Who are you and what do you want?

It’s a scene you’ll find in countless movies and TV shows.

A lone figure stands outside a house or apartment, pauses, and then knocks.

Moments later, the door opens, and a cautious face appears in the narrow gap.

“Yes?”

“Mrs Connolly?” (or whoever) the figure asks.

The eyes behind the door narrow, and the person replies…

“Who are you, and what do you want?”

Of course, the answer depends on the movie or TV show.

• “I’m from the police, and I want to talk to you about your husband.”
• “I’m with the local news, and I want to know what you think about the incident yesterday.”
• “I’m your son, I want to know why you had me adopted.”

Those two questions are a cliché but with good reason. They cut right to the heart of things.

That’s why that they’re two of the first questions you need to answer about your course’s target audience.

Who are they? What do they want?

The answer to the first question will tell you where to go looking for them.

The answer to the second will tell you what to talk about when you find them.

But there’s a third question too:

What’s stopping them?

Because your course doesn’t just need to be able to deliver the desired result…

…it also needs to tackle the obstacle they believe is standing in their way.

So if your target audience wants to write a novel but believes their writing skills aren’t up to scratch, tell them that a good story is more important than perfect prose, and build a course than teaches storytelling instead (and shows them how to hire a good book editor).

If you haven’t answered the first two questions for your audience yet, that’s your priority. Anything else is a distraction.

If you already know who they are and what they want, start a conversation and find out what’s stopping them.

See you soon,

Glen