Samantha Magick
Hey, I’m Samantha!
My School of Splice goal
I’m learning how to ask Fiji’s small business owners what they need to build their business.
I’m the managing editor of Islands Business, a news website for the Pacific Islands. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
Alan and Rishad are coaching me on my SOS journey.
In this program, I’m learning how to
How to survey my audience
How to act on their feedback
And how to keep that door to feedback open
What I’ll need to do
I’m going to identify my community — what are the specific segments of people whose problem I want to solve? I’ll make a simple page with columns. Under each of these columns, I’ll put down my hunches.
Audience segments could include people wanting to start a business, kickstart an existing business, or just people looking for a job or a side gig.
Now I’ll put down 10 people that represent different segments across the columns that I think would be most insightful in helping me answer those questions and test my assumptions about their problem and what they need.
I’ll talk to them. Tell them what I’m trying to figure out with this exercise. I’ll ask them what I’m missing or misunderstanding. Then I’ll make the changes.
Time to create a survey form. Google Form, Typeform, whatever works.
I’ll send the survey out to all of them. (“Hey, I’m building a resource hub to help small businesses shine. We want to know: How can I be helpful to you?” I need to remember: the more specific my questions, the more specifically I can build utility and value.)
I’ll tell them about my existing insights into small business entrepreneurs, then tell them what I’m trying to figure out with this exercise.
* What business or financial problems do they identify with?
What do they wish they had that doesn’t already exist?
* What format do they want this in? Do they really want an information hub with articles on how to save?
Or is it a financial fitness plan with a live coach? Or a weekly newsletter?
* How much would they pay for this?
Next, I’ll widen the reach of my research even as I study the results that come in. I’ll add a prominent survey link to my home page. I’ll also send the survey out on all my social channels.
When the results come in, I’ll start interpreting them into actions.
What have I learned about my audience? What’s surprising? What is the one thing that I know I can quickly build for them in two weeks to delight them?
Next, I’ll build a quick but testable prototype of my newsletter that focuses on that one single solution. Focussing on one solution for one problem allows me to measure it iteratively rather than trying to build everything for everybody.
Is my content solving the problem my audience wanted solved? Is it something they would find useful and relevant?
I’ll test the newsletter with my core audience (by now, I will probably already have a clear idea of who they are) on a Zoom or Google Meet call.
I’ll make sure to ask for very specific feedback — does this newsletter speak to their needs and wants? Is it useful? What do they want more of? What should I remove? What’s confusing? And what would they pay for this? I’ve got to remember: my lens is always the same: does it solve the problem they wanted me to solve?
Now it’s time for me to go back and improve on the prototype based on their feedback. Sometimes my role is to translate their needs; often, the best is to remove myself and what I would want from a newsletter like this, and focus solely on my audience feedback.
I’ll create a simple one-page landing page (possibly linked to your Pacific Makete website) where people can sign up. There’s only one single call-to-action here: subscribe.
I’ll also run a cheap campaign on Facebook and Twitter to see if I can get more traction. I’ll watch for feedback — is this resonating with my target audience? Why? Why not?
Want to learn how to do this yourself? Splice can help. Get in touch.
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