17 Creative and Inspiring Quotes

In our new office, I’m very heavily weighing toward placing a quote, rather largely, on the wall you first see upon entering our suite. I love quotes that do something for you, whether that’s inspire you, make you think or get you to act in a different way than usual. I think having a quote on the wall would serve lots of goals I have for this project:  1) It’s art without a triple digit price tag, 2) It’s easy to change if we get sick of it down the road, 3) It speaks to the people you’ll find and work with inside these walls and 4) It may just inspire others as they enter our office.

So, as with most projects of this magnitude, I stew for awhile and think. I’ve come up with some top winning quotes that may make it on the wall. My all-time favorite quote is probably going to win over all of these below, but I thought I would share them all with you and see what you think. Do chime in on these options or submit your own and open my eyes to your quote bank!

  1. Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.–Edward de Bono
  2. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.–C. S. Lewis
  3. I never met a color I didn’t like. – Dale Chihuly
  4. I think there are two keys to being creatively productive. One is not being daunted by one’s fear of failure. The second is sheer perseverance.–Mary-Claire King
  5. There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.–Edward de Bono
  6. Yes, of course [this age] is materialistic, but the only way to counteract it is to create spiritual things. Don’t worry yourself about the materialism too much. Create and stir other people to create!–Robert Frost
  7. Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous. – Willy Wonka
  8. If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. – Willy Wonka
  9. Where is fancy bred? In the heart or in the head. – Willy Wonka
  10. “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” — Fred Rogers
  11. “You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London
  12. “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” — Walt Disney
  13.  “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” — Albert Einstein
  14.  “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” — Victor Hugo
  15. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou
  16.  Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.–Lou Holtz

And my all-time personal favorite:

Energy, confidence and focus…. these are the elements to making creative things – Dale Chihuly

How To Write A Fun Biography

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and I just plan to do what I want to do, maybe it’s more confidence or maybe it’s just more wisdom, but it’s been long overdue to kick the official bio to the curb. A fun, interesting, tell us a bit about you bio is much more friendly to today’s speed of marketing. We have used more fun and interesting ways to get to know us via interview style scenarios, and taking your bio there is the next logical step.

I can already hear some of our clients balking at this idea…. we need a professional CV, this won’t fly in our industry… what other excuses would you like to toss in the mix? I’m not saying you cannot have a professional resume, in fact, make a link to that too for those who want that detailed look at your career path, but for people who do business with people, make it more real.

Here are some more specific thoughts to help you get on your way:

  1. What was some silly or interesting event or title that was bestowed on you in your early years? Were you a prom queen? Were you the champion pig rider? Think of something that could bring in some flavor and immediately give your bio a nod to your past… way past.
  2. We get that you worked somewhere and that your job was x, x, and x. What else did that experience bring for you? Did you learn the power of teamwork there? Were you introduced to a global network? Were your eyes opened to the power of technology? Share in those words, not in boring, corporate speak words.
  3. What do you do outside of work? What are you known for? What do you love? This bio is about YOU, so it’s OK to make it as much. I always get asked questions about my personal side of life before my work life… and the questions are always coming due to someone reading my bio or reading this blog to learn about Raquel. It’s just interesting to know what we do while not at work. We are human. We just like to know.
  4. If you finish writing it and you like to read it, chances are good your peers, prospects and clients will enjoy reading it too.

Here is my updated, fun bio. Use it as inspiration for your new fun bio, or to ask me about my cupcake-eating boys the next time you see me.

Idea girl, artist and founder of Silver Square, Raquel Richardson is an urban wannabe, lover of wine and mother of two cupcake-eating boys. Her business talents started at a young age and bloomed a bit more while enrolled at Butler University.

 After Butler, Raquel made a few twists working at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Bates USA Midwest (an advertising agency), the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and Charles Schwab. These fine places introduced her to new people, big ideas and global concepts that helped shape the person she is today.

 Raquel’s not really limited to the marketing business; she was a Coca-Cola Junior Championship Bowler at age 10 and to her knowledge still holds the record for most runs in homerun derby in Winchester, IN, (ghosties on first) her hometown. She can be found gracing the pages of the Indianapolis Woman magazine (March, 2010), enjoying  yet another community project with her volunteer work or with her Square crew thinking up something fabulous with her colleagues and clients.

It’s Not Strange to be Wonky

Yeah, I am not sure what that sentence really means, but it’s some advice I gave recently. How many of you wonder if I’ll be asked for advice ever again? Really, though, I do have a point.

Different is good.

It’s a great path to take in your marketing and maybe even in life. We all get caught up in what someone else will think of our campaign, what if our competition does something or learns too much info, or whatever that risk is that is holding you back from being different… or even wonky…  I’m willing to bet if you think through a worst case scenario of what would happen if you were ever so brazen to be so strange that you arrive at a place that’s really not all that bad. Give yourself, your company, your brand a chance to be unique, strange, funny, wonky; whatever name you want to call it, and see where it goes. You may make yourself more remarkable than you ever dreamed.

This chair is a little strange, but I love it and took the snap for just that reason.

Creating a Culture Book

About a month ago I applied to review the new book out from Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, and was selected as one of many to help promote this book, which officially launches June 7th. I’m a fan of Zappos, so this was a great, easy task for me. Delivering Happiness is a book about Tony’s life – how he got started, his early mission to figure out how to make money, his desire to be part of something bigger than himself. It’s a great read for business and life.

One of the first things that really got me jazzed about this book was the idea of a Culture Book. A Culture Book  is a mini book about the culture of your company… after that, you can make whatever else is inside it all unique to your company. I asked each person at Silver Square to submit, individually, what they thought the culture was here. I asked them not to talk about this assignment as I wanted it to come from them specifically. I’m also going to add photos of our get togethers, of our upcoming office move, maybe of some pitches we do, who knows what all we’ll add to this by the time the year is done. I like that it will document, year after year, what we do and how or if our culture shifts. I’m shooting for constant improvement.

So check out the Zappos Culture Book and keep your eyes peeled for a contest we’re launching next week to win your very own copy of Delivering Happiness.

(for our email readers the video is here)

Website vs. Facebook Pages

We get this question a lot… why should I have a Facebook page when I have a website? Do I really need them both? Yes, yes you do.

Facebook gives you an extra reach you don’t get with your website. That is one of the most general but true elements of why you would want to have a Facebook page. People that connect with you on your Facebook pages have a reach to others that you just don’t. If you want to have that kind of reach, you need to be where all those people are.

Creating your Facebook page is easier than you think. One of the things Facebook does well, that has allowed them to have the reach that they do, is they make a good majority of the things you want to do on there easy, i.e. setting up your facebook page. As you can see from the page below, they take you step-by-step on how to set up your page, even how to start advertising to reach more people who like you.

Now that you have your page set up, invite and share your page with those in your personal profile. Make sure you let everyone know through your regular channels too, like your monthly newsletter or in your email signature. Go really crazy and launch an advertising campaign!

Need help on what to put on your Facebook page? Read this guide from Clay on What’s on Your Facebook Page or check out our social media strategy services.

Interview With a New Media Director

I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let… okay, I can’t keep a straight face while typing lyrics to the Whitney Houston classic, Greatest Love of All.

I was approached this week by a college student I know who needed to interview someone currently working in the field he wants to pursue after he graduated. It’s a class project. (Three more classes to go. Nose to the grindstone, Joe.) The questions were pretty good, so I thought I would share them here. The answers give you a little insight into what I value and what it’s like to work with me and the rest of the Silver Square team.

What kind of training and or education would best prepare me for this type of work (New Media Director)?

I learned most of what I do every day by diving in and getting my hands dirty. Find a cause that you care about that you want to volunteer to help with their website, social media, or an email campaign. If no opportunity is speaking out to you: make one. I built a site about movie reviews for no other reason than I wanted to. I developed a lot of skills and a valuable portfolio piece in the process.

How do you and/or your team approach each project…do you have any specific steps that you follow during the creative process or development of a project?

You have to be flexible with your process because every project is going to have different demands, but there are some common threads. Start with identifying the goals for the project. If you are creating a website, what do you want to see happen? Should a visitor be making a purchase? Giving you their email address? Leaving a comment? If you don’t figure this out first, you’re mostly just creating a site to amuse yourself.

Once you know that, you can create a design to help you meet that objective. Then you get approval from the client. Build it. Measure if what you created is successful at meeting the goals you set.

How involved are you in the creative and development process?

I work on a small team where everyone is involved in identifying goals and brainstorming solutions. We have a couple of jaw-droppingly talented designers who take the ideas and turn them into a tangible design that marries beauty and functionality. There’s a little back and forth as we talk about how the elements of the design can be translated into web, email, or whatever medium we’re using. Then I step in and code out the final design.

What financial risks if any did you take in starting your own business in this profession?

I first started working with Silver Square as an outside contractor. I was still operating under the web design business I had created. When I first started that business, though, I took an enormous pay cut. For the first year of my business I was pulling a lot of money out of my retirement accounts and paying some painful fees in the process. It was brutal.

How have you or the company changed or improved since it was first established?

We’ve had to keep up with the ways rapidly advancing technology has shifted the world of marketing. Social media has certainly been a part of that, but I would place just as much (or more) of the blame/credit on streaming video becoming easier and more practical and the strides made with online analytics.

We’ve had to learn how to pick up and implement new ideas very quickly. It just keeps happening so fast. I have to study and learn more now than I did when I was in school.

How do you view competition?

If you are viewing someone as your competition, it means you haven’t dug deep enough to find out how you’re different. Everyone has a different offering. You have your own skillsets, style, and resources.

Now potential customers are going to view you and some other people as competitors. It’s your job to help them see how you’re different and why those differences are important. Otherwise the job is just going to go to the lowest bidder. You definitely don’t want to be lowest bidder.

Any advice on networking?

I advise quality over quantity. You don’t need to know a ton of people if you know the right people. Part of that is my personality. I’m not someone who enters a room shaking hands and kissing babies. I’m a little more reserved, but I know of people who are happy to network with anyone and everyone.

Knowing someone isn’t enough, though. You can collect a fistful of business cards at a networking event, but then what? How do you make someone want to help you and send business your way? You help them first, of course. So when you’re meeting people, be listening for what their problems are and try to connect them with people that can offer solutions.

What skills or characteristic traits do you feel have best served you in this type of work?

I’m willing to teach myself. I’ve taught myself new programming languages when I had the opportunity to work on a project that just had to be in a certain language. When I don’t know how to do something with Javascript or a database query, I just keep hammering away until I figure it out. I search on the Internet. I do trial and error. I’ll do whatever it takes to make the code do what I want – or something else equally cool.

You can’t always sit back and wait for someone to publish a book on how to do something. Once it’s easy to learn something, everyone will be doing it.

How to use Twitter in Sales

We talk a lot about how your marketing and sales must mesh together well. In fact, this month on the 25th, we have a workshop to help you align marketing and sales. Likewise, we talk a lot about Twitter (you can follow me @silversquare if you’re not already).  So, I thought it would only be appropriate to give you some tips on using Twitter for your sales effort. Here are some easy places to start thinking about how Twitter can help you sell.

  • Research. Yep, I love using Twitter for research. I use it for sales, personal, marketing, business advice. I use Twitter more often for research than I do google. The minimal effort of deciding if I want to read more (ah, the true beauty of 140 characters or less!) before hitting a link is great. The fact that just about everything is recent and relevant to what’s happening in the world right now is even better.
  • Industry news. I have admitted I am a news junkie, but Twitter makes it a lot easier to stay up on what trends are taking place in my industry, or a client’s industry I’m monitoring for them, or, an industry I’m trying to break in to. We all know knowledge is power. Take that power in small, relevant doses and who knows where you’ll go.
  • Best time to call. Oh yes. Once you start following people, you’ll learn where they are traveling, what time of the day they are most often on Twitter, i.e. what time they may be at their office in front of their computer, and if they will attend or be somewhere you can connect with them or share in an experience. Learn about your prospect, professionally and personally.
  • Job change. I recently learned of a friend’s super big job change from Twitter. It’s where they decided to put the news. I also see what other friends and clients are jumping around from place to place. I have worked with clients as they have moved from business to business, so keeping up on where they are and what new needs they may have is important.

I’m sure some of you can think of other ways you’re using Twitter in your sales process. Drop us a comment and let us learn from your greatness!

Being Funny on Twitter is Good

Raquel recently wrote a post about using humor in your marketing – especially your online marketing. That principle doesn’t just apply to your big campaigns. You can also inject humor into your bite-size marketing endeavors. Case in point: Twitter.

Earlier today, Indianapolis-based Twitter aficionado Kyle Lacy ( @kyleplacy ) wrote the following tweet:

Follow @claymabbitt : It is very rare to find an individual that can make you laugh through Twitter. This guy does it.

Do I make people laugh on Twitter? Well, I certainly think I’m pretty funny. Apparently Kyle does, and I imagine there are at least a few others out there. Is it the tweets about the songs playing in the bathroom where I work? The inappropriate things I say to my wife? Road rage? Maybe it’s just because I make a point of following very funny people and retweeting their best stuff.

Would Kyle have told people to follow me if I had never made him laugh? Well… hmm… maybe? I do also tweet about serious stuff in the online and social media spheres, which are areas most of Kyle’s audience probably cares about. But it certainly isn’t “very rare to find an individual” who does that. (Actually Twitter is crawling with us.) Kyle decided to endorse me because he thinks some of the stuff I’ve put out there on Twitter is funny.

That endorsement had a positive effect. My new followers have spiked in the last few hours. That’s more people who get to see me be funny on Twitter. While they’re chuckling, they also get to see my occasional tweets about upcoming Silver Square seminars and new resources we have available. Because I’ve made them laugh, they like me a little bit.  Because they like me, they’ll be more inclined to look for the value in the seminars and resources I’m talking about.

Does that mean everyone I’ve made laugh will become a paying customer? Not even close. My product or service still has to address some pain they have, be appealing, be in their price range, and fit dozens of other variables that go into a buying decision. But I have a bit of their attention, a bit of their interest, and a bit of their goodwill.

And that’s a good place to start.

2010 is a Great Year for Using Humor in Marketing

I have been thinking about quite a few marketing ideas for a few clients who have marketing plans in the works, and I keep coming back to a common theme – humor. I am pretty sure right now, 2010, is one of they best years to have some humor with your marketing. At a minimum, it’s one of the best years to test how well the funny works with your audience. So why do you ask is 2010 one of the best years to have fun with your marketing? There are many great reasons, but this one’s the best:  It’s easy to test.

Social media often gets a bad wrap for things like… it’s time consuming, it’s always changing, there are too many mediums, I don’t know how to get started, etc. but in my opinion, it’s one of the best places to throw out new ideas and tactics and see if they stick. Think of 10 years ago, or let’s take five, even, and how quickly would you test out a new marketing campaign? How would you test ? People were a lot less willing to try multiple new marketing ideas in a given year. I think that mindset is gone, and hopefully gone for good.

Let’s discuss an idea I know a bit about. The Proust spoof we have been doing at Silver Square, launching with the new year, was a new marketing tactic for us. We came up with it to show and tell the great people in our network, whether they be clients, friends, family, family friends, peers, etc. and to also bring new people to our site. We can already tell this tactic is working. In 30 days, we know a spike comes each Tuesday, when our Proust appears on our blog, and typically visitors read three more additional posts. They come, they stay, they read, they get to know us. Exactly the point. Even more to the point we get a few people signing up for the blog, interacting with us, signing up for our newsletter… you see how this works? Had this marketing idea cost $10,000 to implement do you think we would have thrown it up there for kicks to see what happens? As the driver of this bus, I can tell you most definitely not. This idea is fun, is interesting, and brings about a personal side to our marketing mix.

Another way using the web makes testing for humor easy is that you can change it and make updates on the fly. Can you imagine how loud you would gasp if a promotion in a printed magazine went out with the wrong phone number or web address? Well, if you do that on a Facebook ad or on your LinkedIn status, you just go change it. Ta da. It doesn’t live forever wrong.

So your challenge for this week is to come up with some humor for your marketing. Have an extremely fun brainstoming session, have some of your employees play like your clients to make sure your humor is actually on target with your audience, and toss out some fun campaign ideas. Pick the best and decide which medium(s) you’ll post your greatness. How will you get people to your funny? Do you want them to interact? Do you want them to go to an event? Think through the idea, give it some legs and run with it. If it didn’t work, it cost you an enjoyable brainstorming session with your team, and a step further in learning about what works for your audience.

Try again. Measure, repeat.

Etiquette of the Twitter Follow

It’s an almost daily occurrence. I get a notice that someone has stopped following me on Twitter. I don’t recognize this person or organization that has decided they aren’t interested in my tweets any longer. I hadn’t even known they were following me until they stopped. My total number of followers (that all important number on which hardcore Twitter users hang their self-esteem) remains steady because some different person that I’ve never met or heard of has started following me… at least for a few days.

So what’s happening here? In all likelihood, these people are following me in the hopes that I will follow them back. From what I can tell they don’t care about hearing what I have to say or starting a conversation with me. But when Twitter was still a fledgling social media startup, it was customary to follow anyone who followed you. Some would say that reciprocal following is still the appropriate etiquette today.

Ultimately you will decide how you want to use your Twitter account, but you have some options when deciding how you want to dole out your Twitter follows. Spoiler alert: my recommendation is the third option mentioned below.

1.) Auto-follow

With this approach you reciprocally follow anyone who follows you. You can even set up third-party Twitter add ons that will take care of the following for you. Perhaps appropriate when Twitter was just starting out, I’m not a fan of auto-following these days. Not only do you get inundated with a stream of tweets from people you don’t know or care about, you’re also rewarding “Twitter spammers” who follow thousands upon thousands of accounts just to inflate their own number of followers. It’s not too melodramatic to say this practice is bad for the social economy of Twitter.

2.) Ignore New Followers

On the other end of the spectrum you can simply ignore any stranger who follows you out of the blue. That’s not to say you don’t follow anyone, but when you add a new follower it’s because you found them and are interested in what they have to say. It doesn’t matter who is following you. I personally feel like this devil-may-care attitude is a step above auto-following, but it certainly doesn’t leverage the power of a social media network like Twitter.

3.) Selectively Follow

When I learn someone new is following me on Twitter, I’ll usually check out their Twitter page. I’ll look at the quick bio and read some of their latest tweets. If I find value in what they are talking about, then I follow them. At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that new people follow me all the time that I don’t even know about. But there are a very intelligent few who don’t just hit the follow button and call it a day. They mention me in one of their tweets. Something like…

if you want a good web guy in indianapolis, you could do worse then @claymabbitt

When I see that tweet, of course I go check the sender out.

I think selectively following is hands down the best approach. The power of a strong social media network like Twitter is you can make connections and start a conversation with new people. You just have to be smart about it.