The Beginner's Mind: Your Secret Marketing Superpower
Overcoming the curse of knowledge is crucial for successful marketing. Holding onto a beginner's mind, even as you continue increase your knowledge, will keep you connected to your customers.
Simplicity is often overlooked as the foundation of good marketing.
A post forwarded to me a few years ago by a friend has stuck with me, How to Defeat Your Most Dangerous Writing Habit: 7 Ways to Lift the Curse of Knowledge. While that post has some good tactical suggestions, I want to dive into a broader shift in perspective to overcome that “curse.”
What’s the curse of knowledge?
Think about a subject you know inside and out.
Got it?
Now, can you give a 30 second elevator speech that distills all you know about the subject into a simple statement anyone can understand?
Harder than you think, isn’t it? All the caveats and “if’s, or’s, and’s, and/or but’s” that qualify so much of what you know. That difficulty sorting through the knowledge in your head to explain topics clearly to a lay audience is the curse of knowledge. It’s a bias of “how can you not know ANYTHING about this thing I know A LOT about.”
It's a cognitive bias that experts need to overcome by putting themselves in the shoes of beginners when communicating complex topics.
It’ll also kill your marketing efforts. I struggle with it.
I tongue-in-cheek replied to my friend that I assume that everyone reading what I write is an idiot.
Er, but, um, not you!
But.
Like many things we say off the cuff, there’s some truth there.
In marketing (and as an editor), I’ve written a lot of top of the funnel content (I think most marketers and editors would say the same). I’ve always thought of this as College 101-type content, introductions to a topic and why someone should care about it.
This is the content that attracts folks curious about a topic and/or in the early stages of thinking of buying a type of product or service. It’s the solid, basic, useful content that builds trust with your audience when they are new to a topic.
When writing this level of content, I assume a minimal level of knowledge on the other side of the screen. A quick aside here, studies show that communicating (whoops writing) at a 6th or so grade level is the sweet spot for getting folks to read online (more on this topic here, Buzzwords Suck and Confuse Customers).
It's the “not too hard to read not too insulting to read” sweet spot (or as I sometimes think of it: big words bad/small words good).
There are two ways of thinking I’ve used to offset my own “knowledge curse”:
Write simply for customers
Keep a beginner’s mindset
Here’s how they help.
Write Simply About the Basics For Customers
During the years I spent doing inbound marketing for copier dealers, I had to keep reminding our clients not to assume that because they had explained the differences between copiers, what managed print services is, the need for cybersecurity for copiers (because they are computers that print now, that proactive network management saves time and money, and all the 1,001 other things about copiers and document management and scanning they just KNEW because they’d been doing this stuff for years (often decades!) that their customers or potential customers had any clue what they were talking about.
The shorter version: just because you have a product or service that can help someone doesn’t mean they understand what the hell it is or can do for your potential customers.
For example, when explaining cybersecurity measures, instead of saying, "Implement multi-factor authentication to enhance security," say, "Use two steps to log in: your password and a code sent to your phone."
I remember when we realized we were doing this with our new clients.
We would have our first meeting and start throwing around words and acronyms like CTA (call to action) too soon in an engagement. We had to learn to back up and explain what we're talking about. Explaining the call to action as the element that created the leads was one of our shifts.
Marketing metrics is a maze even for experienced marketers. So instead of diving in with “conversion rate optimization (CRO),” start with, "We want more people who visit our site to do something, like sign up for a newsletter. This is what we call a 'conversion'." For a deeper dive, Neil Patel's article on What is CRO offers a comprehensive yet simple explanation.
I also had clients ask about the simplicity of the language I sometimes use (NEVER “utilize”). Most business writing sucks. Somewhere in college or our first jobs too many folks picked up the idea that you had to sound like a soulless robot when writing for business. It took me years to beat the Masters Degree style of elliptical writing and verbosity (see I can still do it!) to focus on clarity.
Consider this comparison:
Most business writing sucks and is ineffective.
Or
In the world of business writing, too often the word choices used deflect and distract from the end goal of the mission at hand and obfuscate the author's intentions. To whit to educate a customer or to advance a business idea forward. The writing also isn't pleasurable to read.
Which would you rather read?*
Of course you don't always have to focus on the basics. However, it's always a good idea to write as simply as possible regardless of the complexity of the topic. The people reading or watching your piece of content don’t want you to make them feel stupid; they want to understand your point.
Keep a Beginner's Mind
I've always liked this Zen concept. The more I learn about marketing and writing, the more I realize that I'll never absolutely master it – it's always changing.
We're always going to be starting over with new tools, new types of content, new metrics, and the ever-changing attempt to please our masters at Google (and Bing and Yahoo) for search engine optimization.
Take, for example, the evolution of SEO practices. Initially, keyword stuffing was a common tactic, but if you try that today, Google will essentially hide your content.
The evolution continues with AI and how Google is using generative AI to deliver answers without the need for its users to visit the source website. This will have gigantic ripple effects in the marketing industry that are only just beginning. In the middle of writing and editing this, I read this interview with Google’s CEO on this topic, it’s an interesting read.
Smart marketers are always looking back at the basics. Are we using the right keywords? Is our audience responding to what we think they want to know? Are our headlines effective? Are our emails and subject lines the right length?
For instance, research from Campaign Monitor shows that email subject lines between 41 and 50 characters have the highest read rates. More tips on optimizing email campaigns can be found in their Ultimate Email Marketing Benchmarks.
It's a never-ending struggle to find the right mix of content and distribution method to get your message out. As soon as you think you've got THE answer to what works you're on your way to failure.
For example, the rise of short-form video content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels shows how quickly content trends can shift. Businesses that adapt quickly to these changes by creating engaging short videos can reach wider audiences.
The Takeaway
Simplicity and a beginner's mindset are critical foundations for effective marketing.
When you write clearly and avoid jargon, you help your message connect to your audience. It’s a complex balance to strike – communicating complex ideas in an accessible way without oversimplifying or talking down to the audience.
A beginner’s mindset is also a critical piece of any marketing professional’s toolbox. An open mind and fresh eyes (and staying humble) allows you always be learning and adapting as strategies, tools, and best practices evolve.
So make sure you have the marketing basics right (including jargon-free writing), have a good product, be honest, educate your customers by sharing good information, and do the best you can for them and it’ll help you stay sane in an ever-changing world.
I’ll help you kill your buzzwords and jargon while keeping a beginner’s mind. Drop me a note here, bryant@simplyusefulmarketing.co, and/or 301-275-7496.
Do you want to connect regularly with your customers? You need a newsletter. Check out my “Newsletter-in-a-Box” offer here.
I look forward to working with you.