What would my audience buy from me?

Start with the unfinished job.

A product idea gets easier to evaluate when you can picture the buyer just before they open it. “People want to learn illustration” leaves you with a whole curriculum to write. “An illustrator has to answer a client about a new use for yesterday’s artwork” gives you a decision, a deadline and someone to interview.

Ask a reader to complete this sentence about a recent occasion: “I was trying to ___, but I couldn’t ___.” Keep the part about the occasion. A quiz answer about what they might want someday gives you much less to work with.

Read four parts of your own archive.

• What you teach repeatedly. Look for subjects you can demonstrate with several real examples. Write down one lesson or post you could use to teach each.
• Where readers follow up. Save the question that came after the tutorial. It tells you which step survived your explanation.
• Their description of the snag. Preserve the words people use. “They want to put it on boxes too” tells you more about the job than a broad label like “licensing.” Remove names and client details from your notes.
• What they already use or buy. Ask what they did the last time this came up. A contract template, a consultation or a workaround can show what your offer would need to improve.

Ask what each response actually establishes.

A popular post can lend you a subject to explore. It cannot tell you which part a reader would pay you to handle. Keep these responses in separate columns when you test an invitation.

Record how many different people took each action, which channel they used and what stopped the others. A reader can appear on several rows. Adding the rows together would count them more than once.

Set aside 90 minutes.

1. 25 minutes: Open a recent stretch of replies. Copy the questions into a document, without personal details. Put the post that prompted each one beside it.
2. 20 minutes: Group questions by the decision the reader needs to make. Mark anyone who has asked about that decision on more than one occasion.
3. 15 minutes: Compare groups for urgency, repetition, existing spending and your ability to demonstrate a solution. Write a sentence about the strongest evidence and the largest gap in each group.
4. 10 minutes: Name one person, one situation and one thing they could finish with your help.
5. 20 minutes: Draft an invitation with a deliverable, date, price and way to book. Estimate the smallest group you could serve well. Write down the response that would justify running it before you share it.

A commission changes after the artwork is approved.

Fictional example

An illustrator shares sketchbook tours and painting demos. Readers enjoy the technique, but their longer messages concern working commissions. One has finished an editorial portrait when the client asks to use it on a shop display. Another agreed to one set of changes and has just received a third.

Those readers have a decision to make today. The illustrator could test a paid commission-planning session. Each participant would bring a redacted inquiry, identify the requested uses and revisions, and leave with the questions to settle before agreeing a fee.

Invite people who have described that situation, share the real terms and count bookings. If readers can already draft a clear response but need help with a contract dispute, a teaching session covers the wrong problem. If they only want to watch more drawing demonstrations, investigate technique with that group separately.

Decide what still needs testing.

Your most vocal readers are easier to hear than everyone else. Try the invitation on a channel where you normally teach and compare its reach with similar posts. If it barely reached anyone, the result tells you little. If the usual readership saw it, ask one person who passed what they needed instead.

Consider delivery as part of the test. Four bookings could fill a pilot and still leave you with more preparation and support than you want to take on. Keep notes on time as well as sales.

We can read your published work and audience questions with you.