Persona and Audience

A persona here is not a fictional "Sarah, 34, likes yoga." It is a decision filter: when you know who you are for, you know what to skip.

Write one paragraph

Answer:

Who has the problem you solve? (role, stage, industry)
What are they trying to accomplish this quarter?
What have they already tried that failed?
Where do they hang out online (one or two places)?
What would make them trust a stranger?

Example (B2B):

I help seed-stage SaaS founders who struggle to explain their product on the website. They have a working app but get "what do you do?" on sales calls. They read LinkedIn and niche Slack groups. They trust specific examples and screenshots more than hype.

Anti-persona (equally important)

List who you are not for:

Budget below your floor
Problem you do not enjoy solving
Stage you have no proof for

Posting for anti-personas attracts bad leads and burns you out.

Persona → content filter

Before posting, ask:

Question	Pass?
Would my persona recognize their problem in the first line?
Is the proof relevant to their stage?
Is the CTA something they would actually do?

Three nos → rewrite or skip.

Audience size myth

You need hundreds of the right followers, not millions of random ones. Niche clarity beats broad appeal for services and B2B.

Research without stalking

Read 20 posts your buyers engage with — note repeated phrases
Save DM questions you get twice — those are post topics
Ask sales calls: "where did you first hear about us?"

Persona worksheet (copy to notes)

Primary buyer role:
Their urgent goal:
Their skepticism:
Platforms they use:
Proof they need:
Words they use (jargon):
Anti-persona:

Feeds directly into Messaging Pillars.