Spoiler: It is not your job to figure out your audience. You don’t have as much time. Instead, it’s your job to push out your product and/or message, then receive feedback from those who engage with either one.
Time shortage is already a common challenge among solopreneurs with a new product. You don’t need to pile onto your to-do list with a pursuit more suited for established brands and businesses. At best and for the better, you have a hypothesis of who will gravitate to your product. I say “for the better” because you want to leave room for growth. There are too many brands that can’t be nimble and grow alongside the market because they’ve built their business for their perceived customer base.
Unlike common points about customer persona or advice on how to pinpoint your audience, which does have their own merits, I’m going to focus instead on a different approach–one that is arguably more sustainable in terms of spending your time, mental bandwidth, and even money. After all, it isn’t that you don’t want to spend your/any resources; it is that you want your resources to generate results worthwhile of their spend/expense. Anyhow, you already caught the gist in the spoiler so here are more actionable details.
Deliver your message on your favorite platform. The latter point is key. It could be X, Instagram, or Facebook—whichever has you feeling more comfortable to share on a consistent basis.
Create a way to receive customer feedback. This could be a range of methods, including a survey on your website, the aforementioned social media channel, or directly via an email campaign.
Structure the feedback context. To be clear, we’re not manipulating things such that you see what you want to see. That actually diminishes any value that you might glean. Ask questions relevant to the growth of your product.
Focus on your KPI’s. You know what metrics matter more in your product life cycle. Rather than aim for general KPI’s that don’t give you the points needed to push between iterations, choose what might address your curiosities and concerns.
Follow up on certain detailed feedback. Especially the ones that reflect time and consideration placed in the comment, whether it is positive or negative.