Would Ozzy Osbourne and King Charles buy the same mug?

Hi! 👋

Who is going to buy your work? Can you truly describe the person? Let me help a little.

Welcome (back)! 🤗

This is Petra from ​The Creators' Diary​. If this is your first TC’D newsletter, welcome! We’re happy you’ve subscribed!

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Story of the week 🗞️

More often than not, especially creators with a young creative business, need all the help they can get to lure in their ideal customers.

While there are a couple of ways to approach this, I'd like you to consider the following method: determine the persona of your potential customer and pretend to talk to them when promoting your work.

Personas are like fictional representations of buyer archetypes who, just like people in real life, have motivations, goals, frustrations, and values.

This is different from defining target audiences solely based on their demographics, like age, marital status, or where they live.

The example below, which I've seen from a marketer on ​LinkedIn​, shows how relying on those kinds of data points can be misleading. These two men—rest in peace, Mr. Osbourne—, might have made the same purchase at one point in their lives, but despite having the same demographic data, you realise the striking differences in their personalities, right? If you didn't see their photos or names, this could be the description of the same person.

I imagine a situation where I'm trying to market ceramic mugs to them. I'm betting that one would love a more sophisticated, neutral-toned, flowery one, and the other would go with a more robust-looking, gothic, darker option—I'll leave it to you to decide which would go with which. 😅

Brain teasers to find your persona 👇

Would somebody buy your art who:

...likes Taylor Swift, or would it be somebody who's into horror books?

...loves Van Gogh, or are they more of a Keith Haring fan?

...is on a limited budget, or maybe money isn't an issue for them at all?

...is interested in buying from you, driven by values, like supporting local artists?

...wants a functional artwork, like a worry stone or a fidget ring, that helps manage their mental health because nothing has helped so far in that department?

Answering questions like these can help you find your fundamental persona(s) for your overall business, and also when you launch certain products or collections that center around a specific theme.

👉 When Taylor Swift was on tour or debuted a new album in the past, I saw many artworks that pretty much spoke to those appreciating her music. A person buying a mug with her lyrics might not have purchased from that potter before, but was definitely a potential persona for that collection of works.

Creator quote of the week 📌

Rosie from ​Cottagecore Ceramics​ talks about a mug she was gifted by her fellow potter, Millie from ​Millie’s Pottery​. The mug is from a Halloween collection, but the specific reason she likes it is its connection to the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch TV show from her childhood.

👉 If somebody wanted a Halloween mug, they might still not pick this one. But a Sabrina, the Teenage Witch fan? They would purchase it even if it's not Halloween season.

Also: the video's title is a great formula for describing your persona 😉

See you next week,

Petra

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