Messaging Strategy: 6 Ways To Make Beginners Feel Welcome
As experts in our fields, we often forget how vulnerable it is to be a beginner.
Newbies- by definition- are the opposite of experts. They don’t have a vast breadth of knowledge, experience, skill, or confidence. As beginners, they are likely to appear as such: falling on their asses if they’re learning how to rollerskate, highlighting all the wrong things when they’re learning how to sell shit, etc.
And that is a vulnerable position to be in. People often struggle emotionally with the concept of “looking bad,” “messing up,” “failing,” and “looking like a fool.” Without support and encouragement to keep going and validation that they’re on the right track, many people abandon ship before sticking with it long enough to get good.
If your ideal clients are beginners, it is incredibly important to be aware of this vulnerability throughout your communications. Here are 6 messaging tips for how to make beginners feel welcome.
1. If You Love Em, Tell Em
If beginners are welcome in your class, tell them! If you love coaching people right at the start of their journeys, tell them!
If beginners wouldn’t have a good time in your program because there is some prerequisite experience required for them to be able to follow along, tell them! Don’t let politeness stop you. Remember, it’s not polite to let someone spend their money on something that is going to feel crushingly overwhelming because the material is way over their heads.
It’s like this. It feels weird to show up to a party where you don’t know anyone and you’re not really sure if it’s OK that your girlfriend brought you along. But, getting a specific invitation makes walking in that door much more comfortable. The vibe is different when you’re wanted vs. just allowed to be there.
Don’t let potential clients psych themselves out of working with you because they can’t tell whether or not you actually want them there.
You made this offer just for them! Make sure they know that.
2. Message To a Beginner Level
You wouldn’t speak to a kindergarten class like you would an advanced, collegiate comparative lit class. Even if your info is good, it’s going to go right over the kindergartners’ heads and they’ll probably feel overwhelmed, frustrated, bored, or all of the above.
But, when marketing their expertise, many teachers, guides, and coaches make the mistake of using a bunch of terminology that is waaaayyyy beyond the level of where their ideal clients are currently at.
If you want 101-level clients to work with you, you have to use words and messaging they can understand now. Explain your terminology. Spell out what you’re offering- how will your clients be different after working with you or buying your product? Why will this transformation benefit them? Can you demonstrate not only that you’re an expert in your field, but also that you have the awareness and sensitivity to meet a beginner where they’re at and motivate them through reasonable next steps?
Beginning something new, facing a fear for the first time, owning a challenging new goal- all of that is scary. Your clients are stepping right off the cliff of what’s familiar into the unknown. The more safety, consistency, and gentleness you can demonstrate as a guide, the better.
3. Match Your Level of Critique To Their Current Capacity
As an expert, can you point out 200 things they need to work on to get good? Yeah. Should you? Nah.
A list of 200 things to improve upon is daunting. “Why even start?” a bunch of your poor newbies will think right before giving up on their goals & your guidance. “This is insurmountable. I’ll never make it.”
Three little baby steps though? That sounds more doable. And if you praise the progress? Celebrate them for sticking with it despite some bumbling first attempts? That’s encouraging. That’s motivating. That is respectful of the courage it takes to take on something new, and sensitive to how much support is needed for them to keep moving forward.
That approach makes you feel like a safe guide for beginners. Remember, it’s less your breadth of knowledge and skill that earns lasting loyalty, it’s how you make people feel about their own progress and possibilities.
4. Invite Two-Way Communication
The truth is, you might not know when you’re overwhelming your clients (or team) with too much feedback or by talking over their heads.
That’s why it’s so important to establish that it is safe and encouraged for your clients (or team) to let you know when it’s too much.
I used to have this problem with my first team of fledgling copywriters. Coming from a background in newspaper reporting, I was used to having each first draft torn to shreds and not having that be a big deal.
My poor new hires, however, felt really discouraged- like bad writers even - when they got a draft back full of colorful track changes. But they didn’t know they could tell me, because I hadn’t explicitly asked how my training style was affecting them emotionally.
When I found out months later, I tried to chill on track changes and mostly relied on comments so that the page appeared less overwhelming. I’m still learning to stagger release feedback, so I don’t give too much at once.
Being beginner-friendly requires you to regularly check in with your newbies and ask them how the process is going for them. Explicitly encouraging feedback on how your guidance is making them feel is essential.
5. Point Out, Encourage, & Celebrate Progress
Celebrating the little wins is so important for anyone on a long and vulnerable journey. It’s so discouraging, as a newbie, to feel as though you’ll never earn praise or recognition until you reach the top of your own personal Mt. Everest.
Motivate your beginners by celebrating progress. Make sure they’re acknowledging and rejoicing in how far they’ve come!
Celebrate in your interactions with your client AND publicly, in your marketing. This lets other beginners who are deciding whether or not they want to invest in working with you know that the experience will be joyful rather than harrowing.
6. Share Your “How It Started/How It’s Going”
You were once a beginner too, and look at you now! Making a living off your hard-won expertise. Let your awkward baby goslings know what is possible for them if they stick with it.
As someone currently regularly bruising my ass attempting to learn how to rollerskate, I LOVE my rollerskating muses’ “How It Started Vs. How It’s Going” videos because they give me so much hope for what’s possible for me. And they make me want to take their classes so I can get better, faster with an encouraging teacher.
In sum, if you want more beginner clients, let them know how much you want to work with them, how perfect your offer is just for them, and how much you appreciate all the newbies who have trusted you enough to guide them through stepping into the unknown and trying something new.
Want to get a really solid strategy for how to talk with your people? Check out the Messaging Magick Kit- through a series of prompts and 1:1 marketing cheerleading sessions, we’re gonna get you a brand story you’re so proud of, you can’t wait to tell the world.
