What I am about to suggest may sound counter intuitive but hear me out. Next time you are looking for a writer to market your business, engage someone who is NOT a specialist in your field of expertise. Instead of a subject matter expert see if you can find a genuinely curious, specialist storyteller.

The irony is that we are sometimes constrained by knowledge. It can lead to an internal perspective and bias. In depth knowledge has its place but when it comes to marketing it can be a hinderance. An independent generalist will take the reader’s perspective and dig out a meaningful story that will resonate with your non-expert target audience.

I pub tested this concept with a friend of mine recently and she agreed that smarts and asking provocative questions trumps specialist knowledge when it comes to telling a tale. She has a business that provides advice to clients on how to innovate in a commercial and sustainable framework. Sometimes I get lost in her lingo. As a non-expert I don’t know all the jargon. I am genuinely interested in what she does so I ask her lots of dumb questions. What is sustainable innovation? Why do we need it? What is design thinking? What sort of problems do you solve for your clients? Why does your work matter? I keep asking questions until I feel I have good grasp…. much the same as I would ask a client. As a non-expert, I am looking from the outside in and I think this makes for a better story.

The extra time and effort that a generalist puts into understanding the subject matter can often result in writing that better addresses the needs of your non-expert client base. When you approach a topic fresh, you will have a stronger sense of which phrases and concepts need to be more thoroughly explained.

Don’t be fooled by the expert. Embrace the naïve. What matters most is your writer’s aptitude for learning, their curiosity and ability to articulate your value.

Do you have a story to tell? Get in touch.