Applying a Beginners Mindset To Your Marketing Copy
I worked in the manufacturing industry as an Executive Assistant for many years. I had a fantastic perspective of how a profitable, efficient, thriving company could run.
I had the privilege of working with leaders whose main mission was to leverage the talent of their team by breaking up roadblocks & cutting red tape so their people could produce the most meaningful work with efficiency and ease.
I learned first-hand that excellent leaders view their most important role as one which uses their influence to clear the way for their team to create needle-moving, innovative work.
As it goes in large companies, there can be many stakeholders, meetings, gates, and reviews needed before meaningful action can take place. And while not all of these seemed necessary, there were processes in place to make sure the right people had what they needed to make informed, thoughtful decisions.
I had an enviable seat at influential meetings where decisions were being made which would determine the fate of the company's future. I enjoyed listening in on how these decisions were made and why and I'd take copious notes and listen like I was in a college lecture (and those who didn't do so appreciated my follow up emails, btw) . I asked a lot of questions afterwards about specifics that I didn't understand, and because I worked with such great leaders, they took the time to explain it. Every now and then, during these explanations and Q&A's, we'd find ways to improve or things to eliminate altogether which would shorten lead times, affect the safety of our team members, or make the process more enjoyable, less expensive or complex.
This post-meeting follow up taught me that instead of being an annoyance, a beginners mind is a valuable asset because beginners ask questions that experts haven't thought of.
Beginners ask questions that require experts to think about a topic in very fundamental ways; often in ways they have pushed to the back of their mind, forgotten about, or never even considered.
When we're asked to simplify the explanation of processes, systems, and rational, we force our own mind to test how well we really know the material. Explaining things to kids is very similar. Kids ask the best questions and your simplified explanation shows your level of understanding.
Your clients, your audience, your followers, the people in your network, they see you as a leader. It's your job as a leader to explain your expertise in a way that they can understand so that they can apply it in their life in a meaningful way that adds value.
This forces us to breakdown the complexities of understanding a topic which come with experience and time. Your audience has a beginners mind and they're trying to understand what you understand in a way that they can apply it in their own life.
You may discover that there are areas of your expertise that need further education, or you may find that there are certain parts of your subject matter that are more important for your audience to know about than others. Explain what you do to a child, your parents, or a friend (who isn't in your line of work). Practice the explanation of your subject matter with objective parties so that you can improve your communication skills with those who ARE interested in what you have to offer.
Take the time to first examine how your messages are received, then understand through what lens your audience is trying to apply the material.
The copy we put into our social media posts, our email marketing material, and our owned media has a way to attract, repel, or simply just become background noise. Capture your audience's attention by sharing information in a way that matches their level of understanding.
No doubt, my experience with great leaders and this type of learning shaped how I run my business and lead my team. If communicating your knowledge & expertise is something you'd like to get better at, sign up for our newsletter. This is the tool we use to give out our best educational material.
Thanks for being here,
Kelly Smith