.svg){kind=icon}
A user persona template is a one-page profile with fixed fields (who the customer is, what they want, what hurts, what triggers a purchase) that you fill in from research. Copy the table or form below. FounderPal includes a free User Persona Generator that drafts one.
User persona template (copy and fill in)
The example is a small-business owner choosing a persona tool, filled in from the text of HubSpot's Make My Persona page. Keep the Field column, write your own answers in the last column.
| Field | What to write | Filled example |
|---|---|---|
| Role and background | Who they are, what they do and how much experience they have with your topic | Small business owner who competes with larger companies through targeted messaging, with no prior marketing expertise or budget |
| Goal | The result they want, in their words | A clearly defined target audience before building creative assets |
| Problem | What is missing or broken today | No documented knowledge of a new customer profile, or personas that are outdated |
| Pains | How the problem hurts them day to day | Manual creation in Google Docs or PowerPoint is time-intensive and inconsistent; consultants charge hundreds per hour; general AI chatbots return unstructured output that needs heavy editing |
| Buying trigger | The event that made them start looking | Launching a campaign, expanding into a new segment, onboarding new team members, aligning marketing and sales, or briefing an agency |
| Barriers | What slows or stops the purchase | Paid persona tools need a monthly subscription, and the owner has no budget |
| Alternatives considered | What they use or try instead of your product | Manual documents, consultants, general AI chatbots, paid persona tools |
Blank user persona form to copy
Replace each bracket.
- Name: [first name]
- Age: [one specific age, not a range]
- Job title: [title]
- Industry and company size: [industry, number of employees]
- Overview: [two sentences on their life and work]
- Goal: [the result they want]
- Problem: [what is missing or broken today]
- Pains: [1], [2], [3]
- Benefits: [1], [2], [3]
- Buying trigger: [the event that started the search]
- Barriers: [1], [2], [3]
- Where they look for solutions: [search, communities, newsletters, peers]
- Quote: [one sentence from an interview, word for word]
Nielsen Norman Group lists age, gender, occupation, behaviors and needs, concerns and goals as the details that make a persona feel like a real person. The Interaction Design Foundation says a persona fits on one or two pages and uses a specific age, since real people do not have age ranges.
AI persona template: fill it with a persona generator
The User Persona Generator in FounderPal writes a first draft of the template from two inputs:
- Enter the Business description: what your product is and how it works.
- Enter the Target audience: the segment you want to reach.
- Choose a Language for the result.
- Click Generate for FREE. The persona appears on the same page in about ten seconds.
The result has eight parts that map to the template: Name, Overview (role and background), Goal, Problem, Pains, Benefits, Trigger (buying trigger) and Barriers. Age, job details, company size and where they look for solutions are not in the result, so add them from your own research.
Check each field against real customer signals before you use it, as described in synthetic personas. FounderPal saves up to 5 personas per workspace. For finished examples by business type, browse the user persona examples.
How to fill in a user persona template
Every field needs a source. NN/g says personas must be based on user research such as field studies, surveys and interviews. The Interaction Design Foundation adds that details come from observed behavior and motivations, not assumptions.
- Role, goal and problem: customer interviews. Ask what they were trying to get done when they found you.
- Pains: support emails, product reviews and sales-call notes, in the customer's own words.
- Buying trigger: ask recent customers what happened right before they started searching.
- Barriers: objections from lost deals and the questions people ask before buying.
Apply the NN/g test to every detail: if it would not change a decision, remove it. A favorite wine matters when you build for sommeliers and nowhere else.
Leave a field empty rather than guess. To collect the missing answers, follow how to do market research for a startup.
Buyer persona template
A buyer persona describes who purchases, which is not always who uses the product. Add two fields to the template above:
- Buying role: end user, decision-maker or payer.
- Approval step: who must say yes, and what they ask before they do.
Alternatives considered is already in the table, and it is the most useful field for a buyer persona because it shows what you are compared with.
The Interaction Design Foundation separates the two types: design personas explain how people interact with a product, and customer personas explain purchasing habits. They are not interchangeable, so write the persona that matches the decision you are making.
Use the filled persona in your marketing
- Landing page copy: open with the goal, list the benefits, and answer each barrier near the button. See how to define a value proposition.
- Ads: lead with the problem and pains in the words customers used. See how to write ad copy.
- Briefs: hand the filled page to an agency or freelancer so they write for one person instead of "everyone".
FAQ
What should a user persona template include?
Include a name, a specific age, job and industry, an overview, the goal, the problem, pains, benefits, the buying trigger, barriers and a quote. Add where they look for solutions if you will use the persona for marketing. Cut any field you will not use to make a decision.
What is the difference between a user persona and a buyer persona?
A user persona describes how someone interacts with your product. A buyer persona describes how they buy: the trigger, the approval step and the alternatives they compare. The Interaction Design Foundation calls them different tools, so fill in the one that fits your current decision.
Can I use a user persona template online or in Google Docs?
Yes. Copy the table or the bracketed form into any document or spreadsheet and fill it in there. The generator result can be copied or downloaded and pasted into the same document.
How many personas do I need?
Small projects typically need one primary persona. The Interaction Design Foundation notes that more personas mean less focus, which is the main job of a persona. Start with the segment you sell to first and add a second persona only when its needs differ clearly.