It’s possible that you’ve read my work before, not just on this blog. As a professional writer I’ve written countless software user manuals. There’s an endless stream of advertisements, brochures, and web sites that I’ve written. I can’t tell you the number of white papers and technical briefs I’ve done over the years, corporate presentations and slide shows, trade show presentations, business ebooks, any sort or type of marketing materials. I did work for three national brand clients last year, names that you know, as well as many smaller ones you may not have heard of.
Most of these things don’t carry an author’s name. And those that do use the names of engineers, CEOs, and others.
It doesn’t bother me one bit. Why? Because they pay me.
And there’s another reason, other than a few rare occurrences, the ideas in all of these pieces, the facts and details, come from someone else. I’m the guy that figures out how to communicate those ideas and facts to a specific audience. The people that supply these details are who I rely on. They’re the Subject Matter Experts (SME).
I tend to use the whole title when working with clients. It sounds impressive. Subject Matter Expert. I also have a problem when people say the acronym out loud. Say “SME” and it sounds like the comic sidekick for Disney’s Captain Hook. Mr. Smee! I can’t help but chuckle, which is the wrong thing to do when you’re calling someone an expert.
In virtually every project I take on, the first question I ask is, “who is the Subject Matter Expert for this?” I find that establishing a strong relationship with this person helps to get the project off to a good start. It’s the interviews, questions asked and answered, and the review and editing with this person that makes the project a success.
And if, in the end, they put their name on it or no name at all, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the piece works, it meets the business need, and that the client is happy with it.
Many true experts have lots of knowledge, but are too busy to write, or more likely, don’t have the skills or experience to write about their topic in a way that really conveys their expertise. When you pair that knowledge with a professional writer, especially one that has experience in interviewing and marketing, then you have a powerful combination.
If you’re looking for a writer to help on any specific business task, don’t look for one that’s an expert in your business. You’ll probably never find one. Look for one with experience working with the experts and translating their knowledge into effective communication. That has a very high chance of succeeding and getting you the pieces that you need.
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Randy MurrayBusiness Blogging: Subject Matter Experts & Professional Writers by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
