“She knew what I was without me having to explain it.”—my youngest daughter, delighted that someone understood her Halloween costume.

It was simple: a burlap skirt, a loose linen shirt, a straw headdress, and a bit of dirt smudged on her face.

But she was getting a whole lot of “Why do you have straw on your head?”

So when someone got it without asking, there was an immediate bond.

This was one of her people.

So much to unpack here, right?

First, you need to know she was Nori Brandyfoot.

And if that’s confusing to you, you need to know she was a Harfoot.

And if that’s confusing to you, you need to know that Harfoots are the ancestors of Hobbits (I’m using capital Hs here out of respect for fictional races of lovable halflings).

And that Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were like Nori, abnormally drawn to adventure.

It could also help if you’ve watched the Amazon series The Rings of Power, which is a prequel to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

All caught up?

Or not so Tol-keen?

Sorry. I had to.

Now we can talk about how, when we choose to do a thing few people really understand and we practice our craft out in the wild (aka dressing up as Nori Brandyfoot for Halloween), we have to be willing to live with the fact that a large portion of the people we encounter will be confused.

It’s frustrating, yes.

But here’s the thing:

When someone does recognize that thing you’re doing as incredibly valuable to them (aka is a fan of The Rings of Power and totally gets it), the connection is crazy strong.

They will feel drawn to you.

They’re your people.

I’ve been working on a go-to-market strategy with a service business that hired Audience Ops to help out, and, as we’ve been diving into who their Ideal Client Persona (ICP) truly is, there’s been some concern about my recommendation to niche down.

They do a handful of things incredibly well for a wide range of clients.

But what they want is a steady stream of qualified interest in one service in particular (the most lucrative and exciting one they offer).

To scale that type of growing interest, they need to figure out what will resonate strongly with clients who value that particular service.

Clients who will encounter them and think, “Yes. This is for ME. This is exactly what we need.”

They need to attract clients with a specific worldview by building a world they can inhabit.

A place where no one has to ask, “Why do you have straw on your head?”

Because they’ve got straw on their heads, too.

Ashley Guttuso | Audience Ops