Make Marketing Suck Less

Michelle Mazur [00:00:00]: Let's face it. Experts are made to feel shame about their expertise. We too often hear things like, don't be an expert, be an explorer. Don't be smart, be curious. Don't be an expert, be a human. And these things are said by the very people who claim to get experts known and hired for their work. And it is time, my friend, that we stop shitting on experts because here's the truth. The very thing you are told to deny about yourself, about your experience is what will make you great at marketing your business. Experts bring 3 great untapped strengths when it comes to marketing, and I'm gonna tell you all about it on today's show. So let's dive in.

Michelle Mazur [00:01:12]: Welcome to Make Marketing Suck Less. The podcast that knows marketing is freaking hard, especially when you're a solo business owner trying to juggle it all. I'm your host, Dr. Michelle Mazur, author of the 3 Word Rebellion and founder of the Expert Up Club. Forget the latest marketing fads and tactics promising social media stardom. I'm here with research-backed strategies to help you clarify your message and get twice as effective with your marketing. And while I can't promise you'll ever love marketing, I'm here. to make you hate it a tiny bit less.

Michelle Mazur [00:01:53]: Back when I first started my business, a well-intentioned businessman told me not to use Dr. Michelle Mazur as my business name because I would intimidate people.

I'd lose business because I'd be perceived as too smart, too know-it-all. And you know what I felt at that moment? Shame. That's something that I worked so hard to achieve, that PhD in Communication, that thing that only 1% of people in the US actually earn, that it isn't a benefit to my business, but it's a liability, something to hide, something to run away from. And I think because you and I receive the message again and again that expertise isn't valued in our society, but the people who are only one step ahead or 10% smarter than their clients are, that forces us to hide. It forces us to deny the very thing our clients hire us for. So when I hear, don't be an expert, be an explorer, don't be smart, be curious, don't be an expert, be a human, or that you should hide your brilliance because you're going to intimidate people and that's gonna cost you revenue and it's something that you should feel ashamed of. You know what I say to those people who wanna help experts? Fuck them. Just fuck them, because here's the deal.

Michelle Mazur [00:03:45]: Your expertise is a superpower. How you earned that expertise says something about you, and you can bring that to make you great at marketing your business. Because all of those people who are denying who you are, they're wrong. Because guess what? Experts are explorers. You are insatiably curious. You always want to know more. And the more you know, the more you don't know. And surprise, you are a 100% human.

Michelle Mazur [00:04:24]: In fact, all experts are human beings. And, heck, there is nothing more human than being so interested in a topic, in an idea, dare I say almost obsessed with something, that you dedicate yourself to it. There's nothing more human than that. That is admirable. You should be proud of that fact because it is time to own your expertise. And all of those messages telling you to run away from it, to be something other than who you are, ignore them. Just ignore them because experts, like you, bring a whole host of untapped strengths when it comes to marketing. And here's where you need to lean in to being an expert because one of your untapped strengths: Insatiable curiosity and a drive to learn more.

Michelle Mazur [00:05:36]: Like, hey. I know you have been around the block if you are listening to this podcast. You have tried a lot of different ways to market. You have tried different ways to message, and you're still here because you are curious. You are wondering what can work. You have an openness to learn, which is great because marketing is just one big experiment, which brings me to your next untapped strength: Your willingness to experiment and change course. I think one of the biggest misperceptions about what an expert is, it is somebody who knows it all, who has all the right answers. And that's not at all true.

Michelle Mazur [00:06:24]: Experts are willing to try something and then see if it works or if it doesn't, because either way, they learn. This experimental mindset sets you up for marketing success, especially when you can view your marketing as less personal, more like a scientist, because you're willing to try new things. You're willing to change course. And my friends, that is a superpower. And finally, what I think I love the most about experts, working with experts, is humility. Like, as an expert, you know you don't have all the answers, but you do have the determination and drive to figure things out. And marketing, my friend, is just one big problem. Your message, it's a jigsaw puzzle that needs to be put together and experiment with.

Michelle Mazur [00:07:30]: And these qualities, the curiosity, the willingness to experiment and change course, the humility to know that you don't know it all, they make you excellent at what you do, but they can also make you great at marketing because you can harness all of that expertise to become a powerful kick-ass marketer of your expertise. And in the Expert Up Club, this is what we do. We focus on learning how to apply these strengths so that you can become an expert on your clients, how they see the world, their struggles, their lived experiences. Because what made you an expert in your topic can also make you an expert in the people who can benefit most. You can also become an expert in how to talk to those people, your message, so they feel seen, heard, and deeply understood because that's what all good marketing does. It makes other people feel seen, just feel seen. And then finally, you can become an expert on how to market your business your way, in a way that works for you, your business, your clients, and your sanity. Because how experts should market, it's gonna look different for every expert business. Right?

Michelle Mazur [00:09:07]: Every single one of us have a different way to market that plays to our strengths. But finding that out, figuring out your best way to market plays to the strengths of becoming an expert. So bottom line is, stop denying the very thing that will make you great at marketing. Instead, lean hard into it. You have run the gauntlet to earn your expertise, and now it's time to use that as an advantage. And marketing is going to suck a hell of a lot less when you stop denying that you're an expert and embrace all the amazing qualities and strengths that becoming an expert gave you. And right now, I want to invite you to join me in the Expert Up Club, because this is a place where you can own your expertise. It is a place where an expert like you is celebrated.

Michelle Mazur [00:10:19]: We will never ask you to deny who you are, and it is the best place to harness your superpowers and market your business on your own terms. So if you are ready to market like the expert you are, I'd love for you to have a conversation with me. It all starts with a conversation. I want to get to know you. So what you should do is book a private tour. You can reserve your 30-minute tour with me, and during that time, we're gonna uncover a 3-step plan for doing less marketing and seeing better results from that marketing and how you can start doing that in the next 90 days. And I'll show you the resources and the support that can be tailored to you that the club has to offer. So open up your podcast app and hit the link for the Expert Up Club, or just head on over to expert up dot club and reserve your private tour with me.

Michelle Mazur [00:11:36]: I can't wait to talk to you. I can't wait to celebrate your expertise because it's time that we stop shitting on experts, that the world stops shitting on experts. Instead, it's time to celebrate who you are and lean into that as a strength.

Michelle Mazur [00:12:04]: If the Make Marketing Suck Less pod is making your marketing more effective so that your clients can find and hire you, please share the show with a friend. The easiest way to do that is through pod link. You can find the show at pod.link/rebel, and that page will allow anyone you share the show with to subscribe and start listening in their favorite podcast player.

That's pod.link/rebel.

The Make Marketing Suck Less podcast is a production of Communication Rebel. Our production coordinator is Jessica Gulley-Ward. The podcast is edited by Steven Mills, our executive producer is me, Dr. Michelle Mazur.

The make marketing suck less podcast is recorded on the unseated traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish people, original stewards of the land, past, and present.