I have heard the same phrase over and over again from many of our clients when talking about their content marketing strategies: “But how will you write about our products and services?” What they mean to say is, “What do you know about dental supplies? Do you know anything at all about email append software? Are you capable of writing about donor advised funds?” The truth is I don’t know much about any of these topics. Correction: I didn’t know much about any of these topics. Now I can rattle off stats, model types, top benefits and much more about each one. Why? Because in order to write informative, successful content, I needed to become an expert on such things.
In order to effectively carry out a content marketing strategy, including blogs, guides, downloads, videos and other pieces of content, you need to know exactly what you are talking about. That means, no matter the industry, you need to become an expert. With the exception of rare cardiac surgeries or NASA secrets, you need to be able to write about anything. That can be intimidating, especially if the topic is so far from your realm of comfort that you can easily mistake mechatronics for metachromatic.
To learn how you, as a content marketer, can become not only familiar with but develop an expertise for any topic in order to write lots of educational copy, read on.
When you acquire a new client, and you know nothing about what they are selling, don’t let it intimidate you. Always be honest with them. Let them know you are starting from scratch and will need time to research the topic. Help them understand that you will need their cooperation to get a firm grasp on the details. By working together, you can become an expert on just about any topic and write compelling content to help your clients and your business generate more leads.
What is your best trick for learning about tricky topics? Let us know in the comments below!
photo credit: Pete Prodoehl