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Business · 50 items · 3 min read

Easier Audiences

For one-person digital products. Format: easier > harder. Treat the world as a database. Marketing is a query, and an easy audience is one that's cheap to query, cheap to reach, and already willing to pay.

Sections
  1. Formulas
  2. Finding them (1–12)
  3. Reaching them (13–24)
  4. Buying (25–38)
  5. Keeping and spreading (39–50)

Formulas#

  • Easy audience = findable × reachable × able to pay × already wants it. If any factor is near zero, the audience is hard.
  • Reachability = size × density. A small audience gathered in one place beats a big scattered one.
  • Query cost = the steps from "I want to reach them" to "they read my message." Fewer steps make it easier.
  • Audience value = willingness to pay × how often the need comes back × how much they talk to each other.

Finding them (1–12)#

  1. A searchable label (job title, tool they use, community name) > a personality trait ("people who value calm"). A label works as a WHERE clause.
  2. Defined by a tool they use > defined by an interest. People using the same tool share a problem and a place to meet.
  3. Defined by a recent event (just launched, just hired, just raised, just moved) > defined by a trait. Events create urgency.
  4. They leave public traces (websites, profiles, repos, listings) > they're invisible.
  5. A list of them already exists (directories, member lists, award winners, speaker lists) > you'd have to build the list.
  6. One language > many languages at the start.
  7. They work online > they work offline. You can reach them where you are.
  8. Countable. You can estimate how many exist.
  9. Growing in number every year > shrinking.
  10. New people join all the time (new founders, new students, new hires) > a fixed group that already picked its tools.
  11. People like you before > strangers. You already speak their language.
  12. A group you already belong to > one you'd have to join.

Reaching them (13–24)#

  1. Gathered in 1–3 places > spread across 50.
  2. They follow niche media (newsletters, podcasts, creators) > they have no media of their own.
  3. Gatekeepers exist (community admins, association heads, creators) > nobody has reach.
  4. Open to being contacted (businesses with public emails) > private consumers.
  5. They search for solutions > they never search.
  6. They meet at events > they never gather.
  7. They reply within days > weeks. Fast replies mean fast learning.
  8. Cheap to reach per person > reachable only through paid ads.
  9. They ask questions in public (forums, Q&A sites, groups) > closed rooms. You can be useful for free.
  10. Open to buying from a solo founder > buy only from big brands.
  11. They share their tools publicly ("my stack") > keep tools secret.
  12. Rarely pitched > pitched by everyone every day.

Buying (25–38)#

  1. Spend a company's money > their own pocket.
  2. Buy with a card > need invoices, purchase orders and security reviews.
  3. Earn money from the work your product helps > hobbyists.
  4. Short on time, not money > short on money, not time.
  5. Already buy tools in this category > have never bought one.
  6. Failure is costly for them > they shop on price. When failure is costly, quality wins.
  7. Decide alone and quickly > long buying cycles.
  8. Decide by trying > decide by committee and formal tender.
  9. Happy to buy in English > need a local product in every market.
  10. Would rather buy than build > could build it themselves on a weekend.
  11. Trust small vendors > need a vendor with a 10-year track record.
  12. Buy again > buy once.
  13. Upgrade as they grow > stay the same size forever.
  14. A predictable budget season > random timing.

Keeping and spreading (39–50)#

  1. Long-lived businesses and careers > groups with a high failure rate. Customers who shut down churn by dying.
  2. Talk to their peers > work in isolation.
  3. Gain status by recommending good tools > keep their tools secret to stay ahead.
  4. Pros who help themselves > beginners who need hand-holding.
  5. Patient with a small vendor > demand enterprise polish from day one.
  6. Give feedback freely > stay silent until they cancel.
  7. Similar to each other, so one onboarding fits all > every customer is different.
  8. Stay in the niche for years > pass through it (students, one-time events).
  9. Share an identity ("I'm an indie publisher") > a loose category.
  10. People you like > people you tolerate. You'll talk to them for years.
  11. Work the way you want to work (async, self-serve) > want calls and meetings, unless they pay for it.
  12. Neighboring audiences you can expand into next > a dead-end niche.

If you keep only 5: #1 (a searchable label), #3 (an event creates urgency), #13 (gathered in few places), #25 (company money), #40 (they talk to peers).