If you feel like you’re “not an expert” or you “don’t have anything to say” in your marketing - you’re in good company.

Many people think that their marketing needs to make a “good impression” by saying smart stuff.

But the best way to show your expertise isn’t “saying smart stuff.”

It’s asking smart questions.

I love to say that “Questions are the answer to everything.”

By asking good questions, you not only show what you know, but you form better connections with the kinds of clients you want to work with, too.

And it takes the pressure off.

You don’t have to know everything. You just have to know what to ask and, of course, how to listen to the answers.

Asking good questions can help you in all three of the main “tools” of the Simplest Marketing Plan: 

• In your Strategic Networking – Before you head to a networking event, make a list of questions you’ll ask the people you meet, so you don’t have to worry about what to say.
  
  
• In your Targeted Outreach – Leave an impression (and encourage ongoing conversation) by ending your messages with a question - especially one that’s easy to answer.
  
  
• In your High-Quality Content Marketing – When you don’t know what to write about, sprinkle questions everywhere!
  
  Lately, I’ve been turning questions into LinkedIn posts, and my engagement is off the charts! See the most popular ones here:
  
  What does it mean to "be more human" in an AI world?
  What's one word to describe your "voice"?
  Why do so many people dread in-person networking?

You can do the same in newsletter articles. Come up with a smart question related to your niche and expand on it.

How do you find “good” questions to ask?

One important thing about good questions is that they’re tailored to the person or people you’re talking to.

That means knowing your ideal client and their pain points, as well as current events and trends in their industry.

And if, after you find out as much as you can about someone, you still don’t know what questions to ask, AI can help!

Here’s a prompt you can use with my AI chatbot, Artificial Ilise: 

PROMPT: Here is my elevator pitch [insert your elevator pitch]. I need help coming up with smart questions to ask in a networking event with potential clients. My ideal client is [insert details about their industry & position]. Please give me a list of 10 questions I can ask when I meet new prospects, based on their market’s pain points.

If you're a member of The Simplest Marketing Plan (SMP), then you also have 24/7 access to Artificial Ilise. So try it and see what she tells you!

Not an SMP member, yet? Join here.

Of course, you can try this with any AI - but only Artificial Ilise will give you an answer that sounds like me. 😉

You can try a similar prompt for content ideas, outreach messages, and even discovery calls.

Do you have a favorite way to come up with smart questions? Share here.