| I firmly believe that all of us are creative. We all | | | | resonate with you. Keep their stuff close at hand |
| have unique thoughts, make distinctive | | | | and read a few pages before you start. Your |
| connections, and are capable of producing great | | | | brain will unwittingly start to mimic their flow. |
| things for our businesses and for our lives...if we | | | | Look over a list of power words. As you know, |
| put our minds to it. | | | | certain words elicit a subtle psychological response. |
| Like your car engine, your brain works better | | | | The ones that inspire excitement and sales need |
| when it's warmed up. Here are a few cool ways | | | | to be peppered in your copy. Here are some of |
| to do that - and get closer to crafting killer copy! | | | | them: |
| In Daniel Pink's very cool new book A Whole New | | | | - Accelerate |
| Mind (no, I don't have a superhuman ability to | | | | - Achieve |
| read books, but I do use a service that provides | | | | - Act |
| executive summaries of the top business books, | | | | - Boost |
| Soundview Executive Book Summaries® - I | | | | - Burn |
| found a great new way to get that creative | | | | - Capture |
| motor running. | | | | - Deploy |
| It's fun and really simple. Go to a bookstore or | | | | - Ensure |
| library and pick up five magazines that you've | | | | - Finalize |
| never heard of in areas you've never chosen to | | | | - Focus |
| read about. Flip through 'em, and (if you've bought | | | | - Gain |
| 'em!) tear out some images or articles that speak | | | | - Gather |
| to you in some way. Then, watch for | | | | - Illuminate |
| breakthroughs. | | | | - Leverage |
| I gave this a shot and -wow! It's amazing what | | | | - Manage |
| some time with Cat Fancy, Motocross World, | | | | - Overcome |
| Blender, and Teen Vogue can do for your | | | | - Position |
| creative juices. I came away with some new | | | | - Reconsider |
| thoughts about a web project, ideas for more | | | | - Shatter |
| articles, and a sense of amazement that there | | | | - Train |
| are so many niche markets out there in the | | | | - Unleash |
| world. | | | | - Win There are several sources where these |
| Even if you're not wrestling with a particular form | | | | words are already collected. "Words That Sell," by |
| of block or working on a project, spending just an | | | | Richard Bayan is a popular one that I use |
| hour doing this can make some creative | | | | religiously. Whatever it is that you do, the key is |
| connections and furnish a very economical - and | | | | to DO SOMETHING. Set a timer for 20-30 |
| portable- brain break. | | | | minutes, turn off the phone and shut down e-mail. |
| You can also get reading: other people's copy. Find | | | | Give yourself a concentrated boost of creative |
| a few copywriters or styles of writing that | | | | time...and watch what happens! |