Making Writer’s Block Nonexistent

As a performance marketing agency, being in a constant loop of creativity isn’t just a responsibility, it’s a necessity. The moment we stop producing unique and original ideas is the moment we stop doing our jobs. Aside from our practiced skills, our creativity makes up the foundation of what we sell as a design firm. And as any creative knows, burnout and writer’s block are very real poisons that can get in the way of that creativity. And whether or not you take breaks, they can still infect your conscious for hours, days, and even months.

It’s not a fun situation to be in. If you’ve ever been in similar circumstances you know how hopeless and frustrating it can feel. To have something that used to come so naturally to you taken away. It’s scary, but something that has to be dealt with head-on and early in your career.

From a performance marketing standpoint, you can’t risk having employees get brain drain. But as we mentioned, it’s something that’s hard to avoid and something that employees tend to deal with on their own. So how does Rock Candy Media help our writers, designers, strategists, and developers keep the juices flowing? Simple, we don’t drug test.

Just kidding (but we don’t).

While herbs and substances might help feed the creative beast inside of you, we like to stay educated on other methods to keep our employees throwing out their best ideas. The first one has to do with the way work is assigned.

The Inexpendable Sponge

Heading up a performance marketing agency, the amount of work you levy onto your employees will obviously have an impact on their productivity. No one wants to overwhelm the individuals who work for them. But when you work in an industry as fast-paced and balls to the wall as digital marketing, it’s something that will happen at times.

While you don’t want to force-feed your employees till they collapse, you also don’t want to lose the opportunity to execute strategies and ideas that will be beneficial for the client. It’s a difficult line to toe, but keeping an open line of communication will help.

It’s one thing if you give your employees an abundance of work to get done. It’s another thing if you don’t let them voice their opinions on it. From questions to comments, providing an open forum allows employees to do what they were hired to do – contribute their unique perspectives and ideas to enhance the performance of your marketing agency.

At Rock Candy Media, we have an owner who has a strict no ego rule. And that goes for her too. She lets employees voice opinions on the direction she has and the assignments she creates. No idea is set until it takes a trip around the room and each mind has a chance to digest it. It’s how we’re able to create some of the most innovative and disruptive advertising content in the Austin area.

Giving employees the chance to comment on the direction of the work makes them feel more a part of the actual process rather than just a pawn. This heightened level of inclusion tends to lead to more of a productive mindset rather than a workhorse mindset, leading to an increased amount of creative stamina.

But just as the initiation of the work must be handled strategically, so must the ending.

Getting that cheese

Don’t get us wrong, a pat on the back from a boss can go a long way. Receiving affirmation from our superiors is genetically encoded in our DNA to make us feel good. So that will never be something you shouldn’t do to reinforce your employee’s motivation.

But Rock Candy Media knows how to really show employees that management cares. With cold hard cash. It might not be popular to say that money is one of the biggest motivators, but it is. And Annie Jones, owner of Rock Candy Media, knows that. That’s why if an employee impresses her, changes her mind, or does something otherwise mind-blowing, she will bonus them on the spot with a Venmo sent directly to their phone.

While creatives should be encouraged to create their best work because of the client and the pride with doing something extraordinary, knowing that a cash bonus could be on the other end of it might make you okay with staying up a little later or working a little harder.

The bottom line is that we know how to keep the wheels turning here at Rock Candy Media. And if you’re bottom line is something that you want to see more of, we might be able to help.