Beg, Borrow, Steal, Create. How Do You Find Ideas?

As much as I'm intrigued by natural language generation and AI writing platforms, I still feel a little guilty about using them.

Because I believe coming up with ideas for posts, emails, ads, releases, presentations and this newsletter should be my job.

I'm fine to take suggestions or get help from people I know. But I'm not ready to accept that sort of assistance from a machine.

Except for auto-suggestions that pop up in texts. I'm OK with those.

All this got me thinking about ideas, which, a former creative director once said, are like a renewable resource—the more you have, the more you get.

But sometimes finding that first spark is really hard.

The perils of a blank mind/page/screen. And the possibilities, too.

Here are four ways to discover those diamonds in the rough and transform them into desirable gems??.

Beg

I don't mean you should stand on a street corner with your pad and pencil accosting passers by with shouts of, "Ideas? Got any ideas? I need ideas ..." (Although it could be an option.)

For me, begging is more like requesting assistance.

As in asking your community, customers, colleagues and compadres for their thoughts and direction.

You might get a fully-baked concept, a need your brand can fill, or you could use the suggestion as a jumping off point.

You often see examples of this approach on social media when people share a challenge and request some help.

I guess AI generated copy could qualify for this category.

Borrow

When I think of borrowing, the first image that comes to mind is Wimpy from the old Popeye cartoons offering to "gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today".

And then I get hungry, too.

But when it comes to generating ideas, I equate borrowing with research. Digging deeper to gain a better understanding of the external business and cultural landscape.

This could include social media monitoring (and an unplanned segue to another #LinkedInLearning course), reading books, blogs, articles, papers, visiting websites, doing searches, you name it.

Borrowing helps you identify opportunities and patterns you may not have perceived before.

But be careful how much you borrow. If you don't, you could veer perilously close to becoming a thief.

Steal

I have a lot of trouble with this approach because, well, ethically stealing is wrong.

But by the same token, we often say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Which means it's also kind of OK.

Artist and author Austin Kleon describes idea stealing as the act of taking from many, making changes and attributing your work back the source.

And that makes sense as long as you're not plagiarizing someone's work and you give credit where credit is due.

Still, it makes me uncomfortable.

Create

This is the hardest way to go, but probably the most rewarding.

You start with nothing and when you're done there's a magical quality to whatever you produce since you made it appear out of thin air.

Of course, you know how much time and effort goes into creation. But your audience doesn't need to feel your sweat to enjoy the benefits.

All they have to do is sit back and enjoy the experience.

A lot of people get hung up on the notion they're not creative because they don't consider themselves to be an artist.

I don't agree with that line of thinking at all. Because we all have ideas.

Now, they may not be very good. And many are outright stinkers.

But that's where your imagination kicks in, reflecting, revising, and polishing come in. And reflecting, revising and polishing some more ...

What Does Silicon Valley Do?

Well, the early days of social media were filled with innovation and the heady excitement of creating something new.

Today? Well, much of the luster's worn off and brands tend to do a lot more stealing from each other than they used to—as a way to encourage growth.

Look at Instagram and its success with Snapchat's Stories. Or all the copy and pasting going on with TikTok or social audio on established platforms and apps.

That's one of the things I talk about in this week's Digital Marketing Trends video.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Connect with Martin

And now I'm going to beg your leave since I've borrowed enough of your attention and don't want to steal any more of your creative time on issue #34 ??.

How do you find ideas? Do they come to you in a flash? Do you have to work hard to find them? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Be sure to reach out if you have questions about any of the videos in Digital Marketing Trends, or my other?LinkedIn Learning courses.

And if you want to find me, follow me on?LinkedIn?or?Twitter.

Or visit?my website?and send a message or a question.

You might also enjoy the Inside PR podcast that I co-host with Gini Dietrich and Joe Thornley.

Thanks for reading and subscribing! I'll be back in three weeks, hopefully brimming with fresh ideas!