The ICA is not about assumptions, categorising or assuming. It is the creation of a single person, your ideal customer, and it is a fiction rooted in detail.

If you have been in business for a while, you may have collated statistics about the customers you serve – they may be 35-45, male and in the construction industry. This is not the ICA though – that is a category.

When you are creating an ICA, the devil is in the detail – you need everything from a name, age and job title to marital status, what they like to do in their spare time and who they are as a person. 

The more detail, the better – you need a specific character to ensure that the content you are creating is going to be relevant to them. If your ICA is a 25-year-old male who enjoys playing video games, then writing content relating to over-50’s holiday destinations might not be a great fit. However – Chad the 25-year-old video gamer might be interested in visiting the real-life locations in one of his favourite games, so that might be a great idea for an article.

The trick with creating an ICA is to make them real. Understand their pain points so they want to buy from you – but don’t make them a fairy-tale. We would all like the perfect client, one who brings repeat trade, has lots of money to spend and enjoys sharing positive reviews – but be realistic. Not only will it help make sure that you are tailoring your product to suit them, it will also help you to decide if there is another way to reach them (social media, mail drop, email…) You want to understand their dreams and goals, their fears, and worries – the ‘perfect’ customer won’t have any of these.

You can have more than one ICA, but if you end up with 20, you need to consider if your niche is too wide.

It is because they want an answer to a question. This might be ‘where is the nearest cashpoint’, or it could be something more relevant to you and your business. Of course, because you read my keyword article and followed up with some keyword research of your own, you will know what people are searching for related to your business, so this is a good place to start. 

Put a relevant query into Google, and not only will you see what other people have said on the subject, you will also get some helpful extras.

Look at the ‘People also ask’ section for extra questions to answer. Google autocomplete can give you some excellent ideas, as can the little section at the bottom of the search results page that says, ‘People also search for’.

If you have been in business for a little while, you will have been asked the same questions over and over again – whether it is about postage and packing costs, delivery time, ingredients or suppliers, a Frequently Asked Questions section can prove to be an excellent place for content ideas that you know your customers would like to read. Look at some of the questions and think about how easily you could expand the answers to ensure that you are providing value.

Perhaps you have a product that your customers want to find out more about. Maybe it is a little complicated to use or understand, perhaps it has additional features and uses. Writing a user guide about your product is not only an excellent selling tool, it demonstrates your understanding and highlights your expertise. 

You might also consider a ‘further reading’ post regarding your product or service. Maybe you have written about a part of your service that coincides with another business, and you want to encourage your audience to seek more information from that source. Alternatively, you might want to provide them with advanced information about the product, like the next steps or how they can find out more information.

If you are in a fast-moving industry like crypto-currency or virus research, there may be news related to your business that you could make more accessible to your audience. If there is a big announcement that might change the way your business operates, or some new research has been completed, you can use this as an opportunity. You can help your audience understand what it means, in simple terms, whilst simultaneously exhibiting that you are ahead of the times and an expert, too. 

Some businesses include calendars about the events that go on locally, or guest posts from local companies. However you demonstrate your local knowledge, be sure that it is relevant to your audience.

Show your human side in your blog posts. Share a promotion, a new starter, someone retiring. Share the fancy dress day you held to raise money for charity and the achievements of your staff. People buy from people, so letting your audience ‘in’ on your business and how it operates is a great way to build confidence and improve customer service.

Don’t forget to shout about new product launches or a new service that you are offering. If you are excited about it, let your audience know! Tell them what is coming, and how it can help them – a simple but effective way to share news and get your audience interested. 

Don’t use tech speak or jargon that might be incomprehensible to the average reader. If you need to use specific terminology – if you are answering a technical question, for example – then make sure you take the time to explain terms you are using fully.

From a style and tone point of view, make sure it matches the way you sell yourself. If you and your ideal customer operate in a formal setting, then make sure your articles are not full of witty puns. The one point that should be made in terms of tone is not to be condescending. It can be difficult to judge how much knowledge your audience already has about what you are writing about. It can be tough to find a balance between giving your audience actionable information and being condescending – try not to talk to them as if they are a small child or assume that they have zero knowledge about the issues. Try not to sound preachy – even when you need to get a strong argument across. 

Don’t make your posts all about the sale. Whether you are sharing news, answering a question, or discussing a new product, being to sales-y is an easy way to turn off your potential customers. Talk to them, educate them, and give them actionable information that they can use today – the sales will come. Of course, a Call To Action (CTA) is always appropriate – whether it is to find out more, get a free download, or buy now. Just make sure it isn’t the only reason you are writing.

Readability – especially online – is important. Nobody wants to read a block of text – if your copy is not visually pleasing it won’t hold their attention. Consider breaking up paragraphs and creating white space. Intersperse text with graphics and pictures. Make sure that the font, colour, and background make It easy to read and understand (not Comic Sans, please!)

You can also use a blog post as an anchor for your social media strategy. Create posts for LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest and any other sites you use to point people towards your blog (and the wider website).

You can also repurpose your blog or article to create new content. Create an infographic with salient points. Create a soundbite to share on Twitter. Post a video on YouTube to go alongside that user guide. Get some nice pictures of your new product to share on Instagram.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to sharing your content – and if it is good, useful, interesting content then your audience will stare to share it too.

However you choose your content, if you want to make sure it is something that your audience will want to read – read it yourself. Don’t just spell check and call it good, read it back, make sure it makes sense, and give yourself the opportunity to see the post through the eyes of your audience.

If you want to find out more about writing blogs for your business, I have more posts you can look at for information and inspiration. 

If you would like to get me on board to write your blogs and articles for you, just contact me via email!