@Caylin2 It's a good idea to identify your target market who would be a good fit for your place. One new host mistake is trying to be all things to all people. As the saying goes, you can't please all of the people all of the time, so trry to attract the ones who will be pleased.
Who you market towards depends on the nature and location of the listing, the size, and another consideration is your own personality and experience.
If, for instance, you are a techie or work from home online person, you might want to set up the space and market towards digital nomads- you'd understand their needs, lifestyle and concerns. If you have no experience with children, have adult type furnishings, and will be distressed to find sticky handprints and random Cheerios when you go to clean, you aren't going to want to market towards families.
If your apartment is funky and eclectic, rather than slick and modern, you might want to market towards artistic types who would appreciate that.
There will certainly be cross-over between the types of guests who will book, but it helps to think about what demographic of guests would be best suited to your offering when listing.
Another mistake I see new hosts make is to try to cram too many people into a place. If your place is a 1 bedroom, it's best to list for a max guest count of 2 and resist the urge to list a fold-out bed in the living room. More guests lead to more wear and tear and issues. You don't want guests complaining that the hot water keeps running out because there are 4 people trying to take consecutive hot showers before going out for dinner, and they are running the washing machine every day.
And don't put too big a bed in a room. If there isn't space to have a bedside table on both sides of the bed, or the bedroom door only half opens before hitting the bed, or there's little space left to move around comfortably, go with a smaller bed. A King size bed won't be better than a Queen if one person has to crawl over the other to get in and out of bed.
