Audience Pyramid and Channel Map
Segment audiences by maturity and meet each group where it already gathers
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 98%
The Audience Pyramid and Channel Map divides a market into levels based on maturity and professional relationship to the subject. In Colin and Samir's version, aspiring creators form the broad base, career creators occupy a more specialized middle, and creator-industry professionals form the top. Each group wants different information and spends attention in different environments. The business maps formats accordingly: broad educational video can reach aspirants on YouTube, podcasts can deepen professional learning, and newsletters can reach people in their inboxes. The result is a distribution system based on actual audience behavior and need rather than publishing the same material everywhere or expecting every segment to adopt one channel.
Origin
Extracted from Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal during the explanation of why The Publish Press newsletter complemented video and podcast content.
Core principles
- 01Different audience maturity levels have different needs
- 02Audience segments gather in different media environments
- 03Distribution should follow existing behavior rather than force a new habit
How to run it
- 1
Define maturity levels
Separate the audience into meaningful stages based on experience, goals, or role in the market.
Pro tip Use distinctions that change what value the audience needs.
Watch out Demographic labels alone may not predict content behavior.
- 2
Map needs
List the questions, anxieties, and outcomes specific to each audience level.
Pro tip Interview real members of each segment.
Watch out Do not assume advanced users merely want more detailed beginner content.
- 3
Map attention environments
Identify where each group watches, listens, reads, works, and communicates.
Pro tip Meet the audience where it already exists.
Watch out A convenient channel for the creator may be inconvenient for the audience.
- 4
Assign formats
Match each segment and need to the medium best suited to reach and depth.
Pro tip Allow channels to overlap while preserving a primary job for each.
Watch out Duplicating identical content everywhere can dilute the channel proposition.
In the wild
A company uses searchable YouTube lessons for aspiring creators, long-form interviews for working creators, and a concise email newsletter for operators and industry professionals who spend their days in an inbox.
→ Each audience segment receives appropriate value in a familiar environment.
Common mistakes
Treating all creators alike
Beginners, professionals, and industry operators differ in needs, available time, and preferred channels.
Is it for you?
Best for
Educational brands serving beginners, working professionals, and industry participants simultaneously.
Not ideal for
Small projects serving one tightly homogeneous audience through a single effective channel.
From the transcript
“we break our audience up into aspiring creator, career creator, and creator industry.”
“Each one of those um categories of audience um what has different wants and needs and requires different things and also hangs out in different…”
“where do we catch our audience where they already exist?”
From the episode
The Full Story of Colin and Samir