Why having an ideal client avatar (ICA) is important

As an entrepreneur and business owner, you might have multiple products or services that you offer. At the beginning stages, we might offer those to just about anyone, or spin our wheels marketing to the wrong audience, just throwing things out to see who will bite. 

A much more targeted approach would be to create an ideal client avatar or ICA. ICA’s are great because they let us know in a more detailed way who our client is, where they hang out (online or offline), what they listen to, what types of content they consume, their beliefs, their lifestyle, and more. This helps our marketing efforts be more effective so that each time we’re conducting outreach or spending dollars, it’s more likely to show up where our ideal client might see it. 

I ran through this exercise last year on my own, and while I have, for the most part, one specific ideal client, know that you might have more than one, especially if you have more than one offer. More than one type of person might be interested in your offers. For example, my ideal client avatar is:

  • 27-50

  • Female

  • Evidence-based wellness/creative/influencer

  • Spends time on Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, and Facebook 

  • Listens to entrepreneurial podcasts

  • Single or married

  • No more than 2 kids

  • Reads business + self-help books

Notice how I left out very specific things:

  • Males - as much as I would like to say it, I think my services are best received by females.

  • LinkedIn - my ICA spends little to no time on LinkedIn, so I won’t focus my efforts there. Your ICA might spend tons of time on LinkedIn, so keep that in mind.

  • Woo woo (def: unconventional beliefs regarded as having little or no scientific basis, especially those relating to spirituality, mysticism, or alternative medicine.) - It’s just not for me and I don’t work with clients who lean heavily into this area.

In essence, MY ideal client avatar is actually much like me. That doesn’t mean your ICA will be a carbon copy of you! Mine just happened to be that way after I ran through the exercise. It has helped me be very clear about who I market to, as well as to who I will and won’t work with. It might sound a bit savage, but I generally don’t work with those that are not my ICA - I know who I work best with that this point, and will decline those that don’t fall into this category, for the most part. If you’re interested in doing an ICA exercise, I encourage you try the one that is offered here. 


Jennifer Belser