How to create for a subject about which you know nothing

In education circles, a popular notion these days is the notion that part of a teacher's job is to prepare students to learn on their own. The idea is that once equipped with the tools to learn, they will be able to adapt to any situation, overcome any challenge and excel whatever situation comes their way.

It's a skill that's especially necessary nowadays for anyone who produces content. Because no one has staff producers, you're expected to freelance; and as a freelancer you're expected to be ale to work for anyone, whatever their product, whatever their marketing plan. You have to jump in, become an instant expert (probably on your own), then create fluent, original content that not only engages the consumer but makes it seem like you know what in the world you're talking about.

So how do you accomplish this feat? How do you become an instant expert? The answer might not be what you expect: don't. Don't become an expert, don't become 100% conversant in your product. The truth is, you don't need to. If anything, it's better not to know too much.

So:

1. Don't be intimidated by what you don't know, think about your audience. That is to say, if you're creating marketing copy for a software package, chances are you're doing it for consumers and not software engineers. Your market, in other words, probably aren't experts, so you don't need to be one either.

2. You're selling a product, you're not disassembling it. The talented people who work for Apple's many ad agencies wouldn't know their way around the mach kernel or BIOS settings, nor do they need to. They're selling what consumers can do with those technologies.

3. The same holds true whether you're promoting dish soap or advanced technology: you're selling a feeling. You want to engage people, get them interested in what you're saying, click on it, think about it, talk about it, repost it. You're connecting with the hearts and minds of human beings. That has been true since our ancestors created cave paintings

4. Boil it down. What does the product do? How can it make a difference? I'm not talking about features or a spec sheet, I'm talking about the essence of the product and what it offers. For instance an upscale car brand offers freedom; a beauty product offers youth. The ads for these products rarely get into technical detail -- they boil it down to something basic, something meaningful.

5. Too much knowledge can hurt you. Trust me, you really don't want to get bogged down in technical mumbo-jumbo. You need the consumer to relate to your content, to connect with it. Who drools over a spec sheet? Don't focus on how the product works -- forget all that. Instead, focus on what it can do, how it can make a difference in people's lives.

These ideas are in the background, they should be in your head while writing a blog or shooting a video or whatever it is you're doing. Once you get into the habit of it, you'll find it's pretty easy. You'll be able to pump out your content, focusing on your keywords, your images, your links and so on.