Tips

Hitting a Creative Wall with Your Marketing? Here’s How to Push Through

6 Tips to Break Through a Marketing Creative Wall

For marketing to make a dent in the minds of today’s information-overloaded consumers, it must combine science, art, and little dark magic.

Sure, strategy is a must, but if your images and messaging lack imagination, no amount of targeted planning will save you. That said, creativity can be a slippery thing, disappearing when you need it most.

When that happens, and it will, consider these tactics for stretching, challenging, and optimizing your mental muscles.

1. Don’t Take it Personally

Effective marketing needs all hands on deck. It’s not about one rockstar personality.

Even with the cleverest concept, you need a team to execute it properly. To foster healthy collaboration:

  • Don’t underestimate any individual on your team.
  • Encourage everyone to offer ideas, regardless of role or title.
  • Keep criticism constructive and positive.
  • Practice active listening (don’t nod your head while waiting for your turn to speak).

2. Make Old New Again

There’s a reason Hollywood embraces a good remake (How many James Bonds are there again?). Used ideas don’t have to sit in a closet. Find a new spin and get them back out there.

Did your Fall Festival marketing campaign kill it last year? Replace the pumpkin pics with cinnamon sticks, adjust the messaging (what rhymes with Autumn?), and cross your fingers for Round 2!

Seriously, don’t succumb to the pressure of newness. Good ideas don’t automatically fester after you use them.

Hint: Don’t throw away ANY ideas, even the ones you never used. Keep a spreadsheet, Google doc, post-it note of past brainstorms. Because you never know how something will look in a different light.

3. Walk it Out

The average person sits between 6 and 15 hours every day.

There’s no way that benefits your health, your mood, or your creativity. But if you take a walk….

A Stanford study found that “a person’s creative output increased by an average of 60 percent while walking.” And don’t think that returning to the office has to mean nixing your post-lunch stroll.

Mega thinkers like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jack Dorsey are known for their walking meetings.

So, the next time your people struggle to stream a few punchy words together, ask them to step it up.

4. Look Elsewhere

Your next great success won’t come from copying a competitor’s move. Think bigger.

It’s easy to listen to the same podcasts, do a sweep of the same tired expert blogs, and think your answers sit somewhere in their 15-point lists.

Resist this urge and look outside your industry to track what businesses are dominating. Why do people flock to that brand? What worked for them that you can adapt to your industry?

Sometimes looking outside your bubble makes amazing things happen.

5. Get Happy

When was the last time you spared five minutes for something you enjoy?

Well-working brains need balance. If you find yourself short on brilliance, take a time out for something that gives you the smiles.  Go for a quick run. Make a batch of brownies. Listen to a beloved song.

When you fill that happy bucket, you fight stress, burnout, and a slew of unpleasantness that hinders creative flow.

It’s just good business.

6. Ask for Help

When marketers get too embedded in a product or campaign, fresh ideas can plummet. Sometimes all it takes to liven things up is an outside perspective.

Whether you need unique image ideas, some witty verbiage, or a mailing list service that helps you target your ideal customer, Xpressdocs has marketing solutions that uncomplicate your daily tasks.

So the next time you find your team stressing (in ways a 5-minute walk can’t fix), check out our website or call us at 1 (866) 977-3627. Because easy is awesome.

 

 

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