My marketing shoebox is one of my most valuable possessions. What’s inside the shoebox? The secrets behind the Idea Lady’s ideas.
Yes, even the Idea Lady has days when the well runs dry and inspiration is hard to come by. That’s when I bring out my collection of ads, brochures, clippings from newspapers and magazines, sales letters and other marketing materials. Some were created by me, some are the products of the creativity of others, but all help get my brain in gear.
Start your own marketing shoebox and you will never be at a loss for ideas again. When you see an ad that moves you to act, pull out your scissors and clip it for the shoebox. Save those brochures, business cards, fliers, etc. you like, and add them to your collection.
The next time you are putting together a new marketing piece, take a look at your marketing shoebox. What did you like about each item you saved? Maybe it was the color, the headline, the way they used a bulleted list, a phrase, the call to action…whatever it was, use it as inspiration to create your piece.
Let me be clear that I am not suggesting you duplicate what someone else has done. Use your shoebox for inspiration to create something that is uniquely yours. By the time you take the color from one item, formatting elements from another, the font from a third, and a phrase from a fourth, put your own information and style into the piece, then edit and revise it, it won’t look like anything you started with. You have made it your own. Your shoebox just got you going!
