Let me repeat that: Buyer personas (or Customer Avatars) are LAME.

And if you're anything like me, your reaction to the idea of creating an in-depth fake persona for your ideal client is something like this:

WTF is my problem with personas?

Gut reactions aside, I kept hearing about how important these bloody things are. How they help you "speak to" your audience. And how you can 10x your revenue if you just narrow in on this ONE creepily-specific-but-totally-fake person.

But no matter how hard I tried (which admittedly, wasn't very hard at all), I couldn't get on board with the whole farce.

Because I knew it would make ZERO difference to how I show up in my business.

Ya see, I started Damn Write so I’d have a space to confidently be myself (and it helped me become more confident within myself - but that's a story for another day)

And I'm just gonna be me...

Which naturally attracts people (followers/subscribers/clients/generally rad people like you) who "get" me.

And repels the ones who don't.

The best part is that this requires no extra effort because there is no fake personality I've constructed to woo the equally fake buyer persona.

Instead, I focus on my audience in a tangible way. By learning about their pain points, desires, fears... the stuff that really matters (and actually exists).

What you can do instead:

Spend your time focusing on YOUR brand personality and getting to know your actual audience instead.

Get clear on your own brand personality, and what showing up that way looks like.

And make the effort to get to know your most loyal brand fans. Ask them what brought them to you, why the stay, what keeps them up at night… in other words, actually give a shit about them. You’ll gain more insight than a brainstorming exercise could ever deliver AND they’ll feel heard.

Everyone wins.