Most new business owners believe their “audience” is a demographic — age, location, gender, or income, but demographics don’t buy. People buy — because they want relief, clarity, change, or a better version of their life.
To understand your audience, you must stop thinking of “buyers” and start thinking of real individuals.
This lesson teaches you how to understand your audience the way a marketer, psychologist, strategist, and storyteller all see them at once.
1. Don’t Think Audience — Speak to a Real Person
A real person has:
- a problem disrupting their life or their work
- a desire they can clearly feel
- struggles they are going through
- fears about making the wrong choice
- hopes about what life could look like after they get the relief you offer
- language they naturally use to talk about all this
- additional obstacles standing in their way after they decide what to buy
Most businesses skip this important human part and jump straight into the fun design instead of thinking about how the design stems from knowing the audience first. You can’t just jump into logos, websites, or posts before understanding the human your business exists to help. This is where your marketing begins — not with colors, fonts, or platforms.
You may want to love your brand visuals as extensions of yourself, but you are not the one you need to persuade. You are not your target audience.
Your branding is a collection of tools to capture your audience. So, think about them — their needs, their experiences, what they like, what they trust, what they resonate with — and design for your buyers and site users, not for yourself.
Your audience is not a category.
Your audience is a person with a story.
Focus on one customer you know. Create based on conversations you’ve had with that person, what you’ve observed, how they speak, and what they struggle with. Marketing isn’t a massive blanket thrown over an entire population. Think of your marketing as a hand towel used by one specific person — matched to their colors, their preferences, their needs.
Aside Teaching Note:
This is why we use tools like Google Keyword Planner — to discover the real-life words your audience uses, not the industry terms you’re used to. So you can speak their language.
2. What They Say vs. What They Actually Mean
People rarely articulate the full truth in their first layer of words. They usually speak in surface wants.
They say: “I just need __?__.”
They mean: “I need something that really solves my current dilemma.”
They say: “I need __?__.”
They mean: “I need a long-term solution to this ongoing problem.”
This is the NEED BEHIND the need — the deeper truth driving their decisions.
Your job is to translate the surface want into the real underlying driver.
3. The Three Layers of Audience Understanding
People operate on three levels at the same time. What they say, what they feel, and what they believe — and the three are often different. Understanding all three is how your marketing becomes powerful.
Layer 1 — Surface Wants
This is the shallow, surface-level desire they express out loud.
“I want __?__.”
People often express incomplete versions of their problems because they don’t analyze what they truly need or why. Your job is to hear the surface want while looking deeper.
Your job: Identify the surface want so you can open the conversation, but do not build your entire strategy on it.
Layer 2 — Emotional Needs
The feelings underneath the situation. It is the emotional relief they’re truly seeking underneath the want.
“I feel __?__.”
Humans don’t buy facts — they buy relief, reassurance, hope, confidence, and belonging. This is what motivates decisions — the fears, vulnerabilities, frustrations, and desire for improvement.
People buy solutions that change how they feel, not just what they have.
Your job: Listen for the emotions. These drive urgency, trust, and decision-making.
Layer 3 — Identity Thoughts
This is the logic-based layer:
Who they want to become, how they want to be perceived, or what identity shift they’re chasing.
These beliefs shape how they see themselves and the world.
“I think __?__.”
Identity thoughts influence what people believe is possible, what they assume will or won’t work, and how they justify decisions to themselves.
Identity can drive long-term loyalty.
Your job: Speak about how they think things should be.
Some people are emotional (“I feel…”). Some are logical (“I think…”). Some are visual (“I see…”). When you understand all three layers — and speak in the style they naturally use — your marketing becomes precise, resonant, and effective.
Figure out what they actually need by analyzing what they want, how they feel, and what they think. Marketing becomes powerful when you understand the need BEHIND the need.
This makes your message land in the exact format their brain is wired to receive.
When you communicate at only one level, you miss two-thirds of the buying mind. People buy when all three layers of their experience are reflected back to them.
Match Your Audience's Communication System
Each person expresses themselves differently. Some people are:
Emotional (“I feel…”)
Logical (“I think…”)
Visual (“I see…”)
Practical (“I need…”)
Pay attention to how they speak. Match the way they naturally express themselves so they feel understood. This builds trust.
4. The Before State and the After State
Your real customer is experiencing:
Before:
confusion, overwhelm, inconvenience, frustration, fear, or discomfort.
After:
relief, clarity, confidence, ease, improvement, success, or transformation.
You are not selling the product. You are selling the bridge between their Before State and their After State.
5. Why This Matters for Your Marketing
Marketing becomes dramatically easier when you know:
- who you’re helping
- what they’re living through
- what they’re trying to change
- what they’re afraid of
- how they describe their struggle
- what “better” looks like in their world
This understanding shapes your messaging, platform choices, offers, tone, visual design, and strategy. Everything becomes clear when you know who you're really talking to.
THE QUICK WIN FROM THIS LESSON
Write down:
- One real person your business could help today
- What they’re going through
- What they want to change
- What they’re afraid will happen if they don’t change
- How their life improves if they choose your solution
This exercise humanizes your audience and gives your marketing a heartbeat.
How to Use This
Use all three layers in your messaging:
1. Start with the Surface Want
This gets their attention.
(Doorway.)
2. Acknowledge the Emotional Need
This makes them feel seen.
(Connection.)
3. Speak to the Identity Thought
This unlocks desire, motivation, and buying behavior.
(Transformation.)
Practical Application — The Layered Messaging Method
Here is how one message could contain all three layers:
Surface Want:
“You're wanting _____.”
Emotional Need:
“You're feeling _____.”
Identity Thought:
“You're thinking _____.”
APPLYING THIS TO YOUR BUSINESS TODAY
STEP 1 — Write down the top 5 things your audience says they want.
Phrase statements how they say it.
STEP 2 — Under each want, write what they’re actually feeling.
These become your most persuasive messaging points.
STEP 3 — Write their logic points.
This tells you how to bridge your brand.
STEP 4 — Write One Layered Message
Use the three layers to create one piece of marketing:
1 sentence for want
1 sentence for emotion
1 sentence for thoughts
Use it in a social post, email intro, homepage blurb, ad headline, or service description.
Do this once per week and your marketing will deepen rapidly.
THE AUDIENCE LAYER TEMPLATE
1. Surface Wants (What they say): _____
2. Emotional Needs (What they feel): _____
3. Identity Thoughts (What they think): _____
4. One Layered Message I Will Create This Week:
Surface: _____
Emotion: _____
Identity: _____
“Speak to what they say they want. Understand what they feel. Honor what they believe.”
✔ WHAT YOU JUST LEARNED (Your Marketing Vocabulary Boost)
- Audience Psychographics
- Audience Pain Points
- Voice of Customer Language
- Before & After Transformation Mapping
- Customer Identity Drivers
You’re learning advanced marketing principles — taught simply, step-by-step, and in a way you can actually use.