by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What is creativity?

This is in the dictionary:  1: the quality of being creative   2: the ability to create

A Google check shows this: the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.

These are just for starters. Of course, you can find many more definitions and even come up with some of your own.

Anyone can be creative. Creativity is not something that is bestowed upon a few seemingly extraordinary people.

Research shows, that once you get beyond the average I.Q. of about 100, intelligence and creativity are not at all related.

You still have the potential for great creativity when writing copy.



Why Are Some People, Seemingly, More Creative Than Others?

Seemingly is the operative word here.

You may not be striving to write a book. But, when it comes to writing copy for your online business endeavors, you’re trying to get prospective clients’ attention and to get them to take a specific action for a particular purpose.

It’s a matter of immediacy, a sense of urgency. 

You want to come up with different ways to get prospects attention and to engage them. It may be time for another blog article and you need new ideas.

In these situations creative thinking is crucial.

You may have tried what someone else has advised that didn’t seem to work for you, or you may have some mental blocks.

Imani Campbell of The Sage Neuroscience Center states “A mental block is your brain reaching a barrier in accessing creativity, motivation, or productivity.”



So, What to Do?

This inability to clearly think or process information can be caused by many things.

If you really care about the outcome of something, you can become very anxious. For instance, that article you need to write looms like a giant question mark. What ifs begin to creep into your thoughts – what if it’s not good enough, long enough, clever enough, etc.

Whoops! Here we go with the blockage.

People learn bad habits that are mental blocks to creative thinking. These seven things may be holding you back:


1. Using different types of thinking simultaneously

Creating is generating new ideas, picturing, looking forward, considering possibilities.

Evaluating is analyzing, judging, picking apart ideas, and categorizing them as good and bad, helpful or not.

You need to separate the two. Set down your ideas first, then go back and evaluate their worth.


2. Following advice without question

There are many gurus who tell you their success secrets. It’s fine to listen, but following advice without question could lead to stifled creativity. Many have found success doing what others said wouldn’t work.


3. Fear of failure

No one likes making mistakes or failing. However, trying too hard to avoid failure sets you up for avoiding success.


4. Lack of confidence

There’s some level of uncertainty in every creative undertaking. A little self-doubt is natural.

Just have confidence that you can create and effectively carry through with solutions to challenges.

You’re on your way to becoming more confident and more creative when you understand that ideas often seem ridiculous at first, that failure is a learning experience, and nothing is impossible.


5. Discouragement from others

Most people will not see things as you do.

You may be all excited about some new venture you’re considering and they say you need to be sensible or they subtly imply that it won’t work.

Ignore them and once you’re successful, they’ll have to reckon with you.


6. Information overload

Over analyzing and cramming so much information into your brain before actually starting a project can cause you to lose the ability to act. You have to know when to stop collecting information, for that article, and start writing.


7. False limitations

Don’t become trapped by false limitations, self-imposed products of your experience. Be open to new things.

Step outside your comfort zone and explore something unrelated to what you do. Consider how people in those areas do what they do. You may find something that seems impossible today doable in the future.



How do You Regain Creativity?

Now that you know what may be holding you back, there are several things you can do to free your natural creative abilities:


1. Establish routines

Plan your necessary daily activities so you can have free time for creative ideas to show up and proper space to develop them.


2. Rest your mind

Block out the noise in your brain with scheduled time for daydreaming.


3. Move around

To create space for mental clarity you can walk, jog, run, etc. each day.


4. Complete mini projects

For practice in completing goals that require long-term commitment, perform a small task each day so that at the end of the week you’ve finished a project.


5. Take steps that help you achieve your long-term goal

Break down your long-term goal into a list of manageable tasks for each day, and check off one daily no matter how small. Don’t do more.

This is about sticking with a large project, rather than doing a lot of tasks fast and suffering burnout or losing interest.

You want to get into the habit of taking steps that help you achieve your ultimate creative goal.


6. Relax

Do something every day that you love. Spend 10 minutes daily doing just that and focusing on the good feeling you get.

You’re more likely to get new ideas when you feel relaxed.


7. Play around with your thoughts

Don’t always accept thoughts as truth. Think of the opposite as being true. If you’re worried that a situation may not go as planned, see the possibility of it going smoothly. Envision how you want it to go.

Playing around with your thoughts allows more creative solutions to arise.


Remember, creativity is not something that is bestowed upon only a few individuals. People learn bad habits that are mental blocks to creative thinking, and there are ways to regain your creativity.

These are just a few suggestions to increase creativity in your writing.



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

While you’re using great copywriting skills to convince your readers to take a particular action, make sure your content is grammatically correct.

Be careful when using autocorrect while typing. It won’t catch grammar mistakes, because a word may be spelled right and be grammatically incorrect. For example:

Your my favorite dancer.
You’re my favorite dancer.

Both words are correctly spelled.


Here are some common writing mistakes that can weaken the sparkle and credibility of your message.


1. Incorrect subject verb-agreement

If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular.

Example: There is so many great ones.
Correct: There are so many great ones.

Example: Everyone was willing to participate. (This is correct.)



2. Missing commas

How you use commas in a list depends on the specific writing style you follow.

An Oxford, or serial, comma is the last comma in a list. It goes before the word “and.”

Example 1: When you go shopping, be sure to get eggs, milk, bread and peanut butter.
When you go shopping, be sure to get eggs, milk, bread, and peanut butter.

Although there are different schools of thought regarding the use of the Oxford comma, when you want to write a good sentence, it’s proper punctuation to always use commas to separate the multiple items you reference in a list.

Technically, it’s grammatically optional in American English.

Example 2: If the shop is closed when we get there we’ll have to wait until next week.
If the shop is closed when we get there, we’ll have to wait until next week.



3. Apostrophes

Apostrophes are generally used in two instances:

For contractions (I’m planning to go tomorrow, if it’s not raining)

To show possession (Susan’s computer means the computer belongs to Susan)

They’re also used to indicate missing numbers in a year, ’89 for 1989 and ’07 for 2007.



4. Hyphens

Example:

Wrong: my 90 year old grandmother
Right: my 90-year-old grandmother



5. Loose or lose

Loose means not firmly or tightly in place.

Example:

Your shoelace is loose.
He might lose the money.



6. Could of, would of, should of

These are incorrect uses of contractions for I could have, I would have, or I should have.

Correct Example:

I should have gone to the reception, and could have, if Tom had been on time.

Slurring in speech results in the common grammar mistake of substituting of for have.



7. Affect and effect

Affect and effect are often confused, although one is a verb and the other a noun.

Affect is a verb that describes something that causes or influences change. Effect is what happens as a result of the change.

“Here’s a mnemonic: A is for action. Verbs are about action. Affect starts with an A, so it’s a verb.”

Correct Examples:

Not getting enough sleep will adversely affect your health.
The effect of not getting enough sleep is bad health.



8. There, their, they’re

There is a location, their shows possession by more than one person, and they’re is a contraction for they are.

Examples:

We live here not there.
They work there but it’s not their shop.
They’re happy to be home.



9. Your and you’re

Wrong: Your my inspiration.
Correct: You’re my inspiration.

Your is the possessive of you.
You’re is the contraction for you are.



10. Then and than

Use then when referring to time.
Than is used when comparing things.

Example:

I’m going to the library then to the store.
That is better than this one.

You can use Grammarly.com (no compensation received here) to check your writing.

Of course, there are some exceptions, to these rules, that are not discussed here.

Always check and recheck your writing for mistakes.

This article only covers 10 common grammar mistakes to avoid in your writing.

Remember that autocorrected writing must be checked for correct grammar usage.

Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan



Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What Is Copywriting?


Copywriting is the skill of convincing your readers to take a particular action. That could be making a purchase, subscribing to your email list, or calling you for more information.


The most important copywriting skill in your content marketing is crafting headlines. If you have a great headline, the better the chance of getting what you’ve written read by a larger percentage of individuals.


Writing a great headline alone doesn’t guarantee success of your copy. What you offer in the headline still needs to be appropriately satisfied with your content or your offer.



If you have great body content with a bad or even marginal headline it’s probably not going to be read.


The late copywriter Clayton Makepeace said you should ask yourself the following six questions before you start to write your headline:

1. Does your headline offer the reader a reward for reading?

2. What specifics could you add to make your headline more intriguing and believable?

3. Does your headline trigger a strong, actionable emotion the reader already has about the subject at hand?

4. Does your headline present a proposition that will instantly get your prospect nodding his or her head?

5. Could your headline benefit from the inclusion of a proposed transaction?

6. Could you add an element of intrigue to drive the prospect into your opening copy?


These six questions, combined with the framework of the following four “U”s, provide an excellent foundation for writing outstanding headlines:

Your headlines, sub-headlines, and bullets should be USEFUL to the reader,
provide a sense of URGENCY,
convey the idea the main benefit is somehow UNIQUE, and
perform all the above in an ULTRA- SPECIFIC way.


Use your own voice in copywriting. You can be absolutely professional while being warm and likable.


Always check your writing for common grammar mistakes that damage your credibility.



What Else Do You Need To Consider In Your Content Marketing Copy?



Among the things you should consider in your copywriting are the types of copy:


1.  Plain copy

It’s a straight forward clear-cut presentation of the facts and benefits of your offer. It’s the most basic approach and introduces your product without gimmick or flair.

You’ll give a prospect the needed information to make an informed decision about the product.

2.  Storytelling copy

People love a good story.

We like hearing about interesting people who have overcome challenges that we can relate to.

You can use this storytelling technique in an email series, on a landing page, or in a short video. Whatever the format you’ll include four basic traits:

Opening – Show how the character of the story had a normal life until something happened to destroy that.

Conflict – Show how his/her life was threatened if they didn’t respond to the problem. What did the journey look like as they undertook the challenge?

Dialogue – Introduce a conversation about the journey.

3.  Conversational copy – In this style of copy you write as if you’re having a conversation with a prospect.

The language is like that of a salesman sitting down with a customer for lunch. Something that begins with I know how you feel or I can relate to a, b and c.

4.  Imaginative copy — You can ask your target audience to imagine life a certain way, what it would feel like to be a successful travel writer, or to pretend what it would be like to live the life of their dream.

Then you present them with a picture of themselves achieving that ideal life by way of a certain product.

5.  Long copy – The premise behind long copy is “The more you tell, the more you sell.” These ads convert well.

Since you’re not in front of the person, you have one chance to convert the reader. You should use bullet points to help ensure your most important details stand out.

When you’re following the basic rules of content marketing, remember that you don’t have to present all of the facts and benefits upfront.

You can use your email autoresponder to turn long copy into short easily-digestible snippets and reveal the presentation over a period of weeks.

6.  Killer-Poet copy – Your objective is not to convince your audience how smart you are. The goal is to educate and sell with your copy, and to do it with style.

Killer-poet copy sees writing as a means to an end (making a sale), and the ad as an end in itself (beautiful design and moving story). The killer poet combines style with selling. Creativity with marketing. Story with a solution.

7. Third-party endorsement copy

Third-party endorsements can help you sell your products.

It’s really effective to position your sales argument as direct communication between the company founder and his or her customer.

With this down-to-earth approach, the playing field is leveled. It signals to the customer that the CEO is not just some remote figurehead who’s only interested in profit, but is someone who cares.

8.  Frank copy – Sometimes copy will point out the negatives of a product and lets you know some work will be required before the benefits show.

This builds trust. When your readers trust you, they will be much more likely to believe you when you point out the good qualities of your product.

9.  Superlative copy – Sometimes you can make unusual claims like a revolutionary material making investors rich.

You must be able to provide evidence of what you say. Your proof can be in the form of statistics, testimonials, or research. It’s best to use all three.

Usually, it’s best to avoid all hype.

10. Rejection copy — tries to stop people from being interested in your product.

This copy challenges the reader with the idea that only a select set of people are invited to use the product which could be a particular credit card or a particular group of people.

This is startling to readers as they don’t expect to be turned down.

This approach taps into our sense of wanting to belong. It touches our sense of pride and produces curiosity. We think, “They don’t dare… Watch me.”



Often several of these techniques are combined into one ad.



Whether you’re a company CEO, a copywriter, or a tailor, there’s a copy form for you.



For effective copywriting for your content marketing, consider using some of these tips in your next ad.



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