Hey, hey!
I want to talk about educating your potential clients. Your prospects. The people who might buy from you one day but haven’t yet.
(This is the 24/02/2026 issue of my newsletter – subscribe here)
In my industry, people love to gatekeep.
- They make SEO sound impossibly technical – all algorithms and code and “you wouldn’t understand” – so potential clients are scared into thinking they could never do any of this themselves and hand over money.
- They refuse to explain what they’re actually doing, hiding behind jargon so nobody can question whether the work is any good.
- They use fear of Google (or the mighty, all-encompassing “AI”) to make business owners terrified of touching their own websites without “expert” supervision.
- They invent urgency that doesn’t exist – “Google’s changing everything next month, you need to act NOW” – to push people into signing before they’ve had time to think.
- They gatekeep basic information that’s freely available, repackaging it as specialist knowledge you need to pay for.
And I get why people do it. If your prospects understood what you do, maybe they’d realise they could do some of it themselves. Maybe they’d realise it’s not as complicated as you’ve made it sound. Maybe they’d go elsewhere.
But honestly, I’ve found: the opposite happens when you help people to help themselves.
I spend a lot of time educating people.
- Writing blog posts explaining how things work.
- Answering questions in LinkedIn comments and DMs.
- Replying to emails from people who’ve never paid me a penny.
- Talking things through on calls with people who might never hire me.
And the unexpected side effect from doing this for decades?
Obviously, people work with me, and pay me for that, or I wouldn’t still be here. But they also refer me. People I’ve never worked with, never invoiced, never had a single professional engagement with – they recommend me to others who then DO go on to work with me.
Because I helped them understand something once. Because I didn’t make them feel stupid for asking.
When you educate instead of gatekeep, you build trust before you’ve even had a conversation.
When you explain instead of obscure, people remember you when they’re ready to buy.
When you give away your knowledge freely, it comes back.
So here’s my challenge to you this week: what was the last question someone asked you? By email, in a LinkedIn comment or DM, on the phone, even in person?
Write a blog post about it. Today if you can.
Because if one person asked you that question, countless others are searching for the answer. And you could be the one who helps them find it. And who knows where that could go?
Always non-wanky,
Nx
P.S. Remember that rant last week? I turned it into a quick podcast – get it where you usually get your podcasts, or listen here.
10 easy lessons, perfect on-page SEO. £200
