[question]
I am coming from a traditional print business. We’ve published a monthly newsletter for over 20 years and occasionally pull together books and miscellaneous items. How do I inspire my print staff to adapt to the digital world and start coming up with more innovative ideas to create with our brand and expertise?
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[answer]
In order to build a well-oiled machine, you may need to convince your existing print staff that these things are now part of their job description.
Try holding an impromptu content development meeting with your staff.
- First, start simple with an existing product. Hold it up. Ask your room full of smart and talented people to think of ways you can turn this single product into other products quickly and cheaply.
- Second, give your people some pride and let them take responsibility for their ideas. If someone pitches a great idea, tell them that they are now the lead on this project and ask them to research the associated costs for production (if there are any) and how much time is required of other staff members to get this done. People work better and more diligently when they “own” an idea or a project.
- Third, pitch some new ideas. Do a group brainstorm that starts with a topic. It might be your lead topic, or a subject you haven’t yet started building on. Take that topic and ask your staff to explore the content and products that can be created from this single idea. Our topic is roses, how many rose products can we create?
Handing over control to your team gives them incentive to be creative and take ownership of their ideas. Inspire them to think out of the box!
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