TOC #13: Exercising Your "Idea Muscle"
(April 6, 2021) How to take the pressure of off brainstorming
Morning, sunshine – happy Tuesday! This week, we're skipping over the extra details and hopping straight into the good stuff…because you've got work to do and I've got an Easter candy stash to find (Max, where did you hide my candy?!)
If you can't generate 10 ideas, generate 20
I'm a big James gal. Mainly because of this one sentence.
When I was first introduced to his content a few years ago, I was struck by his exercise for “developing your idea muscle.”
Here's how it works: every morning, you…
1) Grab a small notebook and writing utensil.
2) Write down 10 ideas.
If you can't think of 10, you have to come up with 10. I know, you're probably thinking um, that makes no sense. Well, actually it does. Because if you can't think of 10 ideas, you're putting too much pressure on yourself. According to James, “perfectionism is the enemy of the idea muscle: it's your brain trying to protect you from harm, from coming up with an idea that is embarrassing and stupid could cause you to suffer pain. The way you shut this off is by forcing the brain to come up with bad ideas.”
Here are some of James's writing prompts to get you started:
10 ridiculous things I would invent
10 books I can write
10 business ideas for Google, Amazon, or Twitter
10 people I can send ideas to
10 industries where I can remove the middleman
10 things I disagree with that everyone else assumes is true
10 people I want to be friends with
10 things I learned this week
10 things I can do differently today
…I think that's enough to help you along! If you decide to take part in James's exercise, The Daily 10, reply to this email & tell me how it goes! Last year, I did my own version of his Daily 10 everyday for a month, and it played a large part in me starting this business.
Love u James.
Hi, I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. Thanks for reading this edition of the Tuesday Table of Contents! If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
Check out my services. I write website copy, sales pages, email sequences, blog posts, and brand messaging guides for entrepreneurs of all kinds! Maybe you’re my next favorite client. ;)
Read my blog. It’s home to everything from copywriting tips, to marketing education, to freelance advice, to portfolio-worthy projects… if you like this newsletter, you’ll love the blog. Here’s a quick roundup of my most popular posts.
Sign up for my web copy course. Actually, it’s not *only* about website copywriting—I also teach modules on copywriting basics, developing your target audience, search engine optimization, blogging, and email marketing.
Enlist me as your mentor. I have an entire in-depth blog post about my one-on-one consulting process for new and aspiring copywriters, if you’re interested in having a big-sis-style mentor to help you grow your freelance copywriting business & get results.
To get in touch with me directly, send me a DM or email sara@betweenthelinescopy.com. Have a great day!
xo, Sara