If you’re doing spiritual business marketing, here’s a mistake I see constantly: assuming your audience already speaks your language.

In the last couple of days, the moon moved into the sign of Scorpio. Many of the spiritual entrepreneurs I follow on social media — astrologers, human design practitioners, intuitives, healers, and witches — were advising that it’s a time to do “shadow work.” And as I sat there reading their posts and watching their content, one thought kept popping up. They speak about shadow work as though their audience already knows what they mean. As someone in the marketing world, working as a Pinterest manager and strategist, I see this as a problem.

What’s the Problem With How Spiritual Entrepreneurs Use Jargon?

So, what’s the problem? Well, many people don’t understand this concept. It sounds serious, and these educated spiritual teachers are advising you to do it, but what does it actually entail? No post explains the basics.

This brings me to something I advise my own clients on in their content creation: write or create content for the clients you want to attract. I ask my clients at the beginning of our work together to dig down and describe their ideal client in great detail. We need to be crystal clear on who we’re speaking to. We need to understand the struggles and solutions they’re seeking.

So, does your client understand the more advanced jargon of your subject matter? They might be a perfect candidate for your mastermind or Level 3 certification. Or maybe your membership is a better fit. Or they may be a more entry-level student who is thirsty to learn, still working through the basics, and wanting to go further.

You must write clearly for your ideal client, sharing what they need to hear in order to trust you and want to go further into your world. As I tell my clients, we want them to fall in love with you. So what do they need to hear and see?

I wish spiritual entrepreneurs would write for the people who don’t already know. So much of what gets published in this space is written for people who are already fluent in the language — shadow work, human design, astrology, energetics. It assumes the reader already knows what the words mean.

But most of your audience isn’t there yet. And when they hit a term they don’t understand, they don’t ask — they scroll past.

The “Four-Year-Old” Rule

Have you ever seen the movie Philadelphia, with Denzel Washington playing the lawyer for Tom Hanks’ character? His character, Joe Miller, has a repeated line: “Now, explain it to me like I’m a four-year-old.” What he means is: explain it to me like I don’t know. Like I’m hearing it for the first time. Simplify it for me.

I’ve always thought that’s exactly what we need more of in marketing — especially when the subject is emotionally charged, or complex both emotionally and intellectually, the way astrology, human design, and spiritual work often are. You have to go back to that rule: explain it to me like I’m a four-year-old.

A Real Example: What Is Shadow Work?

That was the first thing that popped into my head this morning: someone I know is going to be immensely affected by this moon, and they have no idea what “shadow work” even means. That question alone — what does shadow work mean, and do I need to do it? — is a blog post in itself.

If you’re looking for content ideas, start there. I posted on Threads yesterday that I recommend going back to basics — and yes, back to blogs on your own website, so that you own your own real estate and aren’t reliant on platforms like Substack.

Why This Matters for Spiritual Business Marketing

You might think a topic like “what is shadow work” is too simple to write about, because you already know it so well. But that’s exactly the point — you don’t understand how far ahead of your audience you actually are.

Simple, foundational content does two things at once: it gets people thinking (what is shadow work, and do I need to do it?), and it showcases that you are the right person to support them through it. That’s spiritual business marketing at its best — not proving how much you know, but meeting people exactly where they are.

How to Apply This to Your Own Content

Next time you sit down to write, try this: Who am I writing this for? Dive into their profile. Will my content speak to what they seek? Am I offering a solution to what they want?

Not sure where you stand? Take my Pinterest Readiness Quiz to see where your content and strategy stand right now: https://meganpinterestmanager.com/pinterest-readiness-quiz/

Or, if you’d rather talk it through, jump on a call with me for a mini Pinterest audit. Book here