Are you thinking about starting a side hustle? Great! Side hustles can be a great way to make some extra money, but before you get started, you need to make sure you have an audience for your product or service. Here are 8 steps to help you find customers for your side hustle.
1. Figure out who your target customer is.
Your target audience is the group of people most likely to buy your product or use your service. By definition, they are potential customers who share similar characteristics, such as age, gender, interests, or income level. In order to effectively market to your target audience, you need to understand them on a deep level. Who are they? What are their needs? What motivates them? Once you have a clear understanding of your target audience, you can begin crafting a marketing strategy that will resonate with them.
To get started, answer the following questions:
- What problem does my product or service solve?
- Who is most likely to need my product or service?
- What demographics are they in (age, gender, income, location, etc.)?
- What psychographics are they in (lifestyle, interests, values)?
- What needs or pain points do they have that my product or service can address?
2. Do some market research.
Market research is critical for any business, including a side hustle. By understanding your target market and what they want or need, you can adjust your product or service offerings accordingly. Conducting market research doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive; there are a number of simple ways to gather information about your target market.
Questionnaires
One way to conduct market research is to send out questionnaires to a representative sample of your target market. Questionnaires can be either paper-based or sent electronically. They should be concise and to the point, with questions that are easy to answer. Be sure to leave space for respondents to elaborate on their answers if they wish.
To get the most accurate results from your questionnaire, it’s important to ensure that the sample size is large enough and that the questions are free from bias. A good rule of thumb is to survey at least 100 people. You can increase the validity of your results by randomly selecting respondents from your target market.
Interviews
Another way to conduct market research is through interviews. This method works well when you want to gather in-depth information about your target market’s needs and wants. When conducting interviews, it’s important to keep the following in mind:
- Choose an appropriate location – The location of your interview will depend on who your respondents are. If you’re interviewing stay-at-home moms, for example, you may want to conduct the interview over the phone or online so as not to inconvenience them. If you’re interviewing busy professionals, however, an in-person interview may be more appropriate.
- Ask open-ended questions – Open-ended questions (i.e., questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no) are more likely to elicit detailed responses from your respondents.
- Avoid leading questions – Leading questions (i.e., questions that overly direction answers) can biased results.
3. Create a marketing plan.
A well-thought-out marketing plan will help you focus your efforts, stay on budget, and measure your success. Not sure where to start? Use this quick and easy guide to create a marketing plan for your side hustle.
Define Your Goals
Before you can create a marketing plan, you need to define your goals. What are you hoping to achieve with your marketing efforts? Do you want to raise awareness of your brand? Drive traffic to your website? Increase sales? Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start developing strategies that will help you reach your goals.
Research Your Target Market
Who is your target market? This is an important question that will help determine everything from the tone of your marketing messages to the channels you use to reach potential customers. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to research your target market and get to know them as well as possible. This will make it easier to create content and messages that resonate with them.
Determine Your Budget
How much can you afford to spend on marketing? This will be a key factor in determining which marketing activities makes the most sense for your business. If you have a limited budget, consider using free or low-cost marketing channels like social media or PR rather than paid advertising. You can also look for creative ways to stretch your budget further, such as bartering services with another business or partnering with other businesses in your industry on promotional activities.
Choose Your Channels
Now that you know your goals, target market, and budget, it’s time to select the channels through which you’ll reach potential customers. There are dozens of options available, from traditional advertising like print and radio ads to digital channels like email marketing and social media. Consider which channels would be most effective for reaching your target market and achieving your goals—and then choose the ones that fit best into your budget.
4. Give away free samples or trials
People love free stuff! If you offer free samples or trials of your product or service, you’re sure to attract some new customers. Just make sure you only give away enough to whet their appetite—you don’t want them getting everything they need from the free sample and never coming back!
5. Join relevant online communities.
Whether you’re starting a blog, selling handmade jewelry, or offering consulting services, there are online communities full of people who are interested in what you have to offer. The key is finding the right communities for your business and then participating in a way that is helpful and genuine.
Find niche forums and groups that align with your interests.
The first step is to find online communities that align with the interests of your side hustle. For example, if you’re starting a blog about fashion, look for online forums and groups about fashion, beauty, or style. Chances are there are already established communities full of people who would be interested in reading your blog. Do a quick search on Google or social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to find relevant groups and forums.
Share your expertise and insights in a helpful way.
Once you’ve found a few relevant online communities, it’s time to start participating in them. When you’re just getting started, it’s important not to go in with the goal of selling your product or service from the get-go. Instead, focus on being helpful and sharing your expertise with members of the community. For example, if you’re starting a blog about fashion, you might share styling tips, share links to articles or resources that you’ve found helpful, or even just offer general advice about fashion trends. Over time, members of the community will begin to see you as an expert on the topic, and they’ll be more likely to check out your blog when you do eventually promote it.
Be active and engaged in the community on a regular basis
The key to successful community promotion is consistency. It’s important to be active in the community on a regular basis so that people begin to recognize you as a valuable member who offers helpful insights and information. If you only pop into the community every now and then when you want to promote something new, people will quickly catch on and tune you out. But if you’re consistently providing value over time, people will be much more receptive when you do eventually promote your side hustle venture.
6. Get involved in local events.
Local events are a great way to connect with potential customers who might not be active online. Attend trade shows, meetups, and other events where your target customer is likely to be in attendance. This is also a chance to network with other local businesses that might be able to refer customers your way.
7. Speak at industry events.
In addition to attending industry events, consider speaking at them as well! This is an excellent opportunity to position yourself as an expert in your field and gain visibility for your side hustle among potential customers. Check out sites like Meetup to find events happening near you that could use a speaker on your topic of expertise.
8. Collaborate with complementary businesses.
Another great way to find customers is by teaming up with businesses that complement yours but don’t compete with it directly. For example, if you sell handmade jewelry, partnering with a local clothing boutique would give you the opportunity to showcase your products in front of an engaged audience of potential customers. Brainstorm a list of businesses that could benefit from working with you, and reach out to them about partnering up!
Starting a side hustle can be a great way to make some extra money, but before you get started, it’s important to make sure you have an audience for your product or service. By following these 8 steps, you’ll be well on your way to finding customers for your side hustle in no time! And once you’ve found them, don’t forget to keep track of your progress so you can adjust your marketing efforts as needed along the way!