A persona is your ideal client. You can imagine them and they can be a real person. They’re the people you want to serve, you want to help because you know how it feels like to be in their shoes. And that’s how you’ll create that persona. There are more than 7 billion people on Earth. Start with people that deserve you, start with people that get you.

You can describe who your persona is in 4 ways:

Words just come out and you put them on paper. Don’t spend too much time. For that, you can use the pomodoro technique:

1. Write as much as possible without judging or editing during 25 min

2. Take a 5 min break

3. Edit and write some more for 25 min

4. Take a 5 min break

5. Write as much as possible

6. Take a 5 min break

7. Edit and write some more for 25 min

So 2h in total. When I did it, I ended up with a letter from my ICA (named Corale) to me.

I use this method almost every time I write. Plus, you have a nice thought for your friend. They give you that strength you need.

Write like you write to your best friend. That person you know they won’t judge you.

You can write an email in your real email app. Open the app, create a new email, add your BFF email address, write them the email and send it, or not. Do what you’re comfortable with.

You can, no, you must interview your clients. Ask them below questions. You can change them if you want to. Then, as you talk, note their words. Their actual words. You can also ask them about your product, competitors or their budget.

1. Go to amazon.com

2. Type your product and/or industry in the search bar (you can try different keywords)

3. Select “books” as a category

4. Hit enter

5. Rank by “featured” if not already

6. Select 3 books that are on your topic and have a lot of reviews

7. Select reviews with 3 stars

8. Read them and note their remarks and words they use

We’re selecting 3 stars reviews because they’re nuanced. Out there, some people liked that book, and what it was about (your product/industry,) but were disappointed by a few things. We want to know what those few important things are and in their own words.

1. Go to quora.com

2. Type your keywords in the search bar and hit enter

3. Look at questions and answers, more at questions than answers

Those questions are those your (potential) clients might ask themselves, again, in their own words.

Now we have many notes about your persona, questions they’re asking themselves and the words they use.

Your persona is made up of demographic (age, gender, job, etc.) and psychological (fear, envy, frustrations, etc.) characteristics. Try to list as many details as possible. And remember, it’s not set in stone.

You should work on your persona regularly. So you’ll work on it again and it’ll change. You don’t have to do everything right now. Do what makes sense. Do it, even partially, and improve it over time.

You can have one persona for your business, one per product and one per communication channel (website, newsletter, LinkedIn, others.) Start simply with one for your business.

1. Full name

2. Age

3. Gender

4. Martial status

5. Children

6. Location

7. Job(s)

8. School(s)

9. Hobbies

10. Blogs

11. Magazines

12. Books

13. Shows (TV and/or YouTube)

14. Movies

15. Events

16. Mentors

17. Who are they following on which social media?

18. Searches on Google

19. Best vacation ever

1. What do they value?

2. What do they enjoy?

3. Why do they get sometimes sad?

4. When do they get angry?

5. What do they fear now?

6. What can’t they stand?

7. Who do they envy? Why?

8. What brings them peace of mind?

9. What’s the worst that could happen if they don’t get what you can offer them?

10. What’s the best that could happen when they get what you can offer them?

11. If they had a magic wand, what would they do?

12. And what do their surroundings (family, friends, colleagues) thing about those?

13. Is there anything else?

Pappapappam *reward song*

“Mwaaaaaa! You win this time but don’t think it will always be like this! I shall join you and witness your struggle…”

-- Congrats! You won brand new lamps and a grumpy black panther! --