Michele PW Blog

Is your copy a bit lifeless? Marketing flat? Michele PW is here with tips and tricks to get your marketing and copy back on track.

Creativity

Does Fear Stop You from Starting—or Finishing—Your Creative Pursuits?

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How many creative projects are on your “to-do” list?

Maybe they’re not on your immediate to-do list … because, well, you’re busy. But you’d really like to get to them … “someday.”

If you had time. If you had talent. If you weren’t failing.

Does this frame of mind sound familiar?

If you’re attracting money in fear, then you end up attracting fear along with any money you bring in.

And do you know what fear does? It stops us from doing what we’re meant to do: our creative work.

It’s no surprise to you, then, that procrastination and perfectionism are rooted in fear-based emotions.

And these can grip even the best of us.

Which is why I invited Samantha Bennett, author of “Get It Done: From Procrastination to Creative Genius in Just 15 Minutes a Day,” to join me on the Love-Based Money Podcast. She’s sharing how to get past procrastination and perfectionism in just 15 minutes per day. And it works! I’ve experienced it, myself.

Listen here:

Samantha Bennett on Love-Based Money with Michele PW: How to Stop Fear from Standing in the Way of Your Creative Pursuits, in Just 15 Minutes per Day.

Are You a Creative Entrepreneur Who Has No Time To Be Creative?

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It happens to all of us.Creativity_01

Life. Business. Family. Endless to-do lists. Client emergencies. Family emergencies.

And then, you wake up one day and realize you haven’t done squat for months (or maybe even longer than you care to think about) to nurture your own creativity.

You keep thinking “if I just get over this (family/business/health/whatever) hump, I’ll have time to slow down and be more creative.”

Yeah — and how’s that been working for you? [Read more…] about Are You a Creative Entrepreneur Who Has No Time To Be Creative?

The 3 Visionary Powers of Entrepreneurs

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Guest blog post by Julie Ann Turner

Did you know that high-achieving entrepreneurs, creators, leaders and visionaries inevitably share Visionary Powers?

In many ways, these powers can serve you – they are among your greatest strengths …GuestBlogPost_02

Yet these same powers carry a potential hidden downside that can actually hold you back from sharing those very same strengths with your tribe – those who need your gifts and guidance most – and therefore, from building your business.

To help you ensure YOUR powers serve you (and help you serve your tribe) instead of hold you back, I’ve created the following guide to understanding which of the powers you are, along with my tips for avoiding their potential downsides. [Read more…] about The 3 Visionary Powers of Entrepreneurs

25 Ways to Add More Creativity in Your Biz

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If you ever have one of those days when you’re absolutely dragging, and feel like you don’t have a creative bone in your body (or maybe it’s one of those REALLY bad days when you feel like you may never be creative again) or maybe you just need a new perspective on something, take heart — these 25 tips may be just the ticket you need to rev up your creativity, and get those ideas sparking again! [Read more…] about 25 Ways to Add More Creativity in Your Biz

PW Unplugged Radio — Julie Ann Turner and Creativity, Biz and Your Genius

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In today’s episode of PW Unplugged Radio, my guest Julie Ann Turner (a fellow creative along with a best-selling author, radio host, executive coach and more) and I had a blast talking about my three fave things — creativity, your biz and how that all can transform into YOU living your genius. [Read more…] about PW Unplugged Radio — Julie Ann Turner and Creativity, Biz and Your Genius

3 Ways Being Creative Can Hurt You In Biz

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Yes you read the title right. This is all about how being creative can hurt you in biz.

We all know being creative is definitely an asset when you’re an entrepreneur. But…

Your greatest strengths are also your greatest weakness. And being TOO creative can actually keep you from building the biz of your dreams. So let’s dig into how creativity can actually hurt you in biz.

1. You love starting new things — but finishing? Not so much. There’s nothing like the rush of a new idea or a new brainstorm, is there? It’s soooo much fun to live on the Island of Possibilities and Dreams.

Which is why the Land of What Your Biz Is In Real Life feels so, well, blah.

Ideas that live on the Island Of Dreams are fun. Coaxing those ideas off of their fun island (where they’re hanging out at the beach during the day and partying every night) and talking them into becoming permanent citizens on the Land of Reality where they are now earning their keep and making money for you can be not-so-fun.

Those ideas aren’t necessarily all that thrilled about leaving their carefree lifestyle. So it takes time. And work. And sometimes that work is difficult and unpleasant.

(And that doesn’t even cover the “what if the idea isn’t all that hot once it’s real” fear that can also take over as you get close to finishing a new project.)

So being super creative can also mean lots of unfinished projects that are still half on the Island of Dreams, which means their hanging out having a blast rather than making any money for you.

2. You want to love the projects you’re working on. Yes we all want to love what we’re working on, but the truth of the matter is no matter how much you love an idea, there will be times where you just want to ship the smelly thing back to the Island of Dreams to stay.

If you’re too creative, you may decide it’s easier to just fall in love with a different idea on the Island of Dreams and, well, that means another unfinished project on your to-do list that isn’t making you any money.

But if you want to be a successful entrepreneur you must resist that urge. Only ideas that are firmly in the Land of Reality will have any hope of making you any money so even if you aren’t feeling the love, work through it.

3. Ideas aren’t the only thing you fall in and out of love with — your biz brand is also a constant moving target. This is the one that’s really tough to overcome. If you find yourself changing your brand every year, then it’s going to be really difficult to build traction in the marketplace.

Now while I am a big believer in just getting something out and letting the marketplace give you feedback (and yes I have gone through a few brands myself over the years) if you are constantly just not happy with your biz brand, then you are definitely letting your creativity rule your biz.

There is a time and place to rebrand — but it’s NOT because you’re tired or bored with your brand (especially if it wasn’t that long ago you rebranded because you were…well tired and bored with your brand). If you rebrand too much you’re just asking for your ideal clients to be confused, and that’s very often the first step to biz failure.

So, you’ve probably sensed a theme here. And that theme is — if you know you’re creative, and you find yourself making decisions on your biz, your brand, your products, your programs, your marketing, etc. based on if something is fun or gives you that rush, and you find yourself NOT working on something because it’s starting to feel like work (and you’d rather go back to the rush) then you’re probably allowing your creativity to dictate your biz rather than enhance your biz. And that’s a recipe for a not-so-successful biz.

Business Ideas – Need a New Idea? Try Changing Your Perspective

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One definition of creativity states that creative people look at the same thing everyone else does, yet they see something no one else does.

But even creative people (which includes all of you, of course) can run into roadblocks every now and then. Sometimes it’s not possible to see something different. Sometimes you’ve just been staring at a problem for so long it’s now impossible to look at it in any other way.

So what do you do in these situations?

Why not try changing your perspective?

Consider this: A friend of mind who does needlepoint has a design that’s mostly black. Rather than simply stitching the design on white canvas with black thread, she’s using a black canvas and is stitching the negative aspects of the design instead of the positive.

She changed the way she viewed the problem. And now she has a really cool-looking needlepoint design that’s different from most other ones out there.

Or what about this: An art teacher has her students turn a photograph or object upside down and paint what they see — not a picture but an arrangement of shapes.

By changing your perspective, you’re changing what you see. And when you change what you see, you’re more likely to create something completely different.

But — I can hear you all saying right now — that’s art. That won’t help me with my business problem.

Okay, so here’s another story from the book “Thinkertoys” by Michael Michalko. Back in the 1950s, experts proclaimed the ocean freighter industry was dying. Costs were skyrocketing and delivery times kept getting pushed back later and later.

Executives at the shipping companies kept focusing on ways to cut costs while ships were sailing. They developed ships that went faster and needed fewer crew members to run.

It didn’t work. Costs continued to spiral out of control and it still took too long to get the merchandise shipped.

Then one day, a consultant changed the perspective. Rather than ask the question: ” In what ways might we make ships more economical while at sea?” executives asked: “In what ways can we reduce costs?”

Ta-da!

Ships are big money-sucking machines when they aren’t at sea actually doing their job — shipping merchandise. And when aren’t they working? When they’re sitting in port being loaded and unloaded.

So, the industry came up with way to preload merchandise on land. Now a ship comes in, the container carrying the cargo rolls off, a new container already loaded with cargo rolls on, and the ship heads back to sea.

That one innovation saved an entire industry. And it happened because shipping executives changed the way they viewed their problem.

Exercise — Change your perspective

So, how can you change your perspective and solve your business/marketing problems?

Try what the shipping industry did and change the question.

Instead of looking at a narrow part of the problem (“In what ways can we make ships more economical while at sea?”) broaden the question (“In what ways can we reduce costs in general?”)

Here’s another example.

Maybe your question is “how can I land more clients?” What if you started broadening the question like so:

How can I land more clients?

How can I grow my business?

How can I make more money from my business?

How can I make more money period?

How can I be happier in my life? (I know, I know, money doesn’t buy happiness. But it’s certainly nice to have.)

Maybe one of those questions is a better place to look for a solution. Because maybe one of those questions is the “real” question you want to solve, but since you never took a step back to look at the big picture, you’ve never discovered the right question to ask.

And if you don’t ask the right question, your muse will never give you an answer that actually solves your problem.

7 Reasons Why You Absolutely Must Get Creative With Your Marketing RIGHT NOW

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1. It’s not your grandfather’s communications model. Communications has drastically changed since, say, the 1970s when advertising was in its heyday (actually most of the 1900s, but the 1970s is a good representative year).

Target markets are fragmented, customers have more demands on their time and they’ve learned to shut out the majority of advertising messages out there. The old ways of marketing based on advertising don’t work the way they used to. To succeed in the new communications model, you need every advantage you can find. And that includes harnessing your creativity.

2. Break through the information/products overload. The Internet has been the biggest boom to small businesses everywhere. It’s simple and affordable to sell your products and/or services to anyone in the world. However, the ease of setting up an Internet business means lots of people are doing it. Lots of people doing it means lots of products and services are available.

The easiest way to set yourself apart from the other 16 million Web sites out there is to enlist the help of your creativity.

3. If it looks like your competitors’ marketing plan… While it’s always good to know where your competitors are putting their marketing dollars, it may not be smart to be there too. (What I’m referring to are the different marketing vehicles, such as print publications, radio stations, billboards, event sponsorships, community groups, etc.) This is especially a problem if you’re always following your competitors’ lead and are never “the first” to take advantage of a new opportunity.

Think of it this way: If your message is only appearing in the same places as your competitors, how are you going to keep from blending into the crowd?

I’m not saying to ignore the places where your competitors are hanging out. I’m just saying you had better get creative with your marketing vehicles. Maybe you need a token presence on some media outlets while you branch out and look for other “off the beaten track” opportunities you can own.

4. If it smells like your competitor’s marketing message… Producing similar marketing materials to your competitors’ is a surefire way to get your customers to ignore you. Take cars for instance. Can you tell me the difference between a Ford and Chevrolet commercial (other than the tagline)? Do you even know if the commercial you’re remembering IS a Ford or Chevy commercial?

See what I mean?

And when your customers can’t remember what’s different between you and your competitor, how will you convince them to buy from you rather than your competitor?

Getting creative with your marketing will help your message stand out from the crowd.

5. Harness the power of your creativity for your marketing. Not only is there power in using your creativity, but there’s power in new ideas. Skeptical? Think of the surge of energy you feel during that “A-ha” moment. Think of all the excitement surrounding a new idea. You can even take it further and look at the energy surrounding the creation of a new life (which, when you get right down to it, is the ultimate act of creation). When you focus that power on your marketing, there’s no telling how far it will take you.

6. Enjoy your marketing. Let’s face it. Marketing isn’t always fun. In fact, sometimes it’s drudgery. But when you add your creativity to the mix, your marketing takes on something completely different.

Being creative is fun. So, the more you can blend your creativity with your marketing, the more fun you’ll have with your marketing. And the more fun you have, the more you’ll do it (and the more results you’ll see).

7. Use it or lose it, baby. The more you use your creativity, the more creative you become and the more your creativity will spill over in other parts of your life. What better way to consistently make use of your creativity than by making it a part of your marketing plan?

The bottom line? No matter where you are on the creativity scale, your attempts at creativity won’t hurt your marketing (no matter how “bad” you think you are at it). But if you don’t at least try to be creative, you’re definitely never going to stand out from the crowd. And, chances are, being creative will only enhance your marketing – probably in new and unexpected ways.

That’s the beauty of creativity – you never know when or how it will step through the door, bringing with it the all the energy and excitement of new adventures.