The Audience of One: How One Connection Causes a Ripple Effect

Don’t try to make everyone love you; they’ll end up hating you for it.

I know it sounds harsh, but this message is my personal love letter to you, so please take it to heart. Not everyone loves you (or me) or the work you do or what you create, but someone out there is here for all of it. This person is your audience of one.

No one else matters.

If you’re trying to market a product or service, this notion might make you wonder how in the world you’ll ever make a living doing what you do. But please stay with me as I expand on the concept of the audience of one.

Let’s pretend you’re writing a book. And let’s pretend only one copy of your book will be printed – and only one person will ever be allowed to read it. Wait, I take that back; you’re the only one who can read it, but you get to pick one person who sits next to you while you read your book aloud to them. You’re not alone, nervously standing on a brightly lit stage, squinting into a dark, empty auditorium trying to find the one. Instead, you’re seated together on a comfy couch. You’re relaxed. You are making eye contact, and you can simply read aloud without needing to shout to get your story heard. As you settle in to read your book, you notice that you’re not reading so much as you are sharing. Your story becomes a conversation.

Focus on the One

Let your mind’s eye focus on that one person you’re in conversation with. Maybe they’re one actual person you know and love, or perhaps they’re a composite of many people, an avatar of your ideal client. 

Marketing experts use visualization exercises like this one to help clients identify or “niche down” to find their target audience. In his book, This is Marketing, Seth Godin emphasizes the importance of speaking to a very specific audience rather than trying to appeal to everyone. He introduces the concept of the smallest viable audience, which is the minimum number of people you need to make your work successful. His argument is that by narrowing your focus – starting with one person and deeply understanding them and their needs – you can create meaningful impact and lasting change. 

How to Identify Your Audience of One

Grab your favorite pen and write these questions in your journal:

• Who is the one person you wish to reach? 

• Why?

• What do they look like? 

• What’s their favorite food or color or music? 

Have fun with this. Get creative and get as specific as you’d like. I promise it will help you gain clarity around your message and who wants (and needs) to hear it, because to deliver a clear message, you must understand the worldview of the person you’re speaking to. And your message must be relevant to their situation.

 

Consider your message. 

When this one person reads your work or uses your product or service, how will their life be changed for the better?

• What do you want this one person to think? 

• Feel? 

• Know?

• Do?

Knowing your one will help you deliver consistent, focused messaging, which is the key to growing your audience. When your message is relatable, it is repeatable. Each connection can cause a ripple effect. Before long, your audience of one will become a crowd that’s cheering for you and wanting more of that thing you do.