Has this ever happened to you? You have a great idea that you think would be awesome for your business. But it doesn’t go any further than that because you never get past the idea stage to turn the idea into something?
It’s happened to all of us for one reason or another.
Ideas drive a business. Whether it’s an idea for a new product, service, piece of content, campaign, photo shoot, social media graphic, or email, the idea has to start somewhere.
But having an idea isn’t enough. The idea needs legs to go anywhere. Why?
- Someone has to want to consume the idea, content, product, etc. and
- You have to be excited and motivated to create it
- You need a plan to turn the idea into a “thing”
There are a few reasons why ideas never get past the “wouldn’t it be cool if…” stage:
- You don’t have the skills or resources to create it
- You don’t take time to create a plan
You need a way to tease out our ideas, think through concepts, and put them into a usable format. The idea is the starting line. You need to draw a map for the rest of the race.
That’s where idea mapping comes in. I created a printable worksheet to help guide you through the process.
Here’s how it works:
- Write the main idea in the top box
- In the surrounding boxes write:
- Who the idea is for. Who’s the audience/customer?
- What are the problems the idea solves for the audience? Why do they want/need it? If no one wants or needs it, they won’t buy it.
- Why are you the person who should be creating it? What expertise or experience do you have?
- How will you launch the idea and bring it to life?
- What three things need to be done first to start moving from idea to creation? Put your idea into action and get the ball rolling by taking immediate steps.
What ideas are you going to map out?
amanda holliday 