What are Buyer Personas?
Buyer personas are fictional profiles of your ideal buyer. If you want to develop highly targeted content for a specific audience, buyer personas help you explore and identify your target market, with relation to wording, imagery, and marketing strategy. Why are buyer personas important? Creating content for a stay at home mothers looking to make money from home blogging isn’t going to be the same type of content that college freshmen looking to start a book fund. You may have more than 1 perfect buyer profile. It’s good to create content for more than 1 audience.
Buyer personas allow you to identify new leads by understanding what type of people benefit from the product or service you are offering. To build a buyer persona, start with your customers demographics.
Benefits
The benefits of buyer personas include maximized ROI, a better understanding of your target audience, and a reduced spending for PPC advertisements. The primary goal of a buyer persona is a deeper understanding of the ideal target market. This allows business owners and marketers the ability to
Because business owners often have several different types of ideal customers, building buyer personas provides them with a competitive advantage when creating optimized marketing campaigns.
Buyer personas, also called “customer personas” or “customer snapshots,” are powerful tools when creating content for current customers and potential customers. Instead of walking into the dark world of marketing, buyer personas allows business owners to “turn on a flashlight” and see their prospects needs and wants.
Demographics
Age
18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 54-65, 65+
Does your target market have more than one age group? Why are you focused on 1 age group vs. other age groups? Which age group spends more in your niche industry than all other groups?
Gender
Male – Female
Is your key target market male, female, androgynous, or transgender? Do they have a preferred pronoun other than He or She? Do they identify as something other than their gender at birth?
Martial Status
Single, Married, Widowed, It’s Complicated
How does their martial status impact their buying behavior?
Religion
RELIGION – SPIRITUAL PREFERENCES
What religion is your target market? Do they participate in religious activities? Were they born into that specific religion, or did they convert? Do they practice spiritual principles? Does their religion have dietary requirements?
Cultural
Race – Ethnicity – Language – Religion – Creed – Tribal Affiliations
How does your target market identify themselves?
Children
Children – Grandchildren – Foster
How many children does your buyer persona have? Are they planning to have more children? Do they have grandchildren? How do the children affect the consumer’s final buying decision?
Education
Schools – Degrees – Titles
What level of education has your target market completed? Are they planning to continue their education? What school did they attend? What degrees have they completed? Have they earned a Doctorate (Dr.)
Occupation
Career
What occupation does your key target market have, and how does this impact the sales process? Are you providing information that can help them in their career?
Location
United States
Are you selling to a certain metro location? What country is your primary base located in? Why are you focused on these locations?
Psychographics
The standard definition of psychographics in marketing is
Values & Beliefs
Values form a person’s belief system, and how they behave within their environment. Values can be considered the things and ideas that a person considers important.
- Honesty
- Integrety
- Responsibility
- Ethics
- Freedom
- Equality
- Family
- Loyalty
- Health
- Compassion
A person’s values and belief system shapes the way they behave within their environment, and ultimately dictates their behaviors and habits.
Behaviors & Habits
Understand buyer behaviors and habits. Habits and rituals are repeated behaviors that a person does during a specific timeframe.
Behaviors are the way a person acts in their environment towards others. Consider the following target audience. Their behaviors and habits will not be the same, even though they may share specific habits.
It’s also good to remember that there can be both good and bad behaviors & habits. Daily exercise is a good habit. Smoking cigarettes is a bad habit.
The interests and hobbies a person partakes in w
Lifestyle
A person’s lifestyle may include their family life, school life, or business life.
Interests
What interests & hobbies does your ideal buyer enjoy?
Attitudes & Opinions
Feelings and beliefs about a certain person, place, thing, or idea can be described as a person’s attitudes and opinions about that subject.
Attitudes and opinions are measured on a positive or negative scale.
Attitudes are generally considered long-term and stable, and are influenced by cultural upbringing. Attitudes are not as easily influenced as opinions.
Opinions can change easily within a specific subject by outside influences such as peer pressure. For example, a person may have a positive opinion about Google, while maintaining a negative opinion about the Google Pixel phone.
- Political
- Sociopolitical
- Personal opinions about brands
Personality
Eysenck’s three factor model includes three super-factors that are independent constructs. These factors are extraversion, neuroticism, and Psychoticism. The five factor model, also referred to as the big five, is a great framework to better understand the personality of your target audience and ideal buyers.
The Five-Factor Model
The five-factor model (FFM), also referred to as the “Big Five” includes
Openness
Openness is a measure of one’s willingness to try new things. Openness to experience (creativity, imagination, adventure) – How open they are and willing to try new things.
This includes participating in new activities and traveling to new places, enjoying new foods, and are open to explore creative.
Less Openminded
Prefers Routine & Structure
Openminded to new experiences.
Creative & Imaginative
Openness
71%
Consciousness
Consciousness is an awareness of a person’s environment and personal surroundings. It also has to do with inner thought and dialogue, self consciousness.
Consciousness will vary through the growth cycle of a person, starting with the basic awareness of ones self within the first year of life. As people age, they will begin to display a higher consciousness with their surrounding factors, and become more aware of peoples feelings and emotions.
People who score high in consciousness tend to be more trusting of others. They also display a level of kindness and consideration in relation to the mindset of their peers. People who score high in consciousness tend to be more organized, prefer orderleiness, and display self-control. High scores show a tendency to engage more in customer forums, and respond positively to customer surveys.
Unaware
High level of self awareness
Consciousness
50%
Extraversion
High scores of extraversion would make a person more outgoing and social. They would speak with more enthusiasm, and are comfortable with assertiveness. People with high levels of extraversion are great public speakers and conversationalists. They also prefer to be the center of attention, and have a large social circle. Negative aspects of extraverts include obnoxiousness and a need to control group dialogue.
Introverts, on the other hand, prefer to spend time alone. They are shy and soft spoken, and do not demand a lot of attention. They are quiet and reserved. At parties, they are often wallflowers. Introverts prefer a small group of friends. Negative aspects of introversion includes higher anxiety levels in social situations, and may even become reclusive.
Introvert
Extravert
Extraversion
60%
Agreeableness
Trust, kindness, consideration of others. , and conscientiousness. High scores tend to respond positively to customer surveys and agree with others in public forums. They may give people the benefit of the doubt.
Prefers to work alone
Enjoys working with a team
Agreeableness
85%
Neuroticism
Anxiety, depression, self consciousness are examples of neuroticism. People who score high in neuroticism are more apt to display high levels of frustration in situations they cannot control. They may have serious bouts of depression and mental illness.
High levels of neuroticism are more likely to cause a person emotional and mental pain and frustration. Low levels of neuroticism would mean a person is happier and more content with their daily situation.
Comfortable
Anxiety & depression
Neuroticism
35%
Pains & Difficulties
When creating buyer personas, a critical factor is understanding and empathizing with your target audience. What are their daily struggles, as well as the problem that brought them to your niche blog?
The Main Problem
Your customers are seeking a solution to a specific problem. With content strategy, you should always be informing, educating, entertaining, and attempting to solve their problem. Focus on the information you’re providing and how to improve the customer’s life; do not focus on the final sale.
Pains and difficulties can be anything from
- Physical pain – Health & wellness, diet, or emergency situations
- Emotional pain – Mental health issues, loneliness, heartbreak, grief
- Family problems – Complicated issues with spouses, partners, children, or extended family.
- Security – Physical & digital
- Financial problems including debt, student loans, & job stability
- Local emergencies – Bad weather emergencies, evacuations, & other “Acts of God”
Not all pains & difficulties will be major life issues. Sometimes, their pains & difficulties may be something simple, such as people seeking recreational activities.
- Boredom – Seeking entertainment
- Education – Has to learn something or seeking a how-to manual to fix something. I.e. “How do I fix a broken Iphone screen?”
- Hunger – Dine in or carry out?
- Technical – Has to purchase equipment for home, school, or work
- Event planning – Weddings, Birthdays, Bar Mitzvah’s.
Goals
Including goals for your buyer personas allows WordPress niche bloggers the ability to handcraft content specifically geared to help their target audience achieve their short term and long term goals. It’s a good idea to include 3 goals in your buyer persona. These goals can be simple and quick to accomplish, as well as long term achievement goals.
- Educational goals – Are they in school?
- Financial goals – What financial milestones are important to your buyer persona
- Health & Wellness, including fitness goals
Objectives
In addition to goals, consider including short term objectives your buyer persona is set on accomplishing that would lead them to your niche blog.
4 Types of Buyer Personas
Factors to consider when understanding your customer’s buyer behavior.
Consumer buyer behavior is largely influenced by the environmental factors and socioeconomic factors surrounding your customer. Item popularity, brand influence, customer reviews, and previous experiences with a specific product, service, or event can sway an entire market.
Competitive
Logical buyer who makes fast decisions. Provide Competitive advantages over competitors. “I need this product now, why are you the best choice?”
Methodical
Logical buyer who has to know the specific details & fine print. Considers all options, and makes the best possible decision for their wants, needs, & budget. “Can you provide more details? What are the pros & cons? Follow up next week.”
Spontaneous
Emotional buyer who doesn’t take a lot of time to make purchase. The right place at the right time with the right attitude make this sale. Money isn’t an object. “I love your product! BUY!”
Humanistic
Loyal buyers that prefer to build relationships with the people they conduct business with. Follow up, go slow. “Sorry, I don’t kiss on the first date. Call me next week.”
Buyer Scenarios
What is a buyer scenario?
Buyer scenarios are fictional scenarios that your ideal buyer persona will have to go through that results in them finalizing a purchase with your brand. It’s good to create several scenarios that your different personas will experience. By the time you complete the buyer persona / buyer scenario activity, you will have several documents that give you a better understanding of your target audience, the situations that arise that result in them discovering your WordPress niche blog, and the best case scenario that results in them becoming a loyal brand advocate for your niche blog, or, worst case scenario, they close the window, never to make another purchase from your highly optimized niche blog because it wasn’t actually optimized with your ideal buyer in mind. Buyer Scenarios Activity Create 3 Scenarios for Each Personality, including the first time the persona interacts with your brand.
- What brought your buyer persona to your niche blog?
- Are they purchasing out of pain, or pleasure?
- What is their main objective by interreacting with your brand?
- What are they hoping to accomplish from the visit?
- What information are they seeking?
- What is the best case / worst case scenario with this type of buyer?
- Are they spending money because they NEED to spend money, or because they WANT to spend money?
- What is their budget?
- How long does the buyer have to make the purchasing decision? Is this an immediate purchase, i.e. for an emergency situation? Or is this something that will require 1 week to research, or several months?
- Who is with them when they make the purchase?
- Are they the main decision maker for the purchase, or does another person have the final authority for the product being purchased?
- Will the buyer require a follow-up?
- Will the buyer request additional information? If yes, what information are they requesting?
These answers will vary, based on their personality, and the type of buyer persona. It’s good to have several scenarios, in order to optimize your sales funnel. A spontaneous buyer can purchase immediately, whereas a humanistic buyer may only seek advice for the first several visits before they decide to make a purchase.
Why is the buyer spending money?
Does the buyer NEED to spend money, or does the buyer WANT to spend money? The answer to this question can make a huge impact on the way WordPress niche bloggers craft their content. Money is spent on wants or needs. For the average US household, basic wants consist of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, health, & medicine. Wants are entertainment, luxury purchases, vacations. Business need spending consists of costs associated with maintaining a business. Emergency need spending may result in a loan & credit card debt. Keep this in mind when developing content
Why do niche bloggers need to create buyer personas?
Creating buyer personas help niche bloggers create highly optimized content for their target market. It also allows niche bloggers with different personas if they’re wanting to develop content for more than one specific personality.
Buyer personas allow you to decide if you want to inform, educate, or entertain your target audience. It gives you a broader example of the type of content needed to reach your niche market.
Example. if your niche blog is about Women’s physical fitness, it’s a good idea to explore the reasons why they are searching that topic. Is your buyer persona seeking physical fitness advice for a medical reason, i.e. were they recently diagnosed with a medical condition and were they advised by a doctor? Or are they simply wanting to tone their body and lose 10 lbs. to fit in their favorite dress?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is psychographic segmentation of buyers?
The market research method referred to as Psychographic segmentation allows researchers to categorize customer groups that align with their customers core beliefs, values, personality, opinions, and other specific psychological traits.
What is the difference between demographics and Psychographics?
Demographics are specific statistical data for a certain population – demographics can be categorized by numerical data. Psychographics cannot be measured with numerical data because it’s focus is on the psyche, or psychological aspects of a specific population. For example, “age” is a demographic – this can be measured numerically. Location can also be measured numerically. However, “daily health habits” cannot be measured by a specific number. A goal or habit. Demographics refers to statistical data (age, gender, income, etc.) collected for a particular population. Psychographics refers to information about a particular population’s attitudes, aspirations, and other psychological criteria.
Where can I download free buyer persona templates?
If you’re seeking free buyer persona templates,
Envato Elements is the perfect solution to purchase premium buyer persona templates.
Conclusion
It takes a lot of time and energy to create well developed buyer personas take time and research, however the benefits far outweigh the consequences of not creating them. Benefits of buyer personas include the ability to create highly optimized content for your niche blog. Buyer personas are powerful tools that should not be ignored. Over time, they will increase ROI, and allow you to rank better in search engines when geared towards your specific market. It gives you the ability to hone in on what makes your buyers unique by examining their likes and interests. In conclusion, creating buyer personas are recommended 100%. They will prove to be your best friends over time; if you haven’t used them before, you will finally understand what all the hype is about. Adding buyer personas to your personal niche blogger toolbox is a smart move for content creators. In the end, your readers will thank you for catering specifically to their wants and needs, and for providing solutions to their problems. Now go get started with your first buyer persona.