The Best Questions to Ask Subject Matter Experts

Getting up to speed with a new client is one of the most difficult parts of any digital marketing project. This is particularly true for copywriters, who must essentially become experts on new subjects and write industry content with a strong, confident voice to engage users.

That's no easy task.

This is why initial conversations with client decision-makers and subject matter experts are so important for hitting the ground running with custom marketing content.

In this video blog, I cover the most important questions you should ask new clients, or the subject matter experts within their companies, before creating new website content, blogs or premium content offers.

To create outstanding website content for your customers—or your own business, for that matter—the first thing you have to do is conduct preliminary research:

• Learn more about the company and industry (or industries)
• Become familiar with their website and online brand; know it better than the back of your hand
• Follow major industry news outlets and competitors on social media and email lists
• Most importantly, learn about the new client's customers; this includes reading customer reviews to get a better understanding of the issues they are facing and the client's ability to resolve that issue

Some of the most crucial information you can learn from initial interviews with subject matter experts is their typical sales process.

How long are prospective customers in the sales funnel, what are the main conversion drivers, and where is the hand-off between marketing and sales? This is all key information you'll eventually use when creating custom content for your new client.

Onboarding a new client can be a challenge. However, including copywriters in initial discovery calls and interviews with subject matter experts can ensure that production goes that much smoother when the time comes to create new content.