One of my favorite business tools and strategies is mind mapping. Mind maps offer a great way to brainstorm and come up with new ideas. It can help your thoughts flow from one idea to another, to things you wouldn’t think of otherwise.

I use mind mapping when I write, but I also use Mind Mapping when I’m planning out a new website or marketing campaign. Many times we’re taught to go from point A to point B then to point C. We tend to think linear to get from here to there. But thoughts and ideas don’t always have to …read more

How do you jump-start your marketing creativity? We get in our daily routines: get up, shower, get dressed, go to work, get some coffee, answer email, take a break, do some work, go to a meeting, come back, return calls, answer email… on and on. It gets monotonous. No wonder you’re not generating new marketing ideas!
We all need to shake up our routine a little in order to find our creative side. Go for a walk. Stop and look at the sky. Or trees. Or grass. Go to a park and let your mind wander. Sit and people watch at …read more

Writing a creative brief can help you plan your advertising by helping you to focus and providing a good basis for your ad (or other collateral). It should provide your basic purpose for the ad, list some supporting information, and set the tone for your brainstorming.
A basic brief can start with these three things:

Objective
Support
Tone

Here’s what they should generally include.
Objective
What is this ad or other marketing item supposed to accomplish? Think about your SMART goals and make this measurable and specific. Include a brief outline of your target customer here.
Support
What are you promising or claiming and how are you going to …read more

When you’re trying to explain the benefits of your product or service, what do you think about? Do you consider the best way to represent yourself or the points you feel are most important? Stop right there. The pivotal points you actually need to address are the ones your customer thinks are crucial.
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Think about what problems they have and how your product can solve them. But not just solve them — how it does it better than any other product out there. Remember that money is tight for a lot of people. If they …read more