We need to address an uncomfortable reality: literacy in America is declining, and as business owners, are contributing to the problem. I’ll be the first to admit it, my own team has been told to reduce the reading level of our marketing content to an 8th grade standard. Sometimes even 6th. If you’re in marketing, you’ve likely heard the same advice. But we have to ask ourselves why we are consistently dumbing down marketing. Why is this the standard?
According to Google, 54% of American adults read at or below a 6th grade level, and 43 million adults struggle with basic literacy skills. The majority of these individuals were born and educated in the U.S.
And how have we responded?
We’ve lowered the bar even further.
The Race to the Bottom
Marketers are consistently advised to “write at a 6th grade level,” “make it skimmable,” and “keep it simple”. While clarity is important, there is a critical difference between being clear and being condescending.
When we reduce our messaging to the lowest level of comprehension, we don’t just weaken our brand voice but we miss out on a vital opportunity: to elevate our audience. As business owners, we carry a responsibility, not just to sell, but to contribute to the growth and understanding of the people we serve. That includes our teams, our clients, and ourselves.
If you wouldn’t race to the bottom in your product quality or customer service, why do it in your messaging?
Business Owners Are Educators Now
Regardless of industry, your business is producing more than just products or services. It’s producing content. And that content has the power to shape how people think, learn, and grow.
Every time we send an email, publish a blog, or run an ad, we’re making a decision:
- Do we challenge our audience to think more deeply?
- Or do we cater to a declining standard?
We’ve been told that “people can’t handle more” but that’s a lie. People rise to the level of expectation. When we treat our audience like they’re intelligent, they act like it. When we talk down to them, they disengage or stay stuck.
Marketing That Elevates vs. Marketing That Manipulates
There’s a reason long-form content still works. There’s a reason people crave substance. They want ideas, insights, and education. Not empty headlines and shallow, fluffy copy.
The best marketers understand this. They don’t write for algorithms, they write for people. Real people with the capacity to learn, grow, and connect. If we’re willing to speak to them that way.
Yes, content should be clear. But clarity is not the same as oversimplification. We can inform, inspire, and challenge while driving conversion.
That starts with truly knowing your audience and not guessing. This blog dives into how:
Successfully Reach Your Audience: How to Do Market Research
So What Can We Do?
As business leaders, we need to:
Respect our audience’s intelligence. Speak to their potential, not just their current level of understanding. Don’t default to the lowest level just to make the sale. Use your platform to educate. Teach through your content and share ideas that sharpen minds, not dull them.
And most importantly, push back on the trend. When the world says “make it dumber,” you say, “make it sharper”.
This isn’t just a literacy issue, it’s a leadership issue. If we want a smarter, more capable society, we need to stop lowering the bar and start raising the standard.
Because if business owners don’t, who will?
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