Do you use mind maps? I can tell you that I wrote 10 hardcover books using the exercise, and those days, I did it with a piece of paper and a pencil. I would research like crazy for a couple of months, and mark things in the books that I wanted to include in my own. Then, when I did the mind map, I’d just organize the items according to the book chapters I’d developed, and voila! I’d have a book.
Those mind maps were HUGE. I’d use the biggest tablet I could find (usually purchased from an art store), and like I said, I’d write in pencil so that I could erase and change things at whim. By the time I was finished, the paper was pretty smudgy and nasty, but at least, I had my book. I’d just follow that outline, and in another 6-9 months, I’d have a book.
Fast forward to 2009. Things are much different, and I only wish I’d known about this software when I was writing books. There are a couple of great programs, actually, and both are free with upgrades to paid versions, but the free versions (at least in my mind) are pretty robust.
The first one is Free Mind, an open source program which you can download at http://freemind.sourceforge.net. It’s much like the $349 Mind Jet, which I have used in the past. To be honest, I don’t see the need for the pricey solution. Free Mind does just about everything you’d want to make simple mind maps.
The other program also has a free version, and it’s called Personal Brain, which you can download at http://thebrain.com. This is really snazzy. Your entries collapse and move around the screen as you create their importance level. It’s like the difference between Google and Viewzi. Whereas Google gives you text listings for everything, Viewzi gives you options of how you want the search results to appear. Pretty cool, and so is Personal Brain.
I prefer Free Mind, personally. I like to see everything in front of my eyes all the time. My brain makes correlations from seemingly unrelated stuff, you know? When I see the big picture, I’m able to tweak stuff to make it better or add stuff that I’d forgotten, and that’s me.
You may like one version or the other, but here’s why I bring it up. You can’t possibly know what’s in your brain that isn’t in the forefront of your mind. Just seeing stuff laid out may give you more or even better ideas that you’d never have if you didn’t put it all down for your eyeballs to analyze. Mind mapping allows you to pull that stuff that’s in file cabinet number 2,343 out and use it to your advantage. When you’re as old as I am, you have to know that there’s a LOT of stuff stored in my archives. It takes a little while for my inner file clerk to run to the back of the room, you know?
So, give mind mapping a try. When you have to write an article, try mind mapping. I’ll bet you anything that you’ll come away from that exercise with 10 articles, rather than just one.
Also be sure to mind map or flow chart your sales systems and funnels. (Gliffy.com is a good place to make flow charts.) That way, you can spot gaps or figure out what will or won’t work. You can improve on things or just flat out toss stuff that you later realize is dopey. (Oh yes, we all have dopey ideas that we think are brilliant… at first. In fact, I think it was Twain who said, “Throw out your darlings,” which in writing terms meant to get rid of the stuff that you think is the best little touch of writing that you think is just brilliant. It’s probably not that good.) This applies to everything you do in your business, too.
But the cool thing about marketing that isn’t true with writing books is that everything can be tested. So, let’s say this for marketing, “Test your darlings.” There. You can quote me. 
And try mind mapping. It really does rock.
