"I want to monetize [this, that, or the other]," says the budding entrepreneur. "But I can't just give away my secrets."

I've found that in the digital marketing world, most people don't give away enough because they are afraid of giving away too much. They don't want to give away their "special sauce."

The secret, though, is this:

The great copywriter Bob Bly points out, "Revolutionary ideas are extremely rare and infrequent. Be suspicious of anyone who says he has one. More likely, the individual has dressed up an old idea, or put a new label on an old box."

So, when folks are worried about giving away "their" information or ideas, it is usually because they think they've come up with something revolutionary. It's rarely, if ever, the case.

This is not to say that what you or I know, or have learned, and want to tell the world about does not matter. To the contrary.

It is how we are able to teach what we know to others that becomes what people want or need. The information is nice, but why is it important or how does it apply?

This takes effort and can take a lot of time to figure out.

Jerry Seinfeld once said, "Learn to accept your mediocrity. No one's really that great."

"You know who's great?" asked Seinfeld. "The people that just put a tremendous amount of hours into it. It's a game of tonnage."

If you're looking for secrets, Seinfeld's wisdom might be as close as you can get.

Furthermore, if you're looking to start or grow your business, it is probably better to run the risk of "giving away too much," especially at first.

If it is indeed a game of "tonnage," as Seinfeld posits, wouldn't you rather tell people of your expertise, rather than holding back?

In one of my recent small group conversations, we talked about this matter a little bit. For instance, in your marketing (emails, podcasts, blogs, etc.) you can tell people "what" they should be doing and "why" they should be doing it.

However, when it comes to "how" to do things, that's where the work tends to come in. That is why people seek out coaching, consulting, or "life hacking."

The "how" is usually specific to the person or the problem at hand, and, thus, needs more attention than a mere email or podcast can do. This is one of the reasons people write books. People will buy the book if, by what you write, you are able to solve their problem.

So, there becomes a mutual benefit for both the teacher and the student. This is often the motivation for why we decide go to college, or go to professional seminars, or take online classes.

Anyhow, if you think you have an idea that you think would benefit just one person or even society at large, there is no need to hold back.

One of the chief reasons people tend to hold back is that they do not really believe they are a real expert in their field.

I want to disabuse you of those kinds of thoughts.

A while back, I put together a short guide, "5 Factors That Help Define an Expert."

Get it here for free. Just click and it's yours:

As always,

Brian