Welcome to Getting Real with MMG, a blog post where one of our creatives shares their personal story about creative agency life and their journey at The Motivated Mind Group. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes look into the minds and experiences of creatives in the industry. You might find that we’re not all that different!
Start Collaborating Effectively with Subject Matter Experts
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) can be intimidating because, as their title states, they’re the experts. As a creative or copywriter, you immediately feel like your work is a fraud. Sure, it’s well-written and compelling, but once you consider that the subject you are writing about is what someone has spent their life and career understanding, there is nowhere to hide.
Relax, take a deep breath, and realize you are a talented writer. Writing is an art form; you’re manipulating complex material so that non-technical experts who take the training can easily absorb and retain it. Once you realize you’re not just some impostor, you can begin working with the SME to create something bigger than yourselves.
Breaking the Tech Barrier
I’ve been a copywriter for years, and I remember the exact moment when I overcame the initial fear of working with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). I was creating product training for a major retail tech company. A new printer they produced was set to hit the market, and I was tasked with writing a staggeringly long training video about it. It was intended for sales associates at big box retail stores so they’d know the printer’s stats when customers would ask about it.
Every time I received content or edits to previous drafts from the SME, it focused heavily on tech speeds and feeds versus what the customer gets from the product or the potential benefits.
One day, on a call with the client, Subject Matter Expert, and my team, I began directly addressing the SME instead of the client. I asked them what they thought the customers would get from the product beyond the techs and specs. How would the product make the customer’s life easier?
I remember a pause during which I briefly contemplated the implosion of my newly acquired professional career. To my surprise, the SME followed up by genuinely speaking about what the product could do for the customer. They began to place themselves in the metaphorical shoes of a customer buying the printer for their family to use for their child’s projects or their spouse’s bake sale commitment.
Once I introduced this concept, meetings and feedback immediately improved. We all felt like we were much closer to an effective training video. I had to compromise about how much technical language to use, but we understood each other and our roles.
Finding Common Ground with Subject Matter Experts
Understanding where each other comes from is the key to a solid content writer-subject matter expert relationship. It’s never going to be perfect. You won’t always agree on everything, but at the end of the day, you’ll find comfort in having the same goal. Respect your SMEs and give them the benefit of the doubt because nine times out of ten, they want the same thing you do—to create quality content.
