Stealing ideas for fun and profit

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Ideas are a dime a dozen, it is said; execution is the key to success.

So, if you need ideas–for your newsletter, blog, or presentation–look at what others are writing and copy them.

Not literally. Write what they’re writing about, but make it better. Or different.

Take the idea and add your own spin. Infuse it with your own examples or stories. Add more arguments, more points and authorities, or take an opposing view.

Steal the idea and make it your own.

If you produce any kind of content, you should follow other lawyers in your field, to see what they’re writing about. Follow their posts, read their blog, sign up for their newsletter.

Do the same with lawyers in allied fields, as well as business owners, bloggers, and others who sell to, advise, or write for the niches or industries you target.

The world is awash with ideas. More ideas than you could ever use, right there for the taking.

Ideas really aren’t a dime a dozen. You can get all you need for free.

If you’ve got original ideas, great. The world wants to hear them. But if not, don’t feel guilty about using someone else’s idea.

They probably got it from someone else.

Taking other people’s ideas and making them your own is at the heart of invention and art. As Salvador Dali reminds us, “Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”

For more ways to find ideas, and more ways to make them your own, check out my email marketing course.

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3 simple ways to quickly create content

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You need more content for your blog or newsletter or channel. You don’t have a lot of time. What do you do?

Here are 3 ideas:

(1) The simplest source of new content is old content. Find something you’ve written before and re-use it. Convert a blog post into a video or vice versa.

Or, re-write it. Add some new information or examples.

Done.

(2) Almost as simple is to re-write something written by someone else.

Find a blog post or article by someone in your niche, put it into your own words and add your own examples or stories. Or, summarize the other person’s article and comment on it–what you agree with, what you don’t, and why.

Done.

One more.

(3) Respond to comments or questions posted on your social media, blog, or in your email inbox.

You can get some of your best content this way because you’re responding to real people with real questions about things you’re already thinking about or talking about.

And, done.

Wait, what? You don’t have any comments or questions you can respond to?

No problem. Go find someone else’s blog or social media and answer one of their questions.

Now, since you don’t have a lot of time, I’ll shut up and let you get to work.

More ideas here

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Boring is for tunnels, not presentations

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Years ago, I recall reading that the optimal length of a presentation is twenty minutes. Any longer and the audience starts to tune out. If you have more information to cover, after twenty minutes or so, do something different.

Change the subject. Change the speaker. Tell a story. Survey the audience. Do a demo. Stop using slides or start using them.

Do something different to keep viewers or listeners paying attention instead of checking their phones or thinking about the rest of their day.

But that was then. This is now.

I just read an article that says (according to science) our brains get bored after ten minutes (not twenty). It noted that in view of this, at Apple product launch events they change the speaker every ten minutes.

If you do live presentations, videos, or podcasts, you might want to keep this in mind.

Want more referrals from other lawyers? This shows you what to do

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