Searching for marketing ideas?

 

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Searching for marketing ideas?

Copyright 2006 Kelly Robbins

 

At one point or another in our marketing careers we face

the challenge of coming up with new marketing ideas.

Consistently coming up with ideas for new ways to attract

prospects attention or to keep your name in front of

existing clients can be exhausting and frustrating.

Sometimes we just plain run out of ideas.

 

Here are a few ways to get ideas flowing if you find

yourself stuck:

 

1. Read. Read everything you can get your hands on.

Marketing articles (like this one), business articles,

industry journals, the daily newspaper. You don't get new

ideas from doing the same thing every day. Be learning and

looking all the time.

 

2. Go outside of your industry and read what others are

doing. It will give you a different perspective on things.

Read general business or start-up magazines like

Entrepreneur or Business 2.0. These publications are filled

with success stories from a variety of businesses.

 

3. Find someone (or several others) that does what you do

in another part of the country. Watch their ideas and

marketing techniques. Sign-up for their ezine. Try to get

on their mailing list. In addition to finding similar

companies online you may try to network with someone

through a national association or at a networking event.

 

4. Allow yourself one day a month to get outside your

office -- outside your normal work environment -- and

brainstorm. Find a relaxed setting where you can sit down

for a while and just write. Write down what’s happened over

the last month or so, where you're heading, and where you'd

like to go in the future.

 

Find out what environment works best for you to do this

exercise. It may be finding a big comfy chair at Starbucks

for a few hours, or working from home instead of the

office. It's hard to come up with ideas when you're in the

thick of things; so get out of your work environment and

relax. The ideas just might flow.

 

5. Search for marketing ideas online. You may have some

ideas you've been kicking around but haven't fully

materialized. Jot down some key words and just go digging

around. You never know where your next great idea will come

from.

 

If you don't have much time and are feeling pressured to

come up with a marketing promotion right away, at least try

to back away from your problem for a little while. Ideas

don't generally flow when you're under pressure. Watch a

movie; read a novel. Your great idea may come while you're

sleeping or in the shower once you relax. Oftentimes you

have to let things go so they can come to you.

 

 

About the Author:

 

Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed and The

Healthcare Copywriters Toolkit, Kelly Robbins is a

healthcare copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. She

also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection

(http://www.healthcaremarketingconnection.com), a free

e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to

receive her free report, "5 critical things you must know

when writing for the healthcare industry" —

info@KellyRobbinsLLC.com or 303-460-0285.