Archive | December, 2022

The 3 Things to Avoid When Emailing Your List

By Tony Eboha on December 22, 2022 in Blog

When you decide to have an opt-in list, it is not just a matter of sending your subscribers your promotional newsletters or catalogs. There are many things to consider in avoiding many complications. While there are so many ways you can make people subscribe to your list, there are also some things you must do to avoid subscribers from wanting to get off your list.

Aside from that, you also want to avoid any problems with the law and your internet service provider or ISP. There are now many laws and rules that are applied to help protect the privacy of internet users from spamming and unwanted mail. With the popularity of electronic mail as a medium for marketing because of the low cost, many companies have seized the opportunity and have flooded many people’s e-mail accounts with promotional mail.

But, with an opt-in list builder you avoid this annoyance because people subscribe to the list; they want to receive newsletters and promotional materials. They have consented to be on the list by subscribing themselves, just don’t forget to put an unsubscribe feature every time in your opt-in list so that you avoid any confusion. There may be times when an email account was provided when the real owner didn’t want to subscribe.

It is essential that you keep your list clean and manageable. Arrange it by using the many tools and technologies available for your opt-in list. Do not worry; your investment in this marketing strategy is well worth it with all the coverage you will get which will likely be converted into sales and then to profit.

Keep yourself and your business out of trouble and potential run-ins with the law and the internet service providers. Keep your operation legit and clean. Your reputation as a legitimate businessman and a legitimate site depends on your being a straight and true marketing strategist. As a tip, here are three things to avoid when emailing your list.

1) Take notice of your unsuccessful sends.

These are the e-mails that bounce. Bounced emails, also known as undeliverable messages, are those messages that, for whatever reason, were not successfully received by the intended recipient.

There are bounces that happen or occur because the server was busy at that time but can still be delivered in another time. There are also bounces because the inbox of the recipient is full at that time. There are those bounce messages that are simply undeliverable ever. The reason for this is that it may be an invalid email address, a misspelled email address, or an email address that was abandoned and erased already.

Manage your list by putting markings on those that bounce. Erase an email account from your list so that you have accurate statistics and records as to how many are actually receiving your mail. You may also want to check the spelling of the email addresses in your list. One common mistake is when an N instead of an M is placed in the .com area.

2) Always provide an unsubscribe feature on your site and an unsubscribe link in your emails.

When someone in your list files a request to be unsubscribed, always take that request seriously. If you don’t take them off your list and keep sending them your e-mails, you are now sending them spam mail.

When you are reported as a spammer, you and your business can get into a lot of trouble. You can be reported to the authorities and maybe blacklisted by many internet service providers. You will lose a lot of subscribers this way and many more potential subscribers.

3) Do not provide pornographic or shocking and disturbing content in your newsletters.

It is hard to decipher the age of the recipient and many complaints may stem from this. Controversial issues also are to be avoided to not be branded by your subscribers. Stick to the nature of your site and business.

Always remember these tips in this article so that you can have a healthy relationship with your subscribers as well as be kept within the boundaries of what is allowed in sending mails to an opt-in list.

See an example of an opt-in list builder here

Free Newsletter

Subscribe to our Free Home Business Tips Newsletter and get “insider tips” on how to create wealth in an online business today. You’ll discover the #1 opportunity recommended for “newbies” who need to make money online FAST. This is something you can’t afford to miss!

* We respect your privacy, and your contact details will never be shared.

If you found this helpful, please share.

Top 5 Ways to Generate Low-Cost Website Traffic

By Tony Eboha on December 21, 2022 in Blog

There is one hard and fast rule in generating income for your website: A steady flow of website traffic. If no one goes to your site, it hardly bares a chance of generating an income. Many sites have tried and failed in doing so, and this results in the site’s demise. It takes money to maintain an income-generating site; it also takes money to make money.

But, it doesn’t take a whole caboodle of cash to generate website traffic for your site.

Ever wondered how big-hit sites drive traffic to their site? Most of them are spending tons of money to drive traffic to their sites, investing in many advertising campaigns and different forms of marketing schemes and gimmickries. This is all worthwhile because, well, they are what they are now, high earning, and big-hitting websites.

You don’t have to do this if you don’t really have their resources. There are many ways to generate low-cost website traffic without having to spend what you don’t have or can’t afford. Many people have banked on high-cost methods and have ended up losing their shirts over them.

Here I present to you the top five ways to generate low-cost website traffic that could help your site a whole lot. Even if you only get a small percentage of successful visitors in to the client ratio it still works especially if you get a high number of website traffic.

Exchange Links

This is a sure and proven method. Rarely would you see a site where there is no link to another site? Many webmasters are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more public awareness about their sites. You’ll soon see and feel the sudden upsurge of the traffic coming into your site from other sites.

A major prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites is having the same niche or content as the other site. They should share a common subject so that there is continuity in the provision of service and information to what interests your target traffic.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a high ranking in search engine results. It is common knowledge that search engines rank high sites that have inbound and outbound theme-related links. With a good ranking position in the search engines, you will generate more traffic to your website without the high costs.

Traffic Exchange

This is like exchanging links but on a different higher level. This may cost a bit more than exchanging or trading links but could be made cheaper because you get to earn credits. You can use those credits when viewing others’ traffic, while you earn credits when someone views yours.

Traffic exchange services are the viewing of another’s site or page. This is done vice versa where a site can use the contents of your site and so can you to his or her site. You both benefit from each other’s efforts to generate traffic. The other site visitors can go to your pages and know more about your site as well as theirs. Once again public awareness of your site’s existence is boosted.

Write and Submit Articles

There are many e-zines and online encyclopedias on the internet which provide free space for articles to be submitted. If you want to save costs, you can do the articles yourself. There are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee but to save money, it is wise to do those articles yourself.

Write articles that are themed along with the niche of your site. Write something that you have expertise in so that when they read it, they can feel your knowledge about the subject and will be eager to go to your site. Write articles that produce tips and guidelines for the subject or niche your site has.

Include a resource box at the end of your article that can link them to your site. Write a little about yourself and your site. If you provide a light, information-laden and interesting article, they will go to your site for more.

Make a Newsletter.

This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a newsletter but on the contrary, this is not so. Some many writers and sites are willing to provide free articles as long as they can get their name in your newsletter. This will also provide free advertising for them as well.

As your newsletter gets passed around, you can widen your public awareness and build an opt-in list that can regularly visit your site.

Join Online Communities and Forums

This only requires your time and nothing else. You can share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities as well as your website. You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche as your site.

Share your two cents and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site, making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

Take-aways

Aspiring Super Affiliates can subscribe to this Free Offer for Affiliate Marketers on how to set up their website, join viable affiliate programs, get a free email auto-responder set up for them, Free Newsletter, and build their social media connections to boost their traffic.

Free Newsletter

Subscribe to our Free Home Business Tips Newsletter and get “insider tips” on how to create wealth in an online business today. You’ll discover the #1 opportunity recommended for “newbies” who need to make money online FAST. This is something you can’t afford to miss!

* We respect your privacy, and your contact details will never be shared.

If you found this helpful, please share.

How to Choose a Web Designer for your Online Business

By Tony Eboha on December 19, 2022 in Blog

There are many different ways to advertise your business on the Internet. Placing banner ads, orchestrating an email marketing campaign, and tactfully mentioning your business on industry-related forums and message boards are just a few of the popular options for Internet marketing. Another Internet marketing strategy involves creating and advertising a website to promote your business.

You can use your website in several ways. Some of these ways include providing more information about your business and the products or services you offer, letting potential customers know how to reach you, and even selling your products and services via the website. This article will highlight the useful ways to choose your website designer.

There are two important things to remember when looking for a web designer for your online business:

First, it is important to go with a freelancer if you are looking for a small and simple site. You can probably get one done for $30 to $50. There are many freelancing companies on the web like fiverr.com and upwork.com that you can tap into to find the designer for you.

Second, it is important that you ask to see a few sample sites that the web designer has done and that you check any ratings that may be available for the designer. This may keep you from getting wrapped up in a project with someone who will not finish or cannot do the type of job that they claim they can do.

If you cannot put together your own website to host your articles on and you don’t want to pay the extra $7 to $12 dollars per month that it may cost to get a host that offers a “What You See Is What You Get” website builder, then your only other option is to hire a web designer. The good thing is that, if you are looking for a very basic 2-5 page site and you hire a freelancer rather than going with a web design company, then it will be relatively easy on your wallet.

For those who want to just skip the hard work, there is a free professionally built, and easily customizable money-making website for online business newbies”, especially tailored-made for affiliate marketers. This comes readily recommended for anyone who doesn’t have a budget or the skillsets to build a website by themselves.

Free Newsletter

* We respect your privacy, and your contact details will never be shared.

If you found this article helpful, please share.

Where to Find Affiliate Products for Your Website

By Tony Eboha on December 18, 2022 in Blog

To make money with articles that you place on your website, you will also need a variety of good affiliate links that will help to generate revenue. You must know where to find affiliates and that you choose the best affiliates for you and your niche site.

When you pick an affiliate, you must determine which companies you will profit best from based on the frequency that the product is likely to sell. There are several types of affiliates and some will offer you more money from a sale than others will.

Before you get hazy-eyed by dollar signs, however, remember some products are bound to sell more than others. If you sell one product four times a year from a little-known company that gives you $100 per sale or sell a well known product 3 times a week at the rate of $10 per sale, then you will make much more money with the $10 per sale product

Often times large well-known companies will offer a very small profit per sale because they are established and know that their product is likely to sell well. Small, unknown companies, on the other hand, need all of the promotion they can get. Also, because they are unknown, their products are likely to sell less frequently.

The most important rule when picking affiliates to promote on your site is to pick products that would be of interest to those who would likely visit your website. Otherwise, you will be promoting a product to a group of people who do not even want or need it.

If your site targets parents of young children, then promote baby products. If your site targets gardeners, then promote gardening products. If you promote baby products to gardeners, you are almost guaranteed to not make a profit no matter how much money the affiliate company offers for a sale

Lastly, there are two main ways to find an affiliate company for your website. You can sign up with a company like Jvzoo, Warrior-Plus, Click Bank, or Partner Stack that manages the accounts of hundreds of companies, big and small, and apply for the products within these accounts or you can do a web search for companies that would match well with your niche, visit their websites, and see if they advertise an affiliate program.

Depending on your choice of a niche, see here, and here for examples of companies that provide great affiliate products and offers.

Free Newsletter

* We respect your privacy, and your contact details will never be shared

If you found this article helpful, please share.

How to Research and Find Your Niche Online

By Tony Eboha on December 17, 2022 in Blog

Every internet marketer knows that finding your niche is the foremost thing to do before embarking on any online business. Niche marketing is a highly targeted form of advertisement. With niche marketing, businesses promote their products and services to a small, specific, and well-defined audience.

Deciding on what product or service you will promote in a niche market should be based on a simple principle. There should be a demand for your product or service. You want to offer something that people need, something that will make their lives better, make them feel better physically, make them look better, or help them solve a problem.

Once you have chosen a product or service to market, researching to find the right niche for your product or service is the next most important part of beginning an online marketing program. The things that you need to know are where they spend their time online, and what makes them tick from a personal and business point of view. There are software tools and search engines out there that can help you learn these things about your potential niche market.

The next thing you need to learn as you research your online niche market is what you can reasonably charge for your product or service. The best and most effective way to do this is to visit sites that advertise products or services similar to what you have chosen to sell. It should be easy to see if they are giving away a service or selling the product at a price far lower than you would have to charge.

If you can determine that there are people out there who are willing to spend money to buy what you are selling and you can identify those people then you have a niche marketing product or service that can make money on the Internet. Sometimes it takes reframing your product or service to make it more attractive, better, or just different than what others are selling it for.

Research is the key to getting a successful niche in online marketing.

Free Newsletter

* We respect your privacy, and your contact details will never be shared

If you found this helpful, please share.

Internet Marketing for Beginners; Newbies Recipe for Success

By Tony Eboha on December 16, 2022 in Blog

Internet marketing for beginners is somewhat of an oxymoron. This is because while in theory, the concepts behind Internet marketing might be quite simple, executing effective strategies can be extremely difficult. This can even be tough for those who are quite experienced in the world of Internet marketing. With this in mind, this article will attempt to explain the concept of Internet marketing for beginners and will outline some basic strategies which can help a business owner to launch his Internet marketing campaign. We will cover concepts such as creating a website, placing banner ads, sending out e-newsletters, orchestrating an email marketing campaign, and optimizing your website for search engines.

One of the most basic steps for starting an Internet marketing campaign is to create a website. If you don’t have a website or have a poorly designed website you should consider creating or re-designing a website to adequately market your products. If you do not have experience in web design, several software packages make it simple for those with no design experience to create a functional website. However, hiring a web designer is worthwhile because he can work to create a website that is attractive, functional, and suitable for your products and series. He can also help you include more advanced features on your website.

Banner ads are another popular option for advertising your business on the Internet. Banner ads are advertisements that typically appear along the top of a website but they may also include smaller ads in other locations. Banner ads typically include graphics and text which entice Internet users to click on the advertisement. Once a user clicks on the ad, they are directed to your website. This type of advertising can be very effective when care is taken to place the advertisements on high-traffic websites which attract an audience who may have an interest in your products.

Sending out e-newsletters can also be a part of an effective Internet marketing strategy. E-newsletters are essentially emails that may contain a variety of information including informative articles, useful quizzes, relevant advertising, or any other information which is deemed worthwhile for the recipients of the e-newsletter. The importance of these newsletters is that they can be used as marketing tools that are not viewed by the recipients as an advertisement. One way to do this is to incorporate links or other soft sale approaches into the copy of the e-newsletters. However, care should be taken to keep these references minimal so the e-newsletter is not viewed as spam.

Email marketing campaigns can be another successful aspect of an Internet marketing campaign. Email marketing essentially involves sending out emails to a group of individuals who may be interested in your products and services. Care should be taken in sending out these emails to avoid sending emails that are unsolicited and will be viewed as spam. One way to do this is to only send out emails to users who have requested inclusion on an email mailing list. Another way to do this is to provide value in the emails as opposed to just including advertisements. This can be done by offering relevant advice in your emails and other useful information which may be of interest to the recipients of the email.

Finally, optimizing your website for search engines is a critical aspect of an Internet marketing campaign. Search engines rank websites according to quality and relevance for particular search terms. Many Internet users appreciate the effort of search engines and use these search engines to find the best websites on a particular subject. This means that Internet users are likely to only visit websites that rank well with search engines. Therefore if your website is not high-ranking, you are not likely to generate a great deal of traffic from Internet users who use search engines to find relevant websites. Top-ranking websites are likely to obtain the most traffic from search engines and all websites falling on the first page of the search engine results will likely enjoy some degree of success in improving their traffic.

Many successful internet marketers started out with a system that mentored them into having early success in their business.

Free Newsletter

* We respect your privacy, and your contact details will never be shared

If you found this article helpful, please share.

This Simple Little Business Nets $1,000 a Month

By Tony Eboha on December 16, 2022 in Blog

Here’s a ridiculously easy business you can run from Facebook using Facebook groups. It won’t take you much time and it can net you a tidy little profit each month.

Better still, you can create as many of these as you like, grow them big enough, and you might make far more than $1,000 a month, too.

Plus you can, either do it yourself or outsource the work -it’s up to you.

Here’s how it works.

First, create a private Facebook group. This is going to be a free group, and you can do it in any niche where money is being spent.

For example, if you’re in the IM niche, you might title your group something like:

Shortcut copywriting techniques for non-copywriters
Easy and fast SEO for non-SEO people
Latest and hottest ways to get tons of traffic to your offer
Techniques for doubling and tripling your conversions
Simple methods for building massive email lists fast
Etc.

You can populate your groups with free WSOs, and WSOs on Facebook itself, as bonuses to other people’s products, and so forth. You’re offering a tremendous benefit for free, so it’s not going to be difficult to get members to grow yours.

You might even limit the numbers of members you take since it will make it seem much more exclusive and valuable.

For content you’re going to do one or more of the following:

Write your own content
Hire outsourcers to write the content for you
Get guests to write your content for free
Use high quality PLR. Not junk, just the good stuff

Whatever content you use, be sure to break it down into brief daily posts.

All you need is short snippets of content, because the members will do the rest of the work for you. They’ll ask questions, respond to questions, give opinions and so forth.

Your group will take on a life of it’s own. which is terrific. You want to encourage as much interaction as possible to keep people coming back time and time again.

So now the big question is…. How do you monetize this?

There are three ways:

First promote your own products. You’ve got to do this in a very soft, non-pushy way. Done right, you will make plenty of sales without turning anyone off.

For example, you might answer someone’s question, then refer them to your product for even more info.

Second, promote other people’s products (affiliate products) using the same method.

Third, if you don’t want to sell products or you want to make even more money, you can sell advertising on the timeline.

If you think about it, you’ve got a highly targeted group of people who are super focused on this one area of interest.

Basically, you have a terrific prospect list of active, interested people.

Whether you are selling your own product, affiliate products or advertising, you’re going to make money.

Let’s talk more about getting advertisers. These advertisers would LOVE to convert your members to their deal.

Limit your ads to just one per day, and call them “The Sponsor of the Day”

Of course, advertisers can book as many days as they like.

Post the ad in the morning and keep it as the pinned post for the rest of the day.

Charge maybe $50 to display the ad for a day, which compares favorably to solo ads.

If you sell all 30 days of the month, you’ve made $1,500.

Only allow that one ad per day, and don’t let your members post affiliate links.

How do you find advertisers? Many times your best source will be within the group itself. You can also let your email list know about the opportunity, and you can offer your ad slots to anyone who is in your niche and has a product to sell.

I recommend, starting one group, and learning the in’s and out’s of running this type of business. You’ll need to invest perhaps 15 minutes each morning for adding content and answering questions, and then check back 3 or 4 times during the day.

Once you get a good feel for what you’re doing, expand to related niches, and even branch out to completely unrelated niches, too.

And of course you can outsource the entire process.

While you’re not going to make a fortune from just one group, several groups can yield you a full-time income.

If you found this article helpful, please share.

The Power of Storytelling in Marketing

By Tony Eboha on December 15, 2022 in Blog

Combining the key strategy of storytelling with the correct mindset, you can achieve your wildest dreams!

Every day as we are building our businesses, we all know the key to a successful presentation is a product being sold to the end-line consumer and/or sponsoring a new person. In an upcoming issue, I am going to write about the difference between making a sale and having customer loyalty in the sales process.

In the sales process, you are fighting many different types of animals. For most of us who are in direct sales, you have 45 minutes to present a product/business concept and make a person believe in you, and your product, and more importantly have them make a decision that they want what you are offering. In an online business, the timing is in seconds and maybe minutes.

When you are presenting the business, it is very easy for you to get very factual and completely lose the interest of your prospect. When you tell a story about the success of someone who is using the product or have a person give a live testimonial about how much they love being a distributor, you will keep the interest of new people who are listening for the first time.

For most of us, the first time in our lives that we were ever presented with the concept of a live audience was back in kindergarten when we played “show and tell”. Everyone was always interested in what you were saying because you were simply telling a story. We have all heard of the famous K.I.S.S. rule: Keep It Simple Stupid.

When presenting your business or product, whether online or offline, the key play is to tell a story and keep it simple. Everyone can relate to the grandmother, who can talk about their grandchild as the most beautiful, precious child in the world. She will make you feel as if her grandchild would be such a gift to own as your own. You need to take that same simplicity and utilize it during your presentation and create the same result – ownership of your product.

As you tell stories, people will remember those stories versus all the facts in the world. “FACTS TELL, BUT STORIES SELL.” They should want to get involved in your business or purchase your product because of all of the success stories that you told. People love to be part of a winning team. Storytelling keeps people tied to you and your presentation. I always say when in doubt during a presentation, tell a story to bring people’s attention back to you.

Combining the key strategy of storytelling with the correct mindset, you can achieve your wildest dreams!

Find your WHY and Fly!

If you found this article helpful, please share.

Manifest Your Dreams: Start from Within

By Tony Eboha on December 14, 2022 in Blog

Our perception of the universe creates our reality. Through understanding how our beliefs shape our destiny you can learn to manifest your dreams into your reality.

For each of us, the universe is different. A homeless man may view the universe as unfair, hard, and tough. A rich man may view the universe as a lovely place full of luxury and pleasure. Both of them are viewing the same universe, it is just different because of their perceptions of it and their life experiences.

This is a fundamental key to understanding, to know that how you perceive the universe is how it is to you. If you feel it is full of fear and hatred, then it will be. If you think it is full of love and happiness, it is. Using some of the techniques discussed in this, and other articles, you can start to reprogram the way you perceive the universe and change your life!

Think about how many times you have feared something happening and then it has. For example, you might be worried that you are going to bump into your car, and then you do. Was it a premonition or did you create it? Compare this to the number of times you have looked forward to something and then it has happened. Usually, fear is a much stronger emotion and focus, which causes the object of that fear/thought to manifest much more quickly.

Of course, thought and belief does not just create the universe on an emotional and psychological level, but also a material level. We may fear that we are not good with money and hence we are not; or that we will fail in a business and so we did. You can use your will and focus on manifesting items that you want to further your life with. Remember that you can only manifest things you believe you can have. You may wish for a million dollars, but unless you believe you can have it, you will not get it.

You need to be aware that things are not just going to fall out of the air and land on your lap, though on occasion they may well do so, literally as well as figuratively. It sometimes takes a little while for what you want to manifest to appear. Sometimes it requires faith and patience on your part. It might be the Universe is testing you to see if you really want it and will really dedicate yourself to getting it before you get it. You cannot sit back and wait for what you want to manifest.

There is a saying “God helps those who help themselves”. This is true. When you are manifesting it is essential that you listen to your intuition and follow your instincts. It often also depends on whether what you are trying to manifest is in tune with your life’s purpose or not. If it is not then you have an uphill struggle to manifest it. Also, if you manifest selfish needs and with your ego then it is not likely to work. It works best when you manifest for the greater good, selflessly, and from your higher self.

When working on manifesting remember to keep your mind open as to how it is going to appear in your life. For example, many of us may want to manifest more money. We have a mental program that says, “More money means I have to work more”. This is not necessarily true. You might manifest more money from a promotion, a raise at work, a change of job or career, a competition win, an inheritance, and many other ways. You need to be open to this because if you mentally limit the ways the Universe can provide to you then it is going to be much harder for what you want to come into your life. Listen to your intuition too because it will help guide you. You might get the urge to buy a newspaper suddenly. You buy it and notice the exact car you want for sale in it. Our intuition is from our higher self and will guide us if we listen to it.

You can use decrees, affirmations, and positive visualization to help you create what you want in your universe. This does not just have to be limited to material items, but you can work on bringing more love, more joy, and many other things into your life and the lives of those around you. When you are working on manifesting things such as these into your life look to the root cause of what you are lacking. For example, you might feel you are lacking love in your life. Examine the cause and you might see it is because of a lack of self-worth or self-love, or because of something in your childhood. Once you are aware of why you can work on dealing with the issue and healing yourself. Then you will find it much easier to bring, and keep, what you desire in your life.

Another exercise you can do to help you manifest is to realize the abundance of the universe. Take a walk outside some time and look at how abundant nature is. See how freely nature gives and how much is given. Think about this and how abundance can be a part of your life.

You can use affirmations such as:

I am worthy of love and respect from others and myself
I have an abundance of money in my life
I am good with money and spend it wisely
I open myself to the abundance of the universe
I am in tune with my higher self
I accept that I am a good and worthy person

Finally, remember these points:

Believe in what you are trying to manifest
Listen to your intuition
Manifest from your higher self and in harmony with your life’s purpose
Manifesting is not just limited to material items. You can manifest more love, happiness, peace, and much more
Manifest for others, not just yourself
That YOU create the universe you live in, so changing your perceptions of it, changes the universe

Believe in yourself and what you can achieve. You can manifest anything you desire in your life, good or bad. Harness the power of your sub-conscious mind in manifesting your desires.

Make a move today to change your lifestyle, learn a new skill, start a new business, or join a group that will help you in your journey to achieving your dreams.

Free Newsletter

Subscribe to our Free Home Business Tips Newsletter and get “insider tips” on how to create wealth in an online business today. You’ll discover the #1 opportunity recommended for “newbies” who need to make money online FAST. This is something you can’t afford to miss!

* We respect your privacy, and your contact details will never be shared.

If you found this helpful, please share.

7 Blocks to Creative Thinking and How to Solve Them

By Tony Eboha on December 13, 2022 in Blog

We’re all skilled at creative thinking. It is, after all, the predominant way we think as children. The reason we lose the skill as we grow up is because of the blocks we put in the way. In this article, I’ll show you 7 ways you can unblock your creativity and think like a child again.

Each of us has the power to be creative. It’s part of our natural make-up as human beings. The trouble is that, too often, we block our natural creativity and so make errors in thinking and give ourselves more problems than we should. Here are 7 ways to open up your natural creativity and keep the channels unblocked.

Don’t Make Assumptions

When we assume, we often make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”. Assumptions are examples of lazy thinking. We simply don’t wait to get all the information we need to come to the right conclusions. There is the story of the customer at the bank who after cashing a cheque and turning to leave, returns and says: “Excuse me, I think you made a mistake.” The cashier responds, “I’m sorry but there’s nothing I can do. You should have counted it. Once you walk away we are no longer responsible.” Whereupon the customer replies: “Well, okay. Thanks for the extra $20.”

Tip: When you feel you want to draw conclusions, just wait until you have all the information.

See Things from Others Points of View

A truly open mind is willing to accept that, not only do other people have other just as valid points of view from theirs but that these other points of view may be more valid. A story is told that the modernist painter Pablo Picasso was once traveling on a train across Spain when he got into conversation with a rich businessman who was dismissive of modern art. As evidence that modern art didn’t properly represent reality, he took out a photo of his wife from his wallet and said: “This is how my wife should look, not in some silly stylized representation.” Picasso took the photo, studied it for a few moments, and asked: “This is your wife?” The businessman proudly nodded. “She’s very small,” observed Picasso wryly.

Tip: Don’t have a monopoly on how things are. Things aren’t always what they seem. Be ready to consider other points of view.

Avoid Yo-Yo Thinking

Some people tend to have a tendency to swing from a highly positive mood one minute to a highly negative one the next, all because of what they see in front of them. It’s like a yo-yo: up one minute, down the next. It’s far healthier to stay neutral and not let emotions get the better of you.

Tip: Remember that things are rarely as good – or as bad – as you think they are.

Get Rid of Lazy Thinking Habits

Habit can be a major stumbling block to clear thinking and another example of laziness. Try this experiment. Write down the Scottish surnames Macdonald, Macpherson, and MacDougall and ask someone to pronounce them. Now follow these with the word Machinery and see what happens. Most people are likely to mispronounce it. This is because we tend to think in habitual ways and don’t like what doesn’t fit.

Tip: Don’t think that, just because things happened in a certain way once before, they will happen like that again.

Don’t Think Like an Old Person. Think Like a Child

Research shows that the number of synapses, or connections, in the brain is greater in a child of two than in an average adult. The reason for this is that, while a child of two has no limiting worldview, as adults we do. It’s like a sculptor who starts off with a large block of clay, more than he needs, and then gradually removes the clay as he molds his sculpture. If we use our brains like a child, accepting everything without judgment, we can actually halt and reverse the brain aging process.

Tip: Don’t worry about the myth of age. With the right stimulus and a passion for learning, you can actually improve your brain’s powers.

See the Details as Well as the Big Picture

You may know the poem by John Godfrey Saxe called “The Blind Men and the Elephant”. This tells how six blind men of Indostan go to see an elephant and each tries to work out what it is by touching it. One blind man touches the tusk, another the trunk, another the tail, and so on. Of course, not being able to see the whole elephant, they come to wildly different conclusions.

Tip: Try to keep the big picture in front of you while looking at details. It will help to put everything in its proper place and context.

Think for yourself

Taking time out to think is still frowned upon in many organizations that prize activity over creativity. People who work in creativity-constrained organizations are likely to think the way they are supposed to think, as others think, or as has always been the way to think. It’s like the blinkered thinking that Hans Christian Anderson describes in his story “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. Everyone in the land refuses to see that the emperor is naked and has been duped into believing he is wearing a splendid costume for his coronation. Only a young boy who has been ill and not a party to the cultural brainwashing can see the truth and cries out: “Look, everyone, the Emperor is wearing no clothes!”

Tip: Don’t let others tell you how to think. When others ask your opinion, tell it to them straight.

Once you make these 7 techniques part of your habitual thinking patterns, you will amaze yourself with how easy it is to come up with fresh, innovative, and creative solutions to all of life’s problems.

1 2 Next →