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Persona: picture one real person
6 minutes · 9 steps · workout 2 of 5 in this module
What you'll be able to do
By the end of this workout, you'll be able to build a data-based persona card and turn it directly into an ad message.
A first look: Persona: turn your audience into one person
A persona is a single fictional person who represents your ideal customer. The card lists their name, age, daily routine, goal, hesitation, and where they see you. The point is to think about a person, not an “audience,” when you write an ad. A good persona comes from real customer data, not your imagination. A bad persona is a label that fits anyone, like “30, female, likes shopping.”
Example: For Balance Pilates, a neighborhood studio: “Maya, 32, lives a few blocks away, works as a designer at an agency. She sits at a desk all day. She's nervous about looking like a beginner in a big group class.”
What this workout covers
- Persona: turn your audience into one person
- Personas come from data
- Case: Guesswork or data?
- Negative persona: who don't you want to sell to?
- Case: From persona to ad headline
A question from this workout: Guesswork or data?
The owner of Harbor Dental, a neighborhood dental clinic, wrote their persona as “retiree over 60.” But online booking records from the last 3 months show a different picture. The owner asks which persona to use for new Instagram content.
- Online booking requests (3 months)
- 240
- Share aged 28-40
- 58%
- Share over 60
- 12%
- Most requested time
- Weekdays after 6 p.m.
What do you recommend?
- Trust the owner's instinct. They've known their patients for years
- Make one persona: “Everyone aged 18-65 who lives in the city”
- Keep the retiree persona, but use younger faces in the ad visuals
- Make the main persona for the online channel “a working person aged 28-40 who wants an evening appointment.” Also check phone booking records and keep the retiree persona as the second one
Pick your answer first, then open the reasoning below.
Show the answer and the reasoning
Answer: D. Make the main persona for the online channel “a working person aged 28-40 who wants an evening appointment.” Also check phone booking records and keep the retiree persona as the second one
The data shows that most online booking requests come from working people aged 28-40, and an evening-hours message fits them perfectly. Checking phone records keeps you from over-generalizing from one channel. The most common mistake is trusting instinct. The owner thinks of the patients they remember most, not the ones who come most.
The other steps work the same way: you decide first, then see why each option is right or wrong.
How you practice here
- 3 short concept cards
- 2 multiple-choice questions
- 2 campaign cases with real-looking numbers
- 1 put-in-order exercise
- 1 matching exercise
Part of the module: Target Audience and Value Proposition
No ad works until you know who you are selling to: personas, segmentation and a clear value proposition.
More workouts in this module
- Selling to "everyone" sells to no one
- Listening to customers: reviews, surveys and search data
- Segmentation: splitting your audience into useful groups
- Value proposition: why should they choose you?
Programs that include this workout