You land on someone’s random webpage, scan up and down for a bit and leave with confusion.

Did it look beautiful? Sure. Maybe it does. But does anyone understand why they need it?

A common annoyance for business owners is getting too close to their own business where outside perspective is lost. Even a beautiful one-of-a-kind DaVinci will look terrible should you stand too close. But take a few steps back and the picture opens up.

It’s all too easy to believe your offer is self-evidently good that it triumphs persuading others to use it. Sadly, this doesn’t hold true. When most people have something to offer, it often comes in the form of shouting through your website “buy, buy, buy”. Look at this thing – it’s good so therefore buy.

And it might not be your own fault as selling nor marketing aren’t easily taught skills.

See…

A master plumber who wants to upsell inline water softeners will have to make people aware of the issues of not owning one. Naturally, people will ask “what is that and do I need one – can’t I just drink the water directly”.

The same goes for gym trainers, software platforms, ecom brands, etc…

You can’t convince someone of the vehicle unless they understand the outcome.

There’s a name for this, or rather a stage in human behavior. And it’s called being Problem Unaware.

There’s a name for this phenomenon in consumer behavior: being Problem Unaware. These individuals don’t know they have a problem, haven’t acknowledged it, or haven’t connected their daily frustrations to specific issues that could be solved.

This is where education becomes crucial – your first job isn’t to sell, it’s to guide potential customers from being unaware to actively seeking solutions.

Google’s “Zero Moments of Truth” research in 2011 validated this approach. Their study revealed a fundamental shift in consumer behavior: before making purchase decisions, modern customers immerse themselves in research, reviews, and comparisons. The traditional marketing funnel has become outdated. Today’s consumers need education before they’re ready for sales messages.

In other words people gorge on information before making a purchase. They track and seek to find as much information as possible before making a purchase.

The biggest mistake people make is selling an offer is to not take into account who you are writing to. What is often referred to as positioning.

It’s premature to tell someone to “book a demo”, “purchase a subscription” or “subscribe to our newsletter” if don’t know enough about your product or service.

Solution seeking and product aware writing will attract those who know your product exists, but aren’t aware of all it does or aren’t convinced of how well it does it. So it will fall on deaf ears for those who don’t even know they have a problem.

Building an Education-First Approach

To address this new reality, businesses need assets that educate continuously. These assets – whether they’re blog articles, videos, or email sequences – should work independently, educating potential customers even when you’re not actively involved.

Let’s get a definition clear here of what an asset is before going further.

A business asset is anything producing a desired result that is yours that does not require you to explain it or wait on your approval. An email list, blog articles, video content, and a website are an asset. Should your presence be gone, they continue to work without your supervision. However, those unfinished training manuals and blog articles in your hard drive you said you were going to complete, are not assets. Neither are those unedited videos you said you would get around to them.

Fortunately, you have several channels to deliver sustained education about your solution. From YouTube videos, social media accounts, blog, guest on a podcast, email list, articles, and even retail stores.

Each have their own pros and cons.

Video is excellent with less competition as people may shy away in hearing or seeing themselves, but it’s time consuming to produce. Webinars are a megaphone to communicate with many through one event. They do take a while to configure, to aggregate a list of people, and carry some expense compared to other

Text based content can create a rich library for individuals to find you through search engines but requires long-term planning.

Truth be told, no one is “best”. It’s likely the ideal option is a combination of several channels, each harmonizing with your marketing strategy.

However, one remains king since the early days of the internet and it’s email. Unlike other formats that offer one-time interactions, email allows for sustained, progressive communication that guides potential customers through their journey of understanding.

Email continues to deliver the highest ROI with an expected $36 return for each dollar spent. More so than social media. Where 88% of people check their email once a day and some as much as 20 times (OptinMonster).

The Power of Educational Email Courses

Educational email courses represent the evolution of this education-first approach. They solve the fundamental problem we started with – the disconnect between businesses and their audiences. Unlike other formats that offer one-time interactions, these courses create a structured pathway from problem awareness to solution seeking.

The beauty of this approach lies in its ability to meet customers where they are.

Starting with basic problem recognition, each email builds upon the previous one, creating a comprehensive understanding of both the challenge and potential solutions. This gradual progression allows readers to internalize the information at their own pace, while daily touchpoints keep the conversation fresh and relevant.

However, it’s not about placing any email signup form on a landing page with the message “subscribe to our newsletter”. As mentioned before, writing for your audience is crucial in order to effectively sell anything. With email, you want to create a specific type of email sequence called an educational email course.

Because unlike other educational channels with one-time interactions, these emails sustain daily communication up until the last day of the course.

Educational email courses represent the evolution of this education-first approach. They solve the fundamental problem we started with – the disconnect between businesses and their audiences. Through daily communication, these courses create something unique: a structured pathway from problem awareness to solution seeking.

What makes these courses particularly powerful is their ability to meet customers where they are. Each email builds upon the previous one, creating a comprehensive understanding of both the challenge and potential solutions. This gradual progression allows readers to internalize the information at their own pace, while daily touchpoints keep the conversation fresh and relevant.

These courses do more than just educate – they create engagement. By delivering content that’s light enough to consume daily yet substantial enough to leave readers wanting more, they maintain consistent interaction. Through this ongoing dialogue, you can address objections, gauge interest levels, and collect valuable first-party insights that static content like PDFs or eBooks can’t provide.

Most importantly, educational email courses transform your relationship with potential customers. As you guide them through understanding their problems and potential solutions, you become their trusted advisor.

This positions you as the natural choice when they’re ready to take action, whether that action is completing a scorecard assessment, scheduling a demo, or making a purchase.

Educational email courses are an excellent lead generation tool in any business’s product ecosystem. They work as little gifts who become a 24/7 sales agent on your behalf. They’re small, digestible enough for readers, and provide data insights.

The power of educational email courses lies in their ability to transform stranger into students, and students into customers. By focusing on education first, you create not just a sales channel, but a relationship built on understanding and trust.

In today’s distribution-based landscape, it might be the most valuable asset of all.

Next steps

Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:

  • Request a brainstorm to figure where and what to write for your educational email course.
  • Read about our sister business, Founders Reach, to create your product ecosystem. This includes enabling a powerful and repurposable educational email course for your business.
  • Product ecosystem audit – I’ll analyze your current product ecosystem and give you actionable feedback for improvement.