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Build Great Backlinks has posted a new item, 'How to Be More Creative in Your
Online Campaigns'

Posted by ShellShockThis post was originally in YouMoz, and was promoted to the
main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The
author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of Moz,
Inc.The SEO landscape has changed so much in the last few years in the wake of
the Penguin and Panda apocalypse that the discipline is now considered in the
broader terms of online marketing or digital marketing. The one element that is
common is the requirement for new skills such as PR, classic marketing and most
importantly: creativity. Agencies and freelance individuals who can't adapt,
evolve and embrace the new mode of thinking/operating are vulnerable with
nowhere to hide behind mediocre work and outdated tactics.Be more creative, is a
phrase often used within business and marketing with little consideration given
to its meaning. But, what does it mean to be creative? There is much confusion
about what creativity is and a general misconception of mistaking style for
creativity. Most designers are stylists: they make things look good. Creativity
is about concepts, ideas and innovation. In art school, I was always taught that
being able to justify the concept was the most important element of creativity.
You had to argue your reason for why the design piece was a solution to the
problem. I can still recall how nervous I used to get before a group critique
session (the phrase blood bath comes to mind) even though it was over 20 years
ago. It's not about how good it looks - it's how well it answers the
questions.Creativity is a skill we can all access. Everyone has the capacity to
generate ideas. Admittedly, some people are more inclined towards creative
thinking, just as some are able to figure large maths calculations in their head
or swim like Michael Phelps. But anyone can increase his or her level of
creativity by learning the skills of thinking and exercising their idea muscle.I
recently published a free ebook called 'What is Creativity?' and the following
are six ideas extracted and expanded from the book to increase your creative
thinking and improve your online campaigns:Creativity is not a talent, it's a
way of operating. John CleeseLearning to switch into open modeEx Monty Python,
John Cleese understands and defines the creative process as learning to switch
between two states or modes: open and closed. When we are under pressure and
stress to deliver, such as in our everyday working lives, we are in closed mode.
When we are relaxed, detached from problems and playful, we are in the open
mode. Open can be considered playful (lateral thinking) and closed logical
(vertical thinking). Just as we need both lateral thinking and vertical
thinking, we need open and closed states to solve a problem: the open state
allows us to develop creative ideas and then the closed state to plan and
implement the idea. These are similarly aligned to vertical and lateral thinking
processes.1: How to achieve an Open stateSchedule time to avoid being distracted
and remove the pressure to instantly generate ideas; your brain needs time to
open up. The optimum amount of time is 90 minutes, it takes a minimum of 60
minutes for the brain to focus on a task and after 90 minutes will be prone to
distraction and need a break. Place of work is essential for creatives to get
into state - most writers and artists will follow a routine and often have
isolated spaces such as garden offices to minimize distraction. Some artists
need to be surrounded by ephemera such as the collection of memorabilia that
Paul Smith surrounds himself with for inspiration. Others, like Maya Angelou,
prefer minimalism and, like myself, need an uncluttered desk and space for an
uncluttered mind to be able to think.Agatha Christie preferred to work in a
large Victorian bath whilst eating apples. Benjamin Franklin would work naked
for an hour every morning. Maya Angelou preferred the isolation of a hotel room
and requested everything removed from the walls; she would bring her own sherry
and ashtray. The eccentric poet Dame Edith Sitwell would lie down in a coffin
finding inspiration in the claustrophobic and restrictive space.You don't need
to go to the extremes of a coffin but find a space which is conducive to
relaxation and without distraction, anywhere that removes you from association
with work or pressure (preferably not home). Try a coffee shop (JK Rowling
famously wrote Harry Potter in her local coffee shop), the library, a hotel or
even a camper van (Breaking Bad style). Removing yourself from the usual place
of work will remove yourself from distraction, help the brain to break pattern
which in turn will switch into a more receptive state for ideas. To access open
mode if you are in a group:The open state thrives in humor and play so try the
dinner party technique: create the dream dinner party guest list, such as
Einstein, Da Vinci, Churchill, Kennedy or even fictional characters such as Don
Corleone, Jack Sparrow and Luke Skywalker. Each person should take a persona and
become their character - they must answer questions and think like they would
imagine that character to think. The perfect warm up exercise; it is huge fun,
encourages humor, it breaks awkwardness and forces the brain to break pattern
from your normal style of thinking. Keep this game going for a minimum of 20
minutes before your brainstorm.To access open mode if you are alone:Research has
shown a correlation between increased dopamine and creativity. Dopamine is a
pleasure chemical which the brain releases to signal success but this chemical
is not as straight forward and predictable as a reliable tool. The increase of
endorphins will elevate our mood and help us achieve our open state: physical
exercise is one of the easiest ways to access a rush of endorphins although,
spicy food, sexual activity and pain can also trigger release - so whatever gets
you going!Try a walk, swim or bike ride to stimulate feel good. You want to
ensure a careful balance of feeling exhilarated but also avoiding energy
depletion. Opt for a route that you haven't been on before to break any
automatic behavior patterns. Walking in a new part of town and observing the
unfamiliar territory or running backwards will stimulate new thought and
movement patterns thus putting you into a more creative and receptive state.
"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did
something, they feel a little guilty because they didnt really do it, the just
saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. Steve Jobs2: Make
connections with an ideas wallThe ability to make connections and see
relationships between seemingly random elements is the secret to creativity.
Combining old elements to create something new.Idea walls solve crimesIt's no
coincidence that you see examples of ideas walls on TV dramas and movies such
as: Homelands, Sherlock Holmes, A Beautiful Mind and Three and a Half Days
Later. Detectives have long used this technique to assist solving crimes.
Placing photographs of the known or suspected perpetrators, victims, crime
scenes and evidence on a wall enables items of evidence to be repositioned and
grouped; string can link items together for visual affect. A detective can then
stand back and mentally take in a great deal of information at once. The brain
begins to process and use its natural ability to seek the connections between
the items, find the clues and answers to the case.images from Crazy WallsWhen
the BBC conducted a site redesign in 2010 they printed out the entire site and
mounted on a wall affectionately known as 'the wall of shame'. To enable them to
better visualize what they had and to unify the visual and interaction design of
the desktop and mobile sites.How to create a content strategy ideas wallTools
needed: paper, colored pens, highlighter pens, print outs of all reference
material, colored string and push-pins, post it notes, blu tack or tape, and a
large wall space, pin board or sheets of foam board.Organize your reference
material into themes or groups and pin/stick to the wall.Devise a color code
system for your different groups with the pen color you have and use the colored
pens and highlighter and mark and highlight relevant pages and sections of
information. (Homelands style, see above)For example, if you are working on
content strategy for your site group into:Influencers - list influencers who
could help to broadcast your content and sub group in different social media
channels, newsletters and authority sites (eg Guardian, Huffington Post, Fast
Company)Audit - audit current site contentIdea sources - places to mine ideas
from such as offline periodicals, online Q&A sites like Quora, social media
channels and Google trendsHost Locations - potential sites to target for
exposure, shares and links: authority hub sites, bloggers, online
magazines/publishers, email newsletters and social media sitesBy grouping
related themes we start to see patterns. If you have a piece that doesn't fit
into a group this 'outlier' could in itself give ideas.Stand back from the wall
and look for potential relationships or connections between the information.
Using push pins and colored string make a visual link between the two. (See
photos above)The key here is flexibility: move pieces of paper round, create new
string links, devise new groups - by repositioning, regrouping and relinking
this is where your ideas will start to form and generate as you begin to make
the connections.If wall space is an issue or you prefer a digital version,
Mural.ly is an online alternative to creating an ideas wall; describing itself
as "an online whiteboard designed to visually organize ideas and collaborate in
a playful way." Mural.ly allows collaboration of team members and you can drag
and drop your reference material onto the white board and reposition items and
make notes. I have only just begun to play with this tool and it has huge depth
and potential to assist in creative projects.image from Mural.lyPinterest is one
of my favourite scrapbook tools for collecting visual information as an
alternative. I use Evernote extensively for collecting information and research
material. Quora is my favourite site for finding ideas for content.4: How to
brainstorm the right way:Generating ideas for content, marketing strategies or
even creative use of data can all be more productive if tackled in a group - the
synergy from more than one person will bring fresh perspective, new ideas and
energy. But, brainstorming is such a common term that most people don't consider
how to undertake a session effectively.One of the most important elements within
team idea generation is trust and harmony. The group must be able to work well
together through respect for each others' opinions and ability and a general air
of amiability. Any disagreeable personalities, critical individuals or large
egos are not conducive to successful creative brainstorming and should be
excluded from the group.image from Atomic SpinThe following rules should be set
to deter any fear or negativity that can squash creativity so that you can
encourage a safe space to open up:A diverse range of skills present in the group
works well in bringing alternative approaches, as does varying levels of
experience, age, gender and personality.Allocate enough time to warm up and to
focus. Between an hour and 90 minutes is preferable - after this the brain loses
focus and needs a break. I recommend the 'dinner party' game above or another
icebreaker to create an open state.Allow the most junior person in the room to
speak first and in turn to most senior. This removes any pressure from a junior
member who may be intimidated to follow an experienced authority.Stay focused on
the topic. It is natural in group discussion to lose focus and drift into other
subjects. The moderator must be vigilant in this area.An experienced moderator
is essential to the process and should be able to direct and manage the group
without obstructing and keep the group on track and focused and ensure everyone
follows the rules (such as not being negative or overbearing). The moderator
will take notes (on a white board) and assist as an objective opinion to draw
connections between ideas.Above all else no judging, criticism or rejection of
any idea anything is valid and can be considered."Creativity is the process of
having original ideas that have value. Sir Ken Robinson5: Change your thinking,
change your lifeIf your natural disposition is not creative a creative thinker
you can become more creative through repeated action, discipline and learning
new ways to think. Repetition and discipline The more the brain processes a
routine or skill, such as a new language or driving a car, the deeper the
synapses physically carve a channel in the brain. Which explains to some degree
why when we first learn a skill we have to concentrate intensely; it takes a
great deal of energy, but through applied discipline it eventually becomes
almost automatic and we dont appear to think about what we are doing, the
subconscious takes over. Ten ideas listsOne of my favorite exercises to train
your brain and develop your idea muscle is to generate lists of ideas everyday.
I have to credit James Altucher and I recommend his article on how to become an
idea machine here:The concept is simple but challenging: think of ten new ideas.
These can be for anything such as ten new business ideas, ten new ways to obtain
quality earned links, ten new ways to improve conversion on a page or ten new
ways to save energy, ten new ways to make a better cup of coffee or ten new ways
to travel to work. For example:Ten new ways to travel to work for free:WalkPush
bikeRunRoller bladesHitchhikeHorseSkate board tied to a car (do I need to
explain why this is a bad idea?)Get a job next to a canal and kayak to workMove
to the Caribbean, live in a beach hut and swim to workMove to the top of a hill
and go kart - makes the home journey a challenge (next list?)The purpose is not
to create ideas you will act on or even sensible, rational or reasonable ideas.
This is gym training for the mind only so don't get precious with your lists.
Your first few lists may appear deceptively easy but as you begin to run out of
obvious ideas you have to work hard just to think of list ideas and ten new
ideas for my ten new ideas list is going to make your brain work for it. Don't
make the mistake of underrating this exercise; everything improves and becomes
easier with practice and repetition.6: Garbage in: Garbage outMy advice above
all else is to read as widely as possible as I believe this feeds a creative
mind more than any other activity. Just as athletes can only achieve their
personal best if they eat a highly optimized diet, creatives need quality brain
food and mental stimulation on a regular basis to operate at their creative
best. You get out what you put in.This article is an extract from 'What is
Creativity?' a 76 page free ebook which offers an introduction to creativity
with actionable tips to improve your thinking skills. The second part of the
book is dedicated to thought leaders interviews who were posed the question:
"what does creativity meant to you?". Contributors include: Rand Fishkin, Bas
Van Den Beld, Paddy Moogan, Neil Patel, Dave Trott, Lee Odden and Chris Brogan.
You can download a free copy at creativity101 here... Sign up for The Moz Top
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