Stop Saying Your Target Audience Is "Everyone" — Here's What to Do Instead

Know who your fans are so you can market directly to them.

There’s a mistake I see artists make over and over again, and it’s one of the most costly things you can do to your marketing strategy before you’ve even started.

When I ask an artist, “Who is your target audience?” and they say everyone — that’s a problem.

I get it. You made music that comes from a real place, music you believe in, and you genuinely think it could resonate with all kinds of people. That might even be true. But “everyone” is not a marketing strategy. It’s a way of saying you haven’t done the work yet. Because here’s the thing: if you don’t know who you’re talking to, you can’t talk to them.

I have a little fix I like to call fan personas, and building them out properly is one of the most powerful things you can do for your rollout.

Fan Persona A: Your Super Fan

Think of this as the top of the pyramid. These are the people already in your corner, or the people you’re building toward. They’re buying your merch. They’re at your shows. They’re the ones leaving comments, sharing your music unprompted, and pulling other people into your world. These are the fans who fund your career in the most direct way, and they deserve to be known deeply.

So who are they? Get specific. What else do they listen to when it’s not you, where are they finding that music? What’s their age range? Their gender? How do they express themselves visually? What does their day look like? Where do they spend time online?

Don’t build a vague archetype. Build a person. Give them a name if it helps. Know them like you’d know a friend, because in many ways, they are your community.

Fan Persona B: The Future Convert

This is the bottom of the pyramid, top of the funnel. These are the people who don’t know you yet, but they will, and when they find you, something is going to click. They’ll follow you on social. They’ll add your track to a playlist on Spotify. They’re open to becoming fans; they just haven’t been introduced yet.

Your job with this persona is to think about discovery. What kind of content would stop them mid-scroll? What would make them curious enough to click over to your profile? This is where your most marketable content lives, the videos that aren’t deeply lore-y or narrative-heavy, but instead hit fast and hit hard. You know the ones: low production overhead, high emotional or entertainment payoff, zero friction.

These are the pieces of content that introduce you to strangers in a way that makes them want to stay.

Why This Changes Everything

The goal isn’t to narrow your reach. It’s to sharpen your aim. When you know who you’re talking to, every piece of content, every campaign, every rollout decision gets easier and more effective.

“So uhh can you just do all this for me?”

Yes, I can. Send me an email and let’s make your fan map.