The Curse Of Knowledge Trap

The Curse Of Knowledge is the trap that you fall into when you talk about a problem or solution in words that isolate or repel your ideal customer because they do not understand them.

Your use of Secret Language is not a shortcut to understanding. Secret Language can also be a shortcut to confusion and isolating your community.

Let me give you an example, I founded my business with the mission of preventing other entrepreneurs from going through the same pain as I did when I lost my first business.

My first business was a photography and graphic design studio. At one point I was flown around the world by international clients, so my work was good. If my work was good, why did my business fail? Because I couldn’t find other people that needed my help and make them feel good about buying. I didn’t know how marketing could make the cash register ring.

To help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, I'm going to share my hard-won marketing secrets and my inspirational stories.

So who am I trying to help? Entrepreneurs with a business or entrepreneurs that want to start a business. People with passion and experience that they want to bring to the world. In other words, people that don’t know a lot about marketing. So, I will create confusion and isolation if I talk in Secret Marketing Language. If I talk about The Squeeze Page Hack To Double Your Response & Half Your Lead Generation Cost that will isolate my ideal customer.

My journey to discover how marketing could make the cash register ring began when I lost my first business. My journey started by getting a job as a Marketing Manager for a specialist PC Gaming distributor. The job was great because I was managing the UK marketing for some of the biggest PC Gaming brands.

I had a cool job in marketing and what level of knowledge did I have about lead generation? None!

If you had spoken to me about the challenges of lead generation, it would have gone straight over my head. That’s crazy if I worked in marketing, Right? No! That highlights just how specialised these marketing secrets are.

Later I studied with the Charter Institute of Marketing. I did all their courses, and at the end of that training, what did I know about Lead Generation or Direct Response Marketing? Nothing!

I didn't even know what a copywriter was until much later! I knew what a writer was. But I had never heard the term copywriter, and I certainly didn't know what a sales page copywriter was, or did, or why they could command such huge fees.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because I frequently fall into The Curse Of Knowledge Trap when writing blog posts and creating new products. I forget that the number of people that knows anything about direct response marketing is tiny. In fact, most people that work in marketing know nothing about direct response marketing, so I need to change my language.

Here are 2 examples to show how you can talk about the same subject matter and either attract or repel your ideal customer:

The Little-Known Secrets Of Affiliate Marketing

Free Advertising That Makes Instant Sales 

The first headline will only attract the attention of people that know what Affiliate Marketing is. In other words, it will only attract the 1% (or less) of the population that know anything about direct response marketing.

The second headline appeals to all business owners because they want to make more sales and they would love to advertise for free.

In 2007, I thought that SEO was the Holy Grail because I believed it was a way to grow my business for free. After all, if I could attract visitors to my site for free, then I'd make sales without having to pay for advertising, right? Well… that was my thought process. The reality could not have been further from what I hoped.

Why is it so easy to fall into The Curse Of Knowledge Trap? Because the easiest way to write about hard-won secrets is with the language that you use to discuss these ideas today. Today you use Secret Language as a shortcut to understanding. But Secret Language is also the fastest way to confusion and isolation with a less informed audience.

You see, I spend a lot of time and money on my own education. This is in the form of workshops and online course as well as mentorships and masterminds. So, I spend a lot of time talking with other super geeky direct response marketers. This is great for my continual development, and if I'm not careful, it trips me up faster when it comes to The Curse Of Knowledge.

To help you avoid The Curse Of Knowledge Trap, I’d like to share with you…

5-Simple Ways To Avoid The Curse Of Knowledge Trap 

1. Make a list of words you CANNOT use!
2. Make a list of topics you CANNOT talk about directly
3. Make a list of alternative words you will use to attract your ideal customer
4. Remind yourself who is your ideal customer
5. Put these word and topic lists somewhere you will see them regularly

Make A List Of Words You CANNOT Use!

This is a list of Secret Language words. Words that you use today as a shortcut to understanding. Words that would have instantly isolated you from the conversation at the start of your journey. By listing the Secret Language words, you use it will make you aware of them so you can correct or simply your writing.

Here’s a list of Secret Language marketing words:

1. Lead Generation
2. Webinars
3. Direct Response Marketing
4. Customer Acquisition
5. SEO
6. Traffic
7. Product Launch
8. Funnel / Marketing Funnel
9. Customer Avatar
10. Copywriting
11. Lead
12. Lead Magnet
13. Squeeze Page
14. Ethical Bribe
15. Sales Page
16. Stick Sequence
17. Nurture Sequence

Start writing your own list and you’ll be amazed at the number of Secret Language words you use. This is also a list that you will add to over time as you recognise new words.

Make A List Of Topics You CANNOT Talk About Directly

This may be every single step in your business! I know that sounds crazy, but I want to help entrepreneurs to grow their business. In the process, I'm teaching them about a little-known form of marketing. I do not help marketers. So most of the steps that are needed to grow a business to the £1 million level relate to marketing. That's why I must talk about each step in ordinary language.

Here’s a list of topics for my business:

1. Affiliate Marketing
2. Marketing Funnels
3. Product Launches
4. Lead Generation

Make A List Of Alternative Words You Will Use To Attract Your Ideal Customer

This is the fun part. This is the creative part. This is also the one thing that keeps you out of The Curse Of Knowledge Trap.

You can start with your list of Secret Language words. Here’s how I’ve changed my list:

Remind Yourself Who Is Your Ideal Customer

If you want to help and persuade your ideal customer, then you need to write a page in their diary, and the reader believes that they wrote it.

I know that sounds crazy and you need to get clear on what your ideal customer wants, what their challenges are and the language they use to describe them.

Let me give you a property example.

What do people that are new to property want? They want passive income.

How do they plan to achieve that? Buy houses and rent them out.

What is their biggest challenge? Saving money for deposits.

So if you show someone how to invest in property without buying a house, then you remove their biggest challenge. You will grab their attention if you say without buying a house. Why? Because they are focused on buying a house. Those are the words that they are thinking about.

If you want to reveal The Secrets of Deal Trading, then you fall into The Curse Of Knowledge Trap because someone new to property investing does not know what Deal Trading is.

So, get clear on who your ideal customer is. This is the first step to crafting any persuasive message, so this will be useful for attracting your ideal customer, creating the perfect product for them and for crafting a sales message that makes them feel good about buying.

If you would like some help in painting a portrait of your ideal customer, then you should read this blog post: How Sharpening Your Axe Will Murder Writers Block And Jumpstart Your Sales 

Put These Word And Topic Lists Somewhere You Will See Them Regularly

This might sound like I’m teaching you to suck eggs and believe me that is the last thing I want to do. The point I want to make here is that doing these exercises is the first and most important step. But it’s easy to file this exercise away and forget about it after a few months.

How do I know this?

Because I’ve fallen into The Curse Of Knowledge Trap and it took me months to realise.

When I started my training company, I was absolutely clear on who I wanted to help and the words that I could and could not use to reach them. That has become blurred as I spend more time in high-level mastermind groups. I know that sounds crazy, after all, mastermind groups are supposed to help you and not hinder you in your business growth.

The truth is that we will all fall into The Curse Of Knowledge Trap with top of the mind thinking. It takes effort to get an idea and NOT immediately wax lyrical about it. It takes discipline to get excited about an idea, then remind yourself of your ideal customer and the language that will make your idea appealing to them.

So, what I’m really trying to say is, make life as easy for yourself as you can. You’ll do that by reminding yourself on a daily basis who your ideal customer is and what language you need to use to grab their attention.

Now It’s Your Turn

Now that you’ve seen the 5-Simple Ways To Avoid The Curse Of Knowledge Trap please do the exercises.

I don’t want this to be an entertainment or shelf-help. I want this to help you grow your business.

Remember that The Curse Of Knowledge Trap will give your hard work poor results. It’s a trap that is easy to fall into and hard to climb out.

If you’ve found this useful, then please leave a comment below.

If this can help someone you know, then please email this to them.

Until next time…

Carpe diem

Roland Eva

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How To Turn Expertise Into Cash