Marketing in the Information Economy: Why Substance Beats Presentation

When most people think about marketing, they picture sleek videos, polished websites, and perfectly curated social feeds. That’s the world of consumer brands, where aesthetics can make or break a sale. But for those of us working in the information economy — educators, researchers, coaches, consultants, and other knowledge workers — the rules are different.

In this space, presentation isn’t the main driver of trust or sales. It’s the quality and accessibility of the information itself.

I’ve come to see this through both my entrepreneurial journey and my work in education and behavioral health. As a special educator who has spent years working with young people with emotional disabilities, autism, and other co-occurring disorders, I’ve learned that the people who land on my site aren’t looking for bells and whistles. They aren’t waiting for a cinematic video with sound effects. They are searching for answers.

They want hope. They want strategies that work. They want something they can apply right now.

That realization changed the way I think about marketing.

Marketing as Substance, Not Decoration

When someone arrives at my site, WBcoaching.net, they’re not judging the polish of my visuals. They’re evaluating whether the information I share can make a difference in their child’s or student’s life. If it’s clear, actionable, and grounded in research — or even better, in what I’d call action research (long-term experience of people in the field) — then I’ve built trust.

This is the key distinction in the information economy:

• Marketing isn’t about decoration. It’s about clarity of message.

• Marketing isn’t about catching the eye. It’s about earning trust through usefulness.

Once you internalize this, the pressure to “keep up” with slick campaigns fades. What matters is whether your content delivers on the problem your audience came to solve.

The Intermediary Role

I’ve come to see myself as an intermediary. My role isn’t just to provide answers but to point people toward the next layer of depth. Sometimes that means highlighting my own products. Other times, it means curating someone else’s work.

In this way, marketing becomes less about selling and more about guiding. If someone trusts your initial insight, they’re far more likely to follow your lead into resources that dig deeper.

And in the information economy, that trust is the currency that drives everything.

Focus on Accessibility

Here’s one simple rule I use: If your audience can’t understand it quickly, they can’t use it.

That means stripping away jargon, explaining terms as if your reader is new, and formatting content in a way that’s easy to digest. Sometimes this means using short videos, sometimes it means bulleted text, sometimes it means one-page guides. The format doesn’t matter — accessibility does.

A question I ask myself before publishing anything: Could someone with no background in this topic still find this useful? If the answer is yes, it’s ready to go.

Highlight Depth Without Overwhelming

The second rule is to always leave a door open for people who want more. You don’t need to cram every piece of knowledge into a single blog post, video, or workshop. Instead, provide a clear entry point, then point toward additional resources.

For example, I might write a short piece on managing classroom defiance and then link to a longer guide or toolkit that goes deeper. The initial post provides immediate value, while the follow-up resource creates an opportunity for a deeper relationship (and often, a sale).

This approach keeps your marketing both approachable and scalable.

The Broader Lesson for Founders

Whether you’re an educator, a researcher, a health professional, or a founder building a knowledge-based product, the lesson is the same:

Don’t get caught up in comparing your marketing to consumer brands. Instead, invest your energy in creating material that solves real problems. Show up with clarity. Share insights grounded in research or lived experience. Make it accessible. And then, guide your audience to what comes next.

Marketing in the information economy is less about the wrapper and more about the contents inside the package.

And when your information delivers, people won’t just find you useful. They’ll find you trustworthy. And trust is the foundation of every long-term business.

The information economy doesn’t reward the flashiest presentation. It rewards the most useful and trustworthy insights. As founders and knowledge workers, our job is to focus less on the packaging and more on the clarity, accessibility, and depth of our ideas.

That’s not just good marketing. That’s sustainable business.