Take Your Brain by Storm!
“But I have nothing to say!”
I’ve heard that exclamation many times, from many business owners, usually in regard to article writing. These folks understand the power of communicating as an expert in their field. They understand the power of getting in front of their target market every month through a monthly newsletter, or every few days via regular blog posts. They’ve accumulated years of priceless experience and industry knowledge to share with their customers, prospective customers, and business associates. And yet when the time comes to put pen to paper or fingers to keys, all they can visualize is a vast wasteland. Suddenly it seems like a really great time to go over the sales figures, or pay the bills, or water the azaleas….
You have plenty to say. You may just need someone to pull it out of your subconscious through simple brainstorming.
Sure, you can brainstorm by yourself. There are lots of fun little books out there offering creativity exercises to get your brain in gear. Even ordinary “brain-teaser” puzzles can relax your mind enough to allow those great thoughts to float to the surface. But brainstorming with another person can produce extraordinary results even more quickly and painlessly — especially when the other person is a marketing professional.
Writers make fantastic brainstorming partners, if I may say so myself, because they’re trained to see story possibilities anywhere and everywhere. Journalists and copywriters also possess interviewing skills, so we know how to ask the questions that lead to new insights and, usually, new articles. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down with a business owner who was convinced he or she had nothing to bring to that upcoming blog deadline, newsletter issue, or trade journal, only to come away from a brief brainstorming sessions armed with a wealth of new material.
I always include regular interview sessions in my blogging and newsletter packages, and I can practically hear the relief over the phone as my clients see ideas taking shape in front of them as we talk — ideas they’d had all along, hidden by their own shapelessness. I just reminded them of what they already knew and helped them put that valuable knowledge into a recognizable shape for posting or publication.
So, business owners — what about you? Are you ready to take your brain by storm?
