Target Audience Scam
I had this enlightening moment last week.
So anyone interested in business or marketing knows what market research and target audience are.
You create a profile of your ideal customer and craft the messaging around it.
All good and helpful in business.
However.
The same principles are often used in creative work.
Who are you targeting?
Who is your viewer, listener, or ideal reader?
The problem is - it doesn't work like this.
So, the enlightenment came when I was prepping the scripts for my small YouTube channel. Recently, we changed the strategy and are hyper-focused on one direction. And for the first time in a long time - after writing and recording the videos, I thought, 'I'd watch that!'
Why did I think that?
Because the target audience was me. I'm doing the videos for someone like me who is interested in this and thinks it's cool.
See, we did a YouTube accelerator last year, and it was great and super helpful. But the strategy bit was like this - target audience, market research, competitor analysis.
But I swear, the YouTube accelerator guys didn't do it when they started.
However, once they grew and decided to do the courses, they had to develop a theory that fit, but it was all done after the fact.
When I think about Casefile and our success - I didn't do any business analysis or strategy when we started. And to this day, when I work on the sound, the music, and the pacing for our shows, the only target audience I have in my head is me.
I work until I like how it sounds and hope that if I appreciate it, other people enjoy it, too.
It's so obvious, so simple, yet we forget about it all the time.
There is no magic pill, 3 steps or easy solutions.
Obviously, a strategy is important, but we are not selling windows or carpets, so we shouldn't treat our work as such.
There are no rules.
Thank you for listening to my presentation.
If you want to know more, I will be selling a mastermind group soon.
PODCAST PRODUCER LATEST
OK.
We are back with Casefile this week.
The socials are ready, the episodes scheduled, and the team is back at it.
Every year, after our break, I get a mixture of excitement and anxiety before the next season.
Will people still be there?
Will they want to listen to the new episodes?
We shall find out soon enough.
Breathe in, breathe out.
YOUTUBE
We dropped another cool video last week. This time I compare all the Jokers from TV and movies.
Joker is a fun character to analyse and because he is timeless, there was a lot to go through.
LEARNING
I haven’t written a lot about my studies lately, but after slacking off, I got back to it and submitted the latest assignment last week. Scoring a short sci-fi movie, which actually was pretty fun.
I have 2 units left to do this year. One elective and then the major project that will last 5 months.
BOOKS
The Third Door by Alex Banayan. After reading a few politics and economics books lately, I thought - let’s do fun self-help. And I regret that. I fail to see what the point of this book is and why it has so many good reviews. I got the recommendation from a podcast - so maybe that’s why. It’s about a young guy (the author) and his journey to get interviews with famous people and how he pesters them until they give in. I don’t usually get annoyed by books, but this was not my cup of tea.
Explaining Humans by Camilla Pang. I only started this book over the weekend. The author is a scientist diagnosed with autism who describes how she views people and their interactions through a lens of science. I don’t usually do biology books as they go over my head, but other than that, it's a good read. And it’s interesting to see how neurodivergent people see the world, which is a subject close to me.
FUN
It Takes Two. We still play the game when we get a few spare minutes in the evening. It is really good fun for a couple.
Pluto. I started this anime last week as I heard good things about it. The story is so weird, the animation is excellent, and the sound - eh, ok. It’s a long TV too, 8 episodes, but most of them are over 1 hour long. But I like it; I haven’t watched a good anime for some time, so I’m glad I chose this one to get back into it.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you (hopefully!) next week!
Mike
https://mikemigas.com/
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