You Have "The Curse of Knowledge" and It's Killing Your Content

I've had this conversation dozens of times with my wife:

Me: "I think you should do a blog post about __________." (insert something about buying or selling a home)

Her: (gets a skeptical look on her face)

Her: "What would I say??"

Me: "You'd tell people how __________ works." or maybe "You'd tell them why _________ is so important."

Her: "But everyone knows that already."

Me: (heavy sigh or eye roll) "No, they don't. They're not in real estate. They're just buying it." (or selling it)

Sound familiar? Have you ever dismissed a blog post idea, or a video idea, because it's super obvious to you? And you can't imagine that anyone else would get value from it?

Congrats! You have a condition called "The Curse of Knowledge." 🎓

What is The Curse of Knowledge?

The Curse of Knowledge (sometimes called The Curse of Expertise) is a condition that happens when you assume that the people with whom you're communicating share the same knowledge or information as you. It's an actual cognitive bias in the field of psychology.

It often plays out the way I described it in the conversation above. If your spouse isn't helping with your marketing, maybe it plays out as you debate marketing/content ideas in your head by yourself. You probably dismiss a lot of ideas because "it's too basic" or...

I've often said that the "content hurdle" is the #1 thing keeping real estate agents from SEO success. You might be too busy to write blog posts or make videos consistently. That's part of the content hurdle.

But let me tell you...The Curse of Knowledge is a HUGE part of the content hurdle. You don't know what to write about (or make videos about) because you incorrectly assume everyone knows what you know.

I can't stress this enough: Almost no one outside real estate understands real estate. I grew up in a real estate family. My dad was an agent. My sister, too. And now my wife is, too. And yet, when we bought our first house, and Cari said we needed to bring a check for our earnest money, I was like...WTF is "earnest money"?!? I had no idea!

How do you overcome The Curse of Knowledge?

Let me suggest these six tips.

1. Create a target reader. I'm not a huge fan of personas/avatars, but this is an area where it really helps. Who are you writing for? Who are you talking to in this video? Start by putting yourself in their shoes.

2. Assume your reader knows nothing. When I'm editing or optimizing one of Cari's blog posts, I'll think about some of her clients. I know some of them pretty well because we host a lot of client events. I think about them when we're doing content. When needed, I'll go back to Cari -- "Would Chris understand this? Can we make this more clear for Marissa?"

3. Think about their problems/questions. This is where your knowledge usually gets in the way. You assume things are easy/familiar for your reader because they're easy/familiar for you. Again, put yourself in their shoes. If that's still tough to do, ChatGPT (or Claude/Gemini) can help here. A prompt like this is a good place to start: "I'm a successful real estate agent writing a blog post about the home buying process. Make a list of 8 questions or problems that buyers typically face when it comes to financing."

4. Organize your thoughts into outline/listicle form. When you're writing about something you know very well, it's easy to get a case of word diarrhea. Everything you know just spills out onto the page. (Sorry for the visual. 😬) I find that this step helps you avoid a hard-to-understand, stream-of-consciousness article.

5. Use simple, concrete language. This should go naturally alongside #2 above, but when you know a subject inside and out, it can be tough to make it simple for those who don't. Avoid real estate jargon. Use short paragraphs. Write short sentences. Use simple language.

6. Tell stories. Storytelling is a foundational way humans communicate. We're wired to enjoy and understand stories. Stories can make the complex simpler. You have lots of stories to tell. So tell them in your blog posts and articles. Buyers and sellers will understand you better than ever.

Your takeaway: Write that blog post. Make that video. Don't assume buyers and sellers understand real estate. Trust me...they don't. (Hell, go read some of the big real estate Facebook groups and you'll quickly realize that a lot of licensed agents don't even understand real estate! 😬😅) You're a smart agent. Put what you know on your website, your blog, and in your videos and emails.

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