Over the last few years of talking with people about their Squidoo lenses (and blogs and book proposals and nonprofit efforts and more), it has become clear that there a 2 types of people in the world. There are those with imagination, and those without.
Imaginative people can look at examples, at tools, at opportunities, and run with them. Imaginative people can see that if they have a page earning $4 a month, they could make 100 more pages, and watch that add up to thousands of dollars a year. Imaginative people don’t copy or plagiarize or worry about what other people are doing… they focus on making their own stuff great. Because they have a vision. They can see it.
Literal people, on the flip side, want more hand holding. They want instruction manuals and tours and take a while to make a decision. They tend not to start fast, and they’re usually itchy about competition. Literal people wait to see what everyone else is up to, then they run to follow it.
It’s no surprise to me that imaginatives are the core people on Squidoo — the cleverest, the most successful, and the most generous. They have no trouble coming up with new ideas and ways to use lenses, and they can see how those pages can help them achieve their goals, both immediately and over time. Literalminded people, on the other hand, get frustrated quickly, and often go away after making just 1 lens that didn’t work for them.
But wait! It sounds like I’m about to say that Squidoo is a just place for imaginatives, and if you don’t have it, take a hike. Not at all.
I love literal minds. I love seeing a huge group of people who can look at a hammer and a nail, but need help figuring out how to build something with it. Because that means we have an opportunity to help them learn. To establish a relationship with them. To mentor them.
One of the best ways to help the literalminded is to give them what they want. Handbooks. Guides. Rollover tooltips. Blogs. Ebooks. Newsletters. FAQs. Our community has done an incredible job organizing a lot of helpful how-to content, and I’ve been focusing a lot lately on how to get that education in front of new users.
The next best way is to find a few of your most talented imaginatives and put them in charge. Put them smack dab in the middle of a pool of people who trend toward being literal. I once worked on a book called “Contagious Success” — the book itself wasn’t super, but the theory (evident in the title) was true enough.
The point here is that imagination is learnable, and addicting. Once you can teach a new user how to imagine your site working for her, you both win. Once you learn how to say “what if?” you’re well on your way to moving out of the big circle, and making a name for yourself in the little one.
P.S. You’re imaginative. Of course you are. But I bet you can think of 5 “literal-minded” people you know who just don’t get it, whatever your “it” of the moment may be. How would you teach them about what’s important to you? How would you infect them with your enthusiasm? How would you lead them into your imaginative world?
