If you’re writing for work, and if your work isn’t writing novels, how creative do you really have to be?
Well, sorry to disappoint you (or not!), but any type of writing is creative – you are creating, after all!
If you’re wondering how creative you can be while writing a LinkedIn post, the answer is that you can be as creative as you want; but if you’re wondering how creative you should be, that’s a different question.
Functional creativity means focusing on making something unique while also accomplishing the task. This could look like:
Getting someone to interact with your post
Directing people to your website
Convincing someone to sign up for your upcoming event
And anything else your heart desires!
So how do you exercise functional creativity?
Practice any kind of creativity – It'll get your creative energies flowing!
Let's say you need to write a blog, but right now you're feeling like writing poetry (or to dance the tango or to paint a landscape)... You should write the poem!
By giving in to that urge to create, even if it’s not what you need to be functional, you’re training your brain to be in that mode. Once it’s out of your system, you can pivot to the work you need to do more seamlessly than if you tried to start from scratch.
Consume, Consume, Consume!
Have you ever heard that young children who read more often have a propensity for writing? When you consider it, it makes sense. If you are familiar with one side of an art, you may have a better understanding of how to master the other creative side of it.
If you need to create something functionally creative, look at other examples to get inspiration.
Focus on Outcome!
The key word here is "functional." What do you hope the consumer will take away from this? Do you just want to be informative? Do you want the reader to click, go somewhere, sign up, subscribe...?
Whatever it is, take a good look at what you're creating and ask yourself, "If it was me, would I be informed? ... convinced? ... intrigued? ... inspired? to take the next step?"
The key takeaway here is to use your creativity to cut through the noise and ensure that it sells!
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Written by Jordan McAndrew