Creative SuccessWritten by JC Anderl
One of clichéd mantras of Internet marketing world is, "Content is king." Content is very important to any website, but I think that a more important focus should be on original content.Recently I was browsing through a few marketing related sites and I noticed a trend. I noticed that many sites contain same rehashed material. Much of this rehashed material is essential for beginning business ventures to succeed, but there also needs to be a stronger focus on creating original ideas. Let's face it, in order to stand out, you often have to be original and creative. A great new idea is worth a hundred used up thoughts. You can't sit stagnate, especially in fast changing world of Internet. You have to change with pace, or be left behind, but why should you stop there? Why not lead next revolution. I'm making it a point to take some time each day for thinking and creating. Its not easy to do, but if you want to really stand out, then take some time to really look for a novel idea. Here are a few tips on finding an original idea. 1. Identify a problem - If you can find a way to fix a problem you've come up with a great idea. People obviously don't like problems of any kind. Fixing a common problem will benefit many people, and therefore have a great potential to benefit you. 2. Do twist - Finding a truly original idea is very difficult, but that isn't exactly what you need. Putting a twist on an old idea is one of best methods of creative thinking. A great example of turning an old idea into a refreshingly new concept is top marketer, Mark Aesop's TrafficSwarm. He basically took old pop up window and created an entire traffic generation system. Keep your eyes open.
| | Tell Visitors WhyWritten by Akinori Furukoshi
Tell Visitors WhyPeople need reasons to act. We work because we have to make a living. We eat because we are hungry. We have hobbies because we want to have some fun. Furthermore, people need reasons to buy from you. If you tell people why they should buy from you, you will dramatically increase sales. --An Experiment-- Harvard social psychologist, Ellen Langer, conducted an experiment. She asked people waiting in line to use a photo copier if they would allow her to go ahead of them in line. When she used phrase, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use Xerox machine?" success rate was 60 percent. When she used phrase, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use Xerox machine because I'm in a rush?" rate climbed up to 94 percent. This makes sense, doesn't it? But here is a surprise. When she used phrase, "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?" rate still clicked 93 percent, even though her reason didn't make any sense at all! --Just Tell People Why-- This result is weird, but it reflects how people behave. Also, this experiment tells you that you don't have to make up any reason to attract customers. Just tell people an honest reason, whatever it is. For example, you may not want to tell people you are having special sales because it is a slow month. Don't be shy. We all have busy days and slow days. If you don't tell, people might wonder if you are offering a special deal because there is something wrong with your products. Tell it like it is and remember that any reason works better than no reason. In photo copy machine experiment, "because I have to make some copies" worked as well as "because I'm in a rush." The important part is giving a reason, not logic.
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