3 Easy Techniques For Researching Your Audience

By Jason

Research Can Help You Better Understand Your
Customers. Here Are A Few Effective Techniques.

The best part about having an internet connection and doing research for your business – It’s free.

I often get messages from people who feel that they are ‘stuck’ on what to do next when it comes to the building of their business.

If you can relate there’s no need to feel ashamed. When pursuing something new such as an online business it is only natural to have moments of confusion.

It’s called a learning curve for a reason! So long as you are taking action, know that you will have small wins and ‘aha!’ moments too.

I always prefer someone messaging me asking for help as opposed to saying their website is “complete” after only just a few days.

Here is what that website will usually look like:

To help you avoid the “what to do next” feeling, I have put together a short list of things you can do to better understand your audience and keep moving forward with your online business.

The first step here quite obvious, but one that shouldn’t be shied away from.

Related: Looking To Start An Online Business? Here Are Your 6 Best Options.

Technique #1 – Listen To Your Audience

Without people, there is no business. As we all know.

What we also know, but might not pay much attention to (unless it comes to our own personal matters), is people write reviews online all day, every day.

I can’t tell you how many great restaurants I’ve found thanks to reviews on Yelp. I’ve recently bought all new furniture for my apartment and saved a lot of money doing so thanks to recommendations and reviews by others online.

The point is, a simple search can yield a lot of helpful insight. It’s going directly to the buyer in a way.

Every time someone within your market shares a pain point, a fear, a hope, a dream, or an obstacle – write it down on a list.

A Variety Of Sources

There’s a variety of sources you can use as well when researching online:

• Google searches
• Amazon reviews
• Youtube
• Other articles related to your niche.
• There are Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit.
•  Have 1-on-1 conversations with people

With Youtube for example, you get an opportunity to see visual product reviews and you can look at the comments as well. Are people enjoying the item? What flaws or issues are people noticing? Are there any related products being recommended?

You can easily leverage the information you find using a few of the sources above and tie them in together with your own promotions.

Technique #2 – Reaching Out To Other Websites

Consider reaching out to other website owners who are within your same niche. You can usually find their contact information on an ‘About’ or ‘Contact’ page which most website owners have.

Maybe you have a new idea that you would like to test out, or there’s something you would like to share with another person who “gets it” and is involved in your niche.

The focus here is to ask for feedback regarding an idea or even a certain direction you wish to take your business. Who better than someone experienced within your same niche.

Your approach can be subtle as well:

“Hello (name/website name),

I’m Jason, a fan, you can find my website at ExtraPaycheckOnline.com. I really enjoyed your article about __________.

I would love the opportunity to run some ideas by you for a potential direction I would like to take my own business.

Some of my ideas include ________. What do you think?

Thanks for taking the time to consider my ideas. Have an awesome day!”

Of course, you don’t need to share your entire master plan. This can be done without getting too specific.

I feel it’s a good way to run some of your ideas by a fellow website owner within your same niche. Go ahead and try it out. Most online business owners are friendlier than you think 🙂

Technique#3 – Give Content

I often suggest to those who are struggling on what to do next with their business, to continue creating content.

Creating content typically occurs after one does their research but I felt it was important to add to the list.

Content is key to the success of a digital marketing business, not to mention, it’s free if you decide to do it yourself. The goal here is to give high-quality, helpful content, to your audience.

There’s a variety of ways you can attract your audience to your content to take you up on such promotions, including SEO, social media, paid advertising, etc.

Thanks to the research you have done using the techniques above, you are now ready to communicate and promote helpful, attractive offers to your audience.

Haven’t started your business yet? Learn the ropes from building your first website to creating quality content inside this community.

Research Works

From getting started with a niche idea, to understanding if your niche is profitable, to hearing directly from your audience and potential buyers. Research works.

The way I see it is that with a better understanding of your market and being able to speak their “language” – which can all be accomplished with research – you are bound to see more profits for your business as a result.

It’s also a great way for those who are just getting to know their audience or are feeling ‘stuck’ with their new business, to move forward.

That and creating high-quality content.

Using the techniques above you can easily:

• Discover more about your niche and audience
• Learn about the products and services
• Learn about the audience using the product/services

The following task would be to understand how to tie it all together to share with your audience….

Keep an open mind when taking notes and doing research. You might be surprised by what you find.