One-Pager 101: The Ultimate Guide
This is the third post in One-Pager 101: The Ultimate Guide, a step-by-step series on how to create a compelling one-pager for any initiative—whether you’re running a business, leading a nonprofit, or planning an event. At The Riparian, we keep it high-yield and low-fluff because your time is better spent doing the work, not reading about it. Browse the full series here →

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Don’t Flap Like a Bird at the Wrong Team: Why Audience Clarity Matters

Imagine you’re with a group of friends and you decide to play Charades. You’re up first, and your goal is to get your team to guess as many prompts as possible– based on your (definitely very good) acting– before the timer runs out. 

How would you pull that off?

It may seem obvious, but you’d need to figure out who’s on your team—and make sure they know who they are. You’d probably make eye contact with those folks, get some verbal confirmation (“You ready? You locked in for this??”), and make sure they can actually see you. It would be really weird if you turned your back, went into another room, or made it so only the other team could see you. Starting to see the one-pager audience connection?

This rather silly analogy is meant to showcase a few things.

1. It’s important to know who you’re trying to communicate with. That clarity helps you orient your message toward them. Who cares if the other team sees you? You just need your people to tune in and have a clear shot at the message.
2. It’s just as important that your audience knows they’re the audience. If you’re wildly flapping like a bird, they should know to pay attention and shout, “A goose! An eagle! Some kind of weird, large bird!” (And, ideally, your one-pager will be so refined they’ll get the right answer on the first try.)
3. Knowing your audience really well lets you communicate lightning-fast. My brother and I aren’t actually twins, but we basically act like it when it comes to Charades. He knows exactly what I’m going for, and I know how he’ll respond. That’s what happens when you really get your people—you’ll know exactly what to do or say to get a quick, “Yes!”

One final note before we leave Charades: If you’re a Charades person, you gotta try Fishbowl. It’s a free, do-it-at-home party game that mashes up Charades, Catchphrase/Taboo, and Password (we like to add a “sound effects only” round too). It’s a hit even with people who say they don’t like party games. I use this free online app to keep track of prompts. Enjoy!

How to Identify Your Primary Audience for Maximum Impact

Now that we’ve had our fun with Charades, let’s talk strategy. Because when it comes to writing a one-pager, knowing your audience isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. This is a “Do not pass go, do not collect $200” situation: before you decide what to say or how to say it, you need to know exactly who you’re saying it to. And fortunately, instead of going to jail, you’re just defining your audience (way better than jail, promise). 

Even if your initiative has multiple target audiences (many do), getting pinpoint clarity on your primary audience will help shape your message, strengthen your call to action, and make it easier to adapt your one-pager for alternate versions down the road– which saves you time in the long run.

So how do you actually figure out who your primary audience is? Let’s get into it! I’ve compiled my go-to questions for brainstorming audience clarity, as well as some tried-and-true exercises for interpreting your own brainstorm. After completing these five steps, you’ll have your audience nailed down and ready to go.

If you prefer jotting things down as you go, download the free, companion worksheet here!

Nota bene: Initiative is my handy umbrella term for whatever your one-pager is about. Maybe it’s a program, a product, a campaign, or your whole business. Whatever you’re one-pager-ing, “initiative” is the catch-all that (hopefully) catches it all.

1. Brainstorm: Clarify Your Goals

Start with your own objectives—because your audience depends on what you’re trying to achieve.

• What’s the goal of this initiative? What do I want to happen?
• What would success look like—today, and long-term?
• What kind of relationship am I hoping to build (or deepen)?
• What do I need to reach that goal?
• Who has the power, influence, or interest to help me get there?
• Who would I genuinely enjoy working with or serving?
  

2. Brainstorm: Know Your People

Time to define who you’re talking to and how they interact with the world.

• Who benefits most from what I’m offering?
• Who is experiencing a problem that this solves?
• Who has engaged with similar programs, products, or services in the past (either mine or someone else’s)?
• What do I know about them demographically? (age, role, location, values, etc.)
• Where do they spend time, online and offline? (socials, websites, community spaces)
• How do they typically make decisions or take action?
• What objections or hesitations might they have about my initiative?

Free Audience Worksheet

3. Brainstorm: Refine and Filter

Clarify the nuances and sharpen your focus.

• Are there subgroups I need to distinguish? (e.g. new vs. returning clients, students vs. parents)
• Who is not my audience—and why not?
• What barriers might prevent this audience from engaging?
• What makes this audience the right audience for this moment or version of my initiative?
• Are there any biases or habits (e.g. always targeting parents, always assuming people know our backstory) that might be limiting how I define my audience?
• Have I recently asked actual members of my audience what they value, need, or respond to?

4. Reflect: What Does It All Mean

Use the following exercises to interpret your answers to the brainstorming questions. (Download this post’s PDF worksheet for an interactive version where you can type your observations directly!)

• Theme Clustering: Highlight or group ideas that repeat or feel similar. The goal here is to spot patterns across your answers. Look for emerging themes—such as shared values (e.g. creativity, access), shared behaviors (e.g. attends events, signs up for emails), or common challenges.
• Keyword Extraction: Skim your answers and pull out key nouns, verbs, and adjectives (you probably already noticed some in the Theme Clustering exercise!). The goal is to build a bank of useful language for later writing. Look for high-impact or emotionally resonant words. Create a list of 10–20 keywords that represent your audience’s needs, priorities, or vibes. These words can be used later in headlines, calls to action, or value statements.
• Empathy Mapping: Draw four quadrants on a piece of paper and label them “Thinks,” “Feels,” “Says,” and “Does.” The goal here is to get inside your audience’s mindset, which can help you uncover messaging angles and emotional hooks, clarify your value proposition, and ultimately write a banging call to action (CTA). Based on your earlier answers, imagine:
  • Thinks: What are they thinking about your initiative?
  • Feels: What feelings might come up as they engage?
  • Says: What might they say to themselves (or others)?
  • Does: What actions are they already taking—or avoiding?
• Red Light, Green Light: Create a simple T-chart with the following headers. The goal here is to further clarify your audience by knowing for sure who they aren’t and forcing you to be concise with who they are. You definitely won’t fall into the trap of writing for “everyone” if you do this exercise.
  • Red light: “Not my audience if…”
  • Green light: “Definitely my audience if…”

Need help sorting through all this audience stuff? I’ve got you. Book a one-time consult to get unstuck—or reach out if you’d rather hand off the whole one-pager. I do that too. Work with me→

5. Condense: Say It In One Sentence

Now, try to write a simple sentence naming your primary audience. It doesn’t need to be fancy, just something like: 

I want to reach creative entrepreneurs who value thoughtful branding but feel stuck when it comes to design decisions.

I want to reach local families with young kids who care about quality ingredients and love celebrating milestones with a special baked treat.

I want to reach community-minded homeowners who care about sustainability and want to take small steps toward local environmental impact.

Don’t be afraid to try a few versions! It’s totally normal (and often really clarifying) to refine as you go.

What’s Up Next

By taking the time to define your primary audience, you’ve laid the foundation for messaging that’s more focused, more persuasive, and way easier to write. Woo!

Now it’s time to turn that clarity into action. In the next post, we’ll walk through how to craft a clear, compelling call to action—and I’ll introduce you to one of my favorite ABR-original tools for bridging the gap between audience and ask.

See you soon for One-Pager 101: How to Craft a Strong Call to Action, Part One (Step 3: Call)—where we turn all this clarity into action.

Still narrowing down your “I want to reach…” sentence? Comment with your top contenders—I’ll chime in if you want feedback!

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