I know, I know – brainstorming is such a corporate word you’re probably squirming already. However, I’m afraid to say that it’s the best I have for this particular subject. ‘Putting your heads together’ and ‘having a strategy session’ where you ‘think outside the box’ are equally bad as potential entries in buzzword bingo and ‘coming up with new ideas’ is just a bit pedestrian. I quite like brain dumping but that means something a bit different for me. So, what am I on about? If you aren’t already using brainstorming in your business it’s probably time to start. Call it whatever you like, it’s the perfect way to boost your business.
Get a new perspective
It’s easy to get stuck in a bit of a bubble when you work by yourself. You decide exactly what you spend your time on and how you approach things. If business is good then there’s a good chance you’re taking the right approach, but you run the risk of becoming complacent and failing to anticipate change or adapt to it. If things aren’t going so well you could struggle to work out why. You might have had comments from customers but dismissed them as unreasonable. Or perhaps another business owner made a suggestion but you rejected it as unhelpful.
That’s when brainstorming can be really helpful. When you get a group of people together they’ll all have different viewpoints. Some will do things in a completely different way. Others will have things in common with you but may still have something new to offer. Sometimes just having a range of opinions can be useful.
Challenge yourself
Offering yourself up for feedback can be scary. That’s why it’s crucial that you find the right group of people to work with. Brainstorming only really works when you’re completely open about the challenge you’re having and you can’t do that with people you don’t trust. Equally, sometimes it’s better if they aren’t close friends. Your friends are (hopefully) only interested in making you happy. Someone you don’t know as well might come up with a solution that works but that you won’t necessarily like. It’s not because they’re being malicious, they just don’t know that you don’t like ringing people up.
If you find yourself resisting what is logically a good idea, it can be an opportunity for personal growth. Ask yourself why you feel that way. Are you rejecting an idea because you genuinely don’t have the right skills or couldn’t learn them? Or are you making the decision based on fear?
Brainstorming is magic
I’m part of a coaching group where each member gets a spotlight session. You can focus on a particular challenge you’re facing in business and the group works together to help you find ways to solve it. A typical brainstorming session involves making suggestions for specific solutions. The spotlight sessions are a bit different in that the other members ask questions to get you thinking about the problem in a different way.
However you do it, brainstorming can completely transform your thinking. I’ve had lightbulb moments from being asked a question that completely turned my problem on its head. I just needed to approach it with an open mind.
If you think you need a bit of brainstorming perspective in your business there are all kinds of ways to start. If you’re a member of a networking group, ask if any of the other members want to get together. Search for small group coaching (or just a good coach) in your area. Even Facebook groups can be a good place to ask questions and get lots of different suggestions. Just choose carefully!
If you’d like some time with me brainstorming your content marketing strategy, it’s yours! Click here to find out more about my strategy sessions.
You know that you need a content strategy which aligns with your goals (and if you don’t read my last two blogs 
Believe it or not, there are those who think that people who talk about strategy are out of touch with their clients’ lives. They probably think that a strategy is created somewhere off in cloud cuckoo land. I disagree. You can use whatever word you like for it, but a strategy is basically a plan. You’ll probably have seen a meme that says something like “a goal is a dream with a deadline”. If you have a goal, you need a plan to make it happen. That’s all a strategy is. So the question is, does your strategy match your goals? If not, here’s how to make it happen.
I’ve found that there are two types of business owner. The ones who love strategy and planning and actively seek out tools to help and, well, the other kind. To be fair even they could be split into two camps. People who know they need a strategy but just can’t quite bring themselves to do it and the ones who would happily wing it forever. Ultimately, guess which businesses have greater success long term? Yep, the ones with a plan. So why do you need a content marketing strategy? It’s an important piece of the overall puzzle. Here’s why.
As I write this we’re heading towards Christmas and I know that a lot of you are starting to wind down. I’m always reluctant to write off the end of a year but I understand the impulse. This year seems to have flown by. There’s political turmoil that’s making everyone feel tired. There have been a lot of changes in my personal life this year too. I’m ready for some time off. But that doesn’t mean I’m switching off altogether. This is a good time for reflection and thinking about the year to come. So I thought I’d give you some Christmas themed food for thought. There’s something about Christmas stories that really hit a nerve and I think it’s something we can learn from and carry through our marketing for the rest of the year. So I asked myself a question. Why do Christmas stories resonate with us?
At Christmas it’s easy to feel as if everything has become overly commercialised. When you’re running a business you might feel as if you’re just contributing to the problem. After all, the run up to Christmas is often referred to as the ‘Golden Quarter’ because of the increase in sales. The good news is that you can evoke the true spirit of Christmas in your marketing. You just have to work out which Christmas stories you’re telling. Thankfully there are plenty to choose from…
You need to focus on your customers at Christmas. Of course, you need to focus on them all year round, but especially at Christmas. To quote Andy Williams, it may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be the most stressful. If you can bring your customers something useful and give them a dose of the warm and fuzzies, you’ll be on to a winner. However, to do that you need to think about their personality and how you can help them through the festive season in one piece.
How much time, money and effort do you spend on content marketing? I’m going to hazard a guess that at least one of those things is going to loom large in your marketing efforts. Hopefully it’s working for you. (If it’s not you can go back to basics and sign up for 
If you’re an A-lister with a massive advertising budget, you can get your marketing message out to any audience you like. Targeted advertising online or on social media makes it easier to bombard your target audience with adverts, post and videos. Visit a web page and you can find the product you viewed following you around the internet. It’s enough to make you feel heartily sick of a product or business you may once have admired. Of course, most of us have the opposite problem. It’s a challenge to get our message in front of the right people. However that doesn’t stop most of us worrying about annoying our followers by sharing too much. The question is, how much marketing is too much? If you’re really worried about getting on everyone’s nerves, here are a few ways to avoid it.
Have you ever avoided a confrontation, in business or life generally? Do you feel as if you backed down when you should have stood up or did it teach you something else?