Brainy Tidbits - Issue 36:
Get Creative

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MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits

The ezine with brainy ideas & resources
for marketers & small businesses


This newsletter brought to you each Tuesday by
Lois Carter Fay & The Marketing Idea Shop
Marketing Idea Shop
Email

Issue 36 - February 3, 2004
Reading time: 10 minutes

Circulation:  1376


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PLEASE FORWARD ~~~ WITHOUT CUTTING ~~~
to anyone who can use a few timely marketing
and creativity tips to improve their business.


Welcome to all our new subscribers!


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IN THIS ISSUE

1.   Give Yourself a Whack on the Head
2.   Quote of the Week
3.   Steal This Idea
4.   Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
5.   A Little Birthday Fun
6.   Smell the Coffee


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1. Give Yourself a Whack on the Head

Have you ever struggled to come up with a solution to a problem in your business or your personal life and been completely, utterly stumped? Of course you have! Sometimes the more you try, the worse it gets. Don't let yourself be
frozen with inaction.

In my business, and in yours, it's important to be able to find new ways to do things. Here's one technique I use when I'm working on marketing problems for my clients or my own business.

I've been using Roger von Oech's "Creative Whack Pack®" since it came out in the early 1990s. It's a deck of cards, each card with a word or phrase and a descriptive paragraph, that compels you to think of your problem in a different way.

Here's one way to use it: you shuffle the cards and then lay five of the cards out, face up. The cards might say, for instance, "Look Somewhere Else," "Get Support," "Drop an Assumption," "Look to Nature" and "Loosen Up." So you
would then look at your problem with these ideas in mind, writing down the ideas you generate as you consider each card.

Suppose you are trying to decide how to promote your new website.

"Look Somewhere Else" might suggest to you that you should use non-traditional methods to promote it. Instead of sending out a news release to the publications in your local area, consider writing articles for online publications, posting helpful comments on Internet discussion lists, exchanging links with other websites,
and submitting your site to Internet directories and search engines.

"Get Support" might remind you that you don't have to do everything yourself, so start thinking about creative ways to get help. Can your children help you? What about a student intern? Can you trade services with someone who knows how to do public relations, search engine optimization or marketing? Is it time to hire an
assistant? Or can you outsource some of your work?

Perhaps when you see the card "Drop an Assumption," you can let go of an idea that you have held for a long time. That's what alternative advertising companies did when they began to paint public busses entirely with advertising and place ads on bathroom stall doors. They thought, "Why does an ad have to only be on TV, radio and in newspapers?" What assumptions are you holding that you can let go of?

A company that I know, BzzAgent used the "Look to Nature" concept to create a "hive" of BzzAgents to review its clients' products and services and spread the word to the world, just like a bee gathers pollen for honey. They have a huge network of volunteers who test the products and then buzz about, posting
comments on websites, in chat rooms, and so on. It's amazing how quickly word can spread if you have enough people buzzing around telling others. And BzzAgent collects a very hefty fee to promote a client!

If you "Loosen Up" like the last card suggests, you might consider running a fun, viral marketing campaign on the Net. Viral marketing means that the idea is so interesting or fun that it spreads just like a cold virus, from one person to the next quickly because they forward their emails and tell others about it. The free email company, Hotmail, was the first to use the technique, adding a statement to each outgoing email that said, "Get your free email account at www.hotmail.com ." Everyone wanted free email, so this technique spread like wildfire. What can
you take less seriously in your business?

There are, of course, many other methods to help you "get whacky" and generate creative ideas for your business. One of my favorites is to simply take a short, power nap. If I have a problem and I take a 10-minute nap, I not only get
up refreshed, but I often come back to my desk with a very creative solution to the problem. Try it, you might be surprised.


Coming next week..."Creativity Tips for Marketers," a special report with ideas and techniques to help you be more creative. Watch for it!


Writing a marketing plan can require some very creative thinking. And now's the time to write yours so you can create your own path to success. In my ebook, MARKETING PLAN ESSENTIALS: ONLINE & OFF, you'll find tons of questions to spark your creativity and help you develop a hard-hitting marketing plan. To read more about what you'll learn, or buy the ebook and be reading it in just minutes.



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2.  Quote of the Week

"When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."
                 ~~Eleanor Roosevelt



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3.  Steal This Idea:
Marketing Tip #23 - Inexpensive Research by Robert Grede


Good research need not be expensive.

Want to know what's new in the industry?

Ask your trade magazine sales reps. They often see your
suppliers and competitors every day. You can learn what
new products may be available, or even what promotional
techniques may be most effective.

Want to know what's new in your market?

Ask your local chamber of commerce. They can be a fountain of information, with market profiles and regional statistics, most available for f~ree or for a nominal charge (provided you're a member). You can even get lists of area employers or other organizations.



©2004 by Robert Grede. Robert Grede is the author of NAKED
MARKETING - THE BARE ESSENTIALS (Prentice Hall) and an
acclaimed speaker.  To find out more:
The Grede Company or order his book through
Amazon.


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4.  Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers


--> Do you need to generate a business name or new tagline?
Marcia Yudkin's 19-Step article can help you do that easily and quickly. Check out her Business Name & Tag Line Generator here (and while you're there, sign up for her excellent newsletter):

Business Name & Tag Line Generator


--> If you have a website, it's important to know that everyone can view it properly. People use different browsers, and this can cause problems. To check out your website, go here:

Site viewer


--> Need to create a good sales letter that gets people to
act?

Check out Instant Sales Letters.



--> Broken links can be a problem on a website. You don't
want it to happen to yours. Here are two free options for
checking your links:

Link Scan
Net Mechanic


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5.  A Little Birthday Fun

"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same
time. I think I've forgotten this before."

From: http://www.ahajokes.com/

Help get better jokes here...please send me your
marketing, PR or sales jokes. I'll be happy to give you credit and
list your website! Email me.

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6.  Smell the Coffee...

Today's my birthday and since I can't share my birthday
cake with you, I thought I'd give you a present.  You can
pick up a FREE copy of Yanik Silver's "The Greatest
Marketing Secrets of the Ages" here:

Birthday Gift for Subscribers

Enjoy!
Lois


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MORE PRODUCTS

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Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Founder, Marketing Idea Shop

411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA  USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660
Email
Website

 

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