I sat on the mat, looking up at the bouldering route that had just thrown me off. (Okay, I’d fallen off, but it always feels a little bit like getting tossed on the floor.)
It wasn’t an overly difficult route, but I couldn’t seem to get the grip I needed to make progress up the wall. Three times I’d tried… and each time I’d gotten stuck at the same point.
Then Sam, my climbing partner and youngest offspring, tackled the route. Instead of gripping and pulling, she shifted up, put her hand on the flat side of the “rock” and pushed, leveraging herself past the trouble spot.
She clambered up the rest of the route with no problem… and left me scratching my head and wondering, why didn’t I think of that?
That’s the thing with creative thinking… it doesn’t always occur to you until you see someone else do it.
But it’s so valuable to be able to think creatively… especially as a writer.
With creative thinking, you can help your clients come up with new solutions to problems… ways of solving things they hadn’t thought of before.
With creative thinking, you can come up with new, fresh ways of conveying important messages… ideas that are memorable and persuasive… that get a response from your reader.
With creative thinking, you can see systems and processes in a new way and break out of ruts, doing something that’s surprising and new… and effective because of it.
But how do you start thinking more creatively?
Well, one way is to start asking yourself, “What’s a different way I could go about this?” It doesn’t mean you have to run with whatever ideas you come up with, but by asking the question, you’ll prime your mind to start seeing multiple solutions to problems.
Another method is to start coming up with more analogies. When you’re writing an article, an email, or a sales letter, ask yourself how you can use something else to explain a crucial piece of information. How can you use making dinner to explain the importance of content strategy… or life inside a beehive to explain community building… or bouldering to explain creative thinking? You get the idea…
Yet another way is to occasionally combine two completely random things into a new idea. What could you get if you combined yogurt and little league? Or an online app with space travel? Or chili peppers with cats? (Go-gurt… an app that simulates day-to-day life on an interstellar spaceship… a new line of “cat-astrophically” hot barbeque rubs… but those are just my ideas. What are yours?)
So many things in life get better with practice. Creative thinking is one of them. Start trying these creative thinking exercises and see if you don’t start coming up with more standout ideas and innovative solutions — both good things for a digital copywriter.
New on the Site
Being growth-aligned means attending to tasks and goals that take you toward where you want to go… your big goal. In her latest Reality Blog, Suzanna Fitzgerald looks back at her first quarter to see how well the progress she’s made aligns with her growth goals. And she challenges you to do the same. So, how growth-aligned was your first quarter?
Take on the challenge of creating your own information packet. Your information packet will give you a way to contact clients with confidence. And when you join in our quarterly Challenge, not only will you come away with a great marketing asset, you could also end up with a commission to write for Digital Copywriter. You’ll find all the details here.
Upgrade your goal-setting technique. Lynelle Suan shares the steps she took to level up her copywriting career… and then level it up again — all within the course of a year. When you use the manifestation steps for writers she shares here, you’ll help yourself stay focused and do what you need to do to achieve your writer’s life.
Mark Your Calendar
Thursday: With our next quarterly Challenge underway, it’s time for a Challenge Kick Off webinar to give you pointers and tips for getting the most out of this particular undertaking. During this session, I’ll share my tips for crafting an information packet that is effective for your own business growth goals.
April 21: Then, a little later in the month, Jay White is joining me to talk about what he recommends to new writers to speed them on their way to success. Jay is a practical, down-to-earth guy with a lot of freelance writing experience, and he’s ready to share a bit of that experience with all of us. I hope I’ll see you there!
Around the Web
Writing longer isn’t always better… no matter what prevailing SEO opinions say.
Want a few more ways to practice your creative thinking? You’ll find five ideas here.
If you’ve been thinking about using Instagram to build your brand, then I think you’ll like these proven strategies.
How would you adapt these follow-up ideas to your writing business?
That’s all for now. Make it a great week!
