comes in handy for business. Writing in my e-zine, on the blog, in notes to my clients, etc. I’m also fortunate that folks seem to resonate with my writing. I often hear comments like ‘its like you are writing just to me’ and ‘I can hear your voice talking … like its just you and me sitting down’. To me, that is the highest form of compliment, as that is exactly what I aim for in my writing. In fact, I have little tricks to help me do that – to keep the energy pure.

When I write, I think directly of my clients … I get images of them swirling around in my mind. Many of them have been in my studio (so I know what they look like) but since I’m a kinaesthetic learner (I think more in feelings than visuals actually) … I mostly ‘sense’ or ‘energetically feel’ my readers and how they respond to what I am trying to communicate in my writing. We have a sort of dialogue or internal connection.

Since I have many clients who I can draw on, it’s easy for me … I have real people who I think of when I write. But I also sometimes get a sense of people who are about to be attracted to me. People who are ready to connect with me and my unique type of work. People who are my next steps too … just ready to show up and teach me something in the process of our work together (I’m always both a teacher and a student in my work … its an interesting two-way co-creation).

I’ve been sharing these thoughts about my writing process with several of my clients lately who have asked how i do it.  Women who are in transition with their business and are going through the sometimes awkward and frustrating process of re-identity. Changing what they have been doing (and being) for a while to something else … and haven’t completely defined what their new thing is. They are working through a clarity process.

Because their new identity hasn’t fully grocked … they feel a little stuck with their web presence (their website and promotional copy doesn’t fit them anymore … so they are going through the process of revamping and editing it).

To cut through the clutter I work with them to identify what they really love and who they really enjoy working with – their ideal client. Paring it back to basics which can then be built upon (but you’ve got to get the foundation set right first).

For a few, I’ve been recommending the work of my good friend and copywriting mentor, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero … in particular, an exercise she does … with a little visual twist that I’ve added in.

Lorrie has a concept that she calls a ‘tarket’. If I remember right, it means a target market of one. It’s about honing down and getting very clear about who your ideal ‘target market of one’ is. That you define this person very specifically … down to the specifics of where they live, how old they are, what their life circumstances are like, the state of their relationships,

I love this exercise because of it makes you focus very directly – and upon who you do want to work with (not who you don’t) … so it’s very aligned with Law of Attraction principles.

Because of the graphic/visual nature of my work, I attract a lot of creative people, some with really strong artistic talents. In addition to Lorrie’s exercise, I suggest to the artists that they literally ‘draw out’ their tarket. Make a sketch, picture or painting of their ideal client … and even frame that picture and keep it on their desk. And look at that picture when they write their website copy, e-zine articles, blog posts, etc. So they energetically connect with the people who their services are for.

One of my clients, Ellen Zucker, is an astrologer and tarot card reader from the East Coast. For years Ellen has had a party entertaining business, called Faces and Fortunes, where she does caricature sketches and tarot readings at parties.

Ellen attended one of my graphic skills trainings last year, exploring the possibility of transferring her artistic skills into graphic recording and graphic facilitation (using visuals during business meetings and other public gatherings). While she’s toned down the possibility of becoming a Graphic Recorder, she has turned up the idea of adding visuals to her work as an astrologer and tarot reader … becoming a tarot strategist if you will (with her own custom process and set of visual templates).

Recently I explained Lorrie’s target idea to her and suggested she do some deep thinking about what her new-and-improved-business is about and who it is meant for. As she was an artist, I recommended that she literally draw out a composite of her tarket … and give her name as Lorrie also suggests.

Ellen has since enrolled in Lorrie’s wonderful ‘She Factor Copywriting Bootcamp’ (highly recommended) … and, she’s defined and drawn out her tarket, called “Lisa Jacobs”.

“Meet Lisa Jacobs. She is 50 years old, both internet and business savvy. She has survived life’s ups and downs and is now living with her second husband, John, and their 12-year-old daughter Meghan and an orange tabby named Sam in a rehabbed turn-of-the-century Victorian home in Montclair, NJ (suburban NYC). She lives near lots of ethnic restaurants, quaint shops, and a commuter train into Manhattan.

Her home is large, comfortable, appealing, and furnished with all kinds of interesting furniture and crafts she picks up at flea
markets and craft shows. There are hanging plants in the windows and fresh vegetables growing in the garden.

She is a college graduate—her major was Psychology and her minor,  Commercial Art. She is spiritual rather than religious and is fascinated by the metaphysical.

She came of age during the heyday of the Women’s movement and considers herself to be progressive in her politics. She voted for Hillary in the Democratic primary and for Obama in the presidential race.

Her parents live nearby in a retirement community and they have dinner once a month. Although in generally good health, they are beginning to slow down and are becoming more fragile. As a result, Lisa finds she is checking in on them more and more often.

Lisa is proud of the living she makes as a graphic designer and has achieved financial independence in her own right. Over the years she has cultivated a loyal clientele. She stays up to date on the latest digital advances and she also sells a line of handmade jewelry online that she created. She is a voracious reader, both fiction and non- fiction, and stays up to date with current events and the issues of the day.

It wasn’t always that way. Her working-class family encouraged both hard work and education. She married her high school sweetheart, but, at that point in her life, her early twenties, Lisa found married life too stifling. She divorced soon after, and with little money, built a life for herself. She was very proud of her independence.

She married a second time, ten years later when she was in her late-thirties. This marriage has proven to be more fulfilling and stable.

While her life took many twists and turns, she is generally content and proud of the life she has built.

And then came the curveball…  “

If this sounds like you, I recommend contacting Ellen … she does fascinating astrological and tarot readings for women who life has thrown a curveball too, now with a visual twist!  And, thanks for Ellen for allowing me to share her Lisa Jacobs work, so you can see how adding visuals (and heart!) to your marketing can make the process more enjoyable, tangible and fun!

Christina Merkley

The SHIFT-IT Coach

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