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"Out Of The Box"... What It Means.

by Dhira
10 replies
Ever read this phrase in the context of an ebook or IM technique where the author/poster says to 'think out of the box'?

Ever gotten frustrated by wishing they would say exactly what they mean?
I did... till I started thinking outside the box & realized why they don't tell you what they mean; It would give away their "secrets".

Then once upon a time a long time ago, I started to analyze what possibilities were out there for "out of the box techniques". Then I became one of them.

I guess it means simply finding uncommon or less thought of ways to use marketing techniques to get your product/affiliate link in front of eyeballs, in ways that are not the norm. The unorthodox if you will.'I see many examples on this forum.. (especially in the war room).

So ... who feels like sharing some "out of the box" methods/techniques on here?
Remember... it was probably about 3-4 years or so when "offline marketing" began to be shared on here as an 'out of the box' method of promotion.
Now it's extremely common.

Here's one I'll share: Classified advertising.
Everyone and "they 'mama" knows about the goldmine Craigslist is.
You all also know how much of a hassle it is to post any thing that gets you affiliate income - unless you do the whole multi-post/avoid flagging/ghosting/image posting/IP changing never-ending cycle of keeping your ads listed... right?

Out of the box replacement:
Find OTHER classified sites that allow you to post, but don't flag/delete multi posts, and post on several of them - enough of them to give you almost as much traffic as you'd get on Craigslist. (And no, I'm not talking about Backpage or Kijiji - they are almost as strict as Craigs.. think even smaller/lesser known, but.... when grouped together add up to good traffic).

Yours?
#means #out of the box
  • Profile picture of the author AdInventive
    The irony is that even the most out of the box advertising will always be firmly grounded in the fundamentals of marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    Some years ago I sat in a Jay Abraham marketing bootcamp at which Jay used an interesting technique to help the audience "Think out of the box."

    He spoke about a paradigm being a box, a mental box that keeps us thinking only one way.

    Then he had the audience pass around a cardboard box about 16 inches square, with one end open so we could see into it. Each person in the audience was required to look into the box to see what was in there.

    Inside were pieces of paper, printed with negative sayings, common negative self-talk, the kind we all use in our head to talk ourselves into a specific way of thinking - or to talk ourselves out of trying something a new way.

    As we looked into the box, it immediately became apparent we were each the cause of keeping our thinking "inside the box," keeping it within a paradigm instead of looking for other possibilities.

    Psychologist, Dr. Roger VonOech, wrote a couple books about creative thinking. He tells people to always look for an additional "right answer." In other words, once someone finds what appears to be "the" out of the box solution, he/she often stops looking for additional possibilities.

    VonOech advises us to look for that additional correct answer, that additional solution in order to expand our thinking beyond the norm.

    :-Don
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    Hi Dhira,

    I've always used the strategy of instead of thinking "can I do this" or "How can I do this" - I ask myself "How many ways can I do this and get great results?".

    It may sound like a small difference - but the first 2 ways question the outcome, whereas my modified way presupposes that there are several successful outcomes and you can choose how many you go for.

    It also is a great thing to leave your subconscious to work on. Just ask it the question and give it some time to bring answers to you.

    I ALWAYS end up with interesting things I would never have thought of if I was looking for 'the right way' or 'the best way' to do things.

    Andy
    p.s Thanks for sharing that experience Don - I love that strategy and may use a version of it myself in the future.
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    • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
      Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post


      I've always used the strategy of instead of thinking "can I do this" or "How can I do this" - I ask myself "How many ways can I do this and get great results?".

      It may sound like a small difference - but the first 2 ways question the outcome, whereas my modified way presupposes that there are several successful outcomes and you can choose how many you go for.

      It also is a great thing to leave your subconscious to work on. Just ask it the question and give it some time to bring answers to you.
      That's a great question to ask yourself -- I love it.

      I too like the idea of letting the subconscious "simmer" and "chew" on something. When I'm working on an idea or need a solution to something, I like to fall asleep asking myself the same kind of open-ended question that Andy presented above. If the answer isn't clear by morning, I do a "brain dump" on paper... at which point I usually come up with the answers/solutions.


      ***

      All this reminds me of the folks coming here and asking things like, "How do I make $1000 by next week?"

      They're fearful, standing in front of their problem like a deer in the headlights. And they probably already have some sense of the answer (as that question has been answered here repeatedly).

      However, I always think that if people would focus on calming down first and then setting their subconscious to work on their problem, they might just be amazed at the results.


      Cheers,
      Becky
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      • Profile picture of the author petelta
        I love doing out of the box marketing tactics. It makes the work more fun for me. You never know what the result is going to be because there is no record of it's success. It's like gambling, and it can have some great rewards.

        My latest out of the box thinking came from me expanding my business. It's not so much a marketing tactic. I wanted to hire a few employees to help run all my internet marketing locally instead of outsourcing globally. They would be doing all the everyday tasks that internet marketing needs done that I would like to not do anymore...backlinks, article submissions, twitter marketing, etc.

        I went to all the local colleges and asked if they had an internship program that could be arranged. I interviewed a couple students and I got 4 very talented students that are working for free for 4 hours 5 days a week starting in May.

        I know it's been done before, but not many people would go this route. I'm very glad I did. Instead of employees, I have interested students.

        Travis
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    • Profile picture of the author Dhira
      Originally Posted by Andyhenry View Post

      Hi Dhira,

      I've always used the strategy of instead of thinking "can I do this" or "How can I do this" - I ask myself "How many ways can I do this and get great results?".
      I love that; Thinking that you can already do it differently means... you can.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    In a sense, "out of the box" and "outSIDE of the box" mean two TOTALLY different things!

    It depends on the the wording. "Right out of the box", or for something to be doable "out of the box", etc... means nothing else is needed. It includes all you need. The BOX is basically considered a container or package.

    To "THINK outSIDE of the box" means to think about things WITHOUT regard to their normal use. When Wozniak used some logic gates, a ROM, and a few other parts to make a graphics system with a character generator, that could refresh the memory, and provide color, he was thinking "outSIDE of the box". Nobody would have ever expected he would do that. The BOX is basically considered to be the constraints based on the past and the purpose for which things were designed.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Lou Diamond
    Hello,
    to me out of the box means to put a twist on a existing product.
    I have taken many ideas from others and put my own methods to use and
    have made some nice profits with it.
    It is like when you read a book you put a picture in your head and then you think
    of a different way to monetize it.
    Lou
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    Something new soon.

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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    You can find information about the books Don Schenk was talking about here.They are HIGHLY recommended:
    Creative Think - Roger von Oech
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnB23
      I was listening to a Jay Abraham seminar where he was talking about a box. I think he had a box on stage, 2 feet by 3 feet or something and said (metaphorically), "this is what you've been living in". You've contorted yourself into this silly little box. What does it feel like to stand up right?

      That's a really good metaphor.

      Also in "Your Secret Wealth", he talked about the rules you live by. Do you even know the rules that you consciously (or unconsciously) live by? Most people don't.

      -Questions are very powerful. They lead you to *any* answer, regardless if its right or not.

      If you ask the question, "How do I make a $1,000 by next week"? Your brain goes...well, I could do, this, __, __, this, this.

      But those may not be the most productive things that you could be doing. I learned from Jay that ideas are new combinations of old things and ways. Reconstructed into new patterns. I dont think 1 person in a 1,000 really understands idea creation.

      In his seminars, he makes fun of people that struggle to make new ideas. Struggle, pressure, pressure, pressure (Errrrrr). No idea is coming to my mind. (Looking up to the sky for inspiration). When it's really a process. Of gathering information, then you work a process and let your subconscious mind take over. And you get new ideas when you're least thinking about it. He borrowed his information from the book, "A technique for producing ideas" by James Webb Young.
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