As entrepreneurs, we spend a lot of time hearing about target audience from the boss gurus we follow. It’s Marketing 101 to know who your ideal client is and drive your marketing message and placement toward that type of person. Obviously, my target audience is small business owners. More specifically, small business owners who aren’t ready to hire full-time marketing employees but need to start handing some marketing responsibilities over to someone who knows what they’re doing.

Knowing this helps me focus my efforts and prevent wasting time writing content that isn’t relevant to that type of person or putting marketing content on the wrong platforms.

But does that mean I’m going to be the right email campaign writer, website content writer or SquareSpace site builder for every entrepreneur who comes across my radar? Nope. In fact, an even more narrowed audience can help me with the health of my business overall – setting it up for even better days ahead.

Just because you have a business that is built on serving a certain type of client doesn’t mean you need to – or should – always accept the work. Here is how to know who your target audience is NOT.

Your target audience is NOT cheapskates.

Oh snap, I went there. Right out of the gate. So I know we all have various pricing and some lean toward the more “affordable” side than others, but you absolutely still need to earn something from your time and work.

Sure, you may start out lower than the competition because you need a few testimonials and referrals to get things up and running, but that doesn’t mean the cheapskate clients are truly who you want to work with and should target your marketing toward. I’m not here to judge your price sheet but friend, you can STILL target an audience that has a little capital.

Your target audience is NOT someone who isn’t willing to comply with your process.

If you’re clear to a client about deadlines, communication, check-ins and timeframes and they want to move everything around for their convenience, or push you to rush your work, stand your ground. Sure, a little flexibility is reasonable, but you can advocate for appropriate processes. A potential client who has demands you can’t fulfill may simply be the right client for someone else.

Your target audience is NOT someone you wouldn’t get along with outside of a business relationship.

This one is probably my favorite. I like to enjoy my clients. It makes the experience SO MUCH more fun when you can laugh, relate and compare notes as you’re working through a project together.

You are allowed to vet your clients a little in those first few interactions and do the “would I like this person normally?” check to make sure you’re going to have a great transaction.

Your target audience is NOT someone asking you to create something you wouldn’t be proud of.

Your work isn’t just for your customer, it’s for you too. If it’s not something you’d put in your portfolio, you may want to reconsider the job. Work that doesn’t match your standard of quality or reflect your brand well may not be worth the profit.

Your target audience is NOT the outlier you’d have to spend extra time and money chasing.

Oooohhhhh, this one is tempting. You social media stalk a random C-list celebrity or popular influencer and think “I’d LOVE to work for her!” But the truth is, you’d have to commit some serious time and cash to getting on that person’s radar.

Hey, if it’s that important or lucrative for you, go for it, but too many of us get distracted by the ideal of a crazy good connection when we need to stay focused on a more reachable network.

Your target audience is NOT the client who is so high maintenance you lose sleep and get prematurely gray.

Be careful what your potential client is wishing for. If they’re adding a laundry list of must-haves and customization and, frankly, requirements that would devour your focus and sanity, it’s NOT worth it.

I’d love to know – which of these are you guilty of as you run your business??? I’ve been tempted by them all and would love to know I’m not the only one! Comment below 🙂