I’m undertaking a 1000-day reinvention project, focused on launching a writing and advisory business around personal finance for GenXers. I’m blogging here daily to track my progress. In Monday Marketing, I research, plan, and evaluate my marketing and promotion activities.
As a starting point, I asked ChatGPT how I can define my target audience. It provided some questions as starting points which I’m going to work through here.
questions about the podcast
Why are you making this podcast?
I want to provide practical, actionable guidance to people who are close to and contemplating retirement but perhaps not retired yet, people who may like to create an encore career, people who have adequate savings for retirement but are uncertain how to manage those savings, and people who are hungry for smart content about money, work, and life in general. I want to write for people who are tired of hearing the same financial and other life advice regurgitated without regard for changing times.
What do you want people to think, feel, or do after listening?
I want them to question their beliefs about managing their money, work, and retirement in their late 40s, 50s, and early 60s.
What kinds of people are likely to care about that outcome?
People who worked professional jobs, likely knowledge work type jobs, and found satisfaction in that work but either are burnt out or were pushed out so they won’t or can’t do it anymore. People who have an adequate amount saved ($1M to $5M) but not so much that they can just not worry about money or working now.
What is your podcast about really?
Rethinking standard advice about investing, working in mid- to late life, retirement, end-of-life planning, relationships, and life in general. Living in new more effective and more rewarding ways.
How is it different from existing shows?
Some shows that overlap with my niche:
- Mel Robbins podcast – general self improvement from a Gen X self help guru
- The Good Life project, Jonathan Fields – self improvement from another Gen Xer
- Motley Fool Money
- Smart Money: NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast
- GenX Women are Sick of This Shit! – covers GenX history and pop culture by two women who grew up in Indianapolis
- Stuck in the Middle: A Gen X Podcast by Jason Ek – podcast about music, movies, and culture of Generation X
- Money for Couples with Ramit Sethi
I haven’t found a podcast that covers the same niche I’m aiming at, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I will research more.
Generally I see podcasts that cover general self improvement (Mel Robbins, Good Life), managing money (Smart Money, Money for Couples), and Gen X culture (GenX Women are Sick of This Shit).
It will also be important to look at YouTube channels as YouTube somewhat overlaps with podcasts, though people may consume these two forms of media in different ways.
My show will be different from what I’ve seen so far in these ways:
- Has a primary focus on managing money and work, as these two things are so important to happiness at mid and late life
- Rethinks conventional advice rather than repackaging the consensus view
- Brings in an macroeconomic lens for interest and substance
What unique lens or voice are you bringing?
My unique lens is that “what worked before won’t work now” and takes a critical eye to standard money management, career, and self improvement advice.
Demographics
- Age range (45 – 60)
- Gender – both men and women
- Location – urban
- Career stage or industry – knowledge work, may still be working in it or laid off, people who describe themselves as “semi-retired”
psychographics
- Beliefs, values, anxieties – will likely resonate with those with liberal political viewpoints who believe that the current U.S. presidential administration is destroying our economy
- Goals or aspirations – meaningful encore career, financial security and more important combatting financial anxiety, smart investing, living their best mid- and late life
- Cultural references or media they consume – Mel Robbins??, not sure who else
Core questions
“How do I live richly without working full-time anymore?”
“How much money is enough—and what do I do with it now?”
“What if I want to work again, but not like before?”
“How do I protect what I’ve built in an economy I don’t trust?”
“What does a meaningful life look like at this stage?”
cultural references
Podcasts: The Ezra Klein Show, Acquired, Ramit Sethi, WorkLife with Adam Grant, The Tim Ferriss Show (for intellectuals, not bro-hustlers), Peter Attia’s Drive
Writers/Thinkers: Megan McArdle, Tyler Cowen, Kyla Scanlon, Morgan Housel, Annie Duke, Matthew Yglesias, Barry Ritholtz
Media: Substack culture, NYT opinion section, The Atlantic, Vox, Noahpinion
Sample listener personas
I had ChatGPT generate three listener personas. I will go back and refine these after getting feedback from people in the target audience.
🎯 Sample Listener Persona: Rick
Name: Rick, 53
Background: Former product manager in tech, pushed out in a recent layoff
Financial status: $2.1M in savings; feels “almost safe”
Current life: Lives in Seattle, does occasional consulting, thinking about launching a small business or teaching
Pain points: Doesn’t trust financial advisors; doesn’t want to go back to 60-hour weeks; deeply skeptical of FIRE content that ignores real life
Media diet: Reads The Atlantic, follows Kyla Scanlon and Morgan Housel, listens to Ezra Klein, occasionally doomscrolls
What he wants: Clarity, sanity, realism—and a sense of purpose
🎯 Listener Persona 2: Lisa, 49 – The Reluctant Consultant
Background:
Lisa spent 20 years climbing the ranks in healthcare marketing, ending as a VP before leaving after a company acquisition and culture shift. She now does freelance consulting but doesn’t want to go back to full-time work.
Financial status:
She and her husband have saved around $1.6M, including 401(k)s and a paid-off home. She’s nervous about longevity risk and healthcare costs.
Current life:
Lisa lives in a Denver suburb. She’s the default caregiver for her aging parents and has a son in college. She’s active in local politics, does yoga, and is considering a part-time coaching certificate program—but unsure if it’s a real opportunity or a money pit.
Pain points:
- Feels invisible in traditional retirement planning conversations
- Hates most financial content aimed at women—it’s either patronizing or shallow
- Worries about outliving her money but also about wasting her life playing it too safe
Media diet:
Reads The Cut, Substack essays by women like Anne Helen Petersen, listens to WorkLife with Adam Grant, Death, Sex & Money, and The Daily.
What she wants:
To feel smart, not scared. She wants to work on her own terms and get clear on what a “good enough” life really looks like.
🎯 Listener Persona 3: Kevin, 57 – The Skeptical FIRE Dropout
Background:
Kevin was an early adopter of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. He worked as a software engineer, hit his $2.5M “number” at 50, and retired. But now, seven years in, he’s bored and questioning everything.
Financial status:
Technically financially independent, but recent market volatility and inflation have him rethinking assumptions. He’s not panicked—but not at ease either.
Current life:
Lives alone in a mid-size city (Raleigh). Cycles, reads, goes to lectures. Sometimes picks up part-time contract gigs “just to stay engaged.” He spends a lot of time lurking in forums like Bogleheads and Reddit’s r/financialindependence, but feels alienated from the online FIRE crowd now.
Pain points:
- Realizes FIRE didn’t solve deeper questions of meaning and community
- Frustrated by financial content that assumes one-size-fits-all answers
- Wants intellectual stimulation, but not political screeds
Media diet:
Follows Tyler Cowen, Venkatesh Rao, and Morgan Housel. Listens to The Tim Ferriss Show, Acquired, Conversations with Tyler.
What he wants:
A deeper, more thoughtful take on what comes after financial independence—and how to live well when the old playbook no longer fits.
next steps
Time to validate and iterate. I need to talk to real people who fit the profile. Ask them what podcasts they love, what problems they’re solving, and how they make decisions. Also use early episodes to test. What resonates with listeners? Which ones get shared or spark feedback?
I’m thinking of tapping into my LinkedIn connections, as I know many of them are potentially in my target audience. I feel nervous about doing so. The idea of doing it makes me feel self conscious and worried: “What will people think of me? Here’s Anne with another harebrained scheme. Didn’t she say she was working as an artist?” But I will follow Mel Robbins’ advice in her book The Let Them Theory: grant people the freedom to think negative thoughts about you. And then live the way you want. Do the things you dream of.