diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 2d0daa6d..3488e1f3 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -351,6 +351,8 @@ enum ErrorKind {
     ToolFamilyMacroNotFound,
     /// Invalid target.
     InvalidTarget,
+    /// Unknown target.
+    UnknownTarget,
     /// Invalid rustc flag.
     InvalidFlag,
     #[cfg(feature = "parallel")]
@@ -3979,7 +3981,7 @@ impl Default for Build {
 }
 
 fn fail(s: &str) -> ! {
-    eprintln!("\n\nerror occurred: {}\n\n", s);
+    eprintln!("\n\nerror occurred in cc-rs: {}\n\n", s);
     std::process::exit(1);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/target.rs b/src/target.rs
index 20fce321..b00a9da4 100644
--- a/src/target.rs
+++ b/src/target.rs
@@ -59,8 +59,20 @@ impl FromStr for TargetInfo<'_> {
             Ok(info.clone())
         } else {
             Err(Error::new(
-                ErrorKind::InvalidTarget,
-                format!("unknown target `{target_triple}`"),
+                ErrorKind::UnknownTarget,
+                format!(
+                    "unknown target `{target_triple}`.
+
+NOTE: `cc-rs` only supports a fixed set of targets when not in a build script.
+- If adding a new target, you will need to fork of `cc-rs` until the target
+  has landed on nightly and the auto-generated list has been updated. See also
+  the `rustc` dev guide on adding a new target:
+  https://rustc-dev-guide.rust-lang.org/building/new-target.html
+- If using a custom target, prefer to upstream it to `rustc` if possible,
+  otherwise open an issue with `cc-rs`:
+  https://github.com/rust-lang/cc-rs/issues/new
+"
+                ),
             ))
         }
     }