Part 1: The Creative Strategist and launching a sticky idea

Hi Peter. Can you tell us a little bit of your background and how you landed on the Web?
My Clickz.com articles happened quickly. I was reading an article on the site and saw a request at the bottom. It said, "If you'd like to write a column, contact me." I did. I sent a first article to the editors and they liked it. They asked if I could do it every week. Now it's become my regular Friday morning before 6:00 a.m. challenge. I only do work at the last minute.

Your columns in ClickZ are some of the most humorous and insightful columns out there. Do you feel it's important on the Web for readers to identify with a person instead of a "persona" or hype?
At the tender age of 41, I've realized that I can only be who I am. Writing a regular column would expose me as a fraud if I tried to be too clever or cute. I can't stand reading articles or books by people posing as the last word on a subject. My whole goal with the articles and StickyIdeas is this: We're all here to learn, so let's share some resources. I've received so many great tips on books, websites and articles that I can barely keep up. But it's something I'm passionate about. And passion is the key to success. If you love what you're doing, it ain't work.

Tell us about your own site, StickyIdeas. What is most fulfilling about its growth?
The most amazing part of the site is that an entire community has grown out of it. From an original email telling 100 people about it, we get between 1,000-3,000 unique visitors a week and have an email list of close to 4,000 people in 30 countries. I've met people from India to Moscow and connected people to find jobs, to collaborate on projects or just to learn more about each other.

When this started, I never spent much time wondering where it would go. But every day when I open my email, there is another opportunity for something interesting to happen.

In regard to site subscribers and cross-pollination from ClickZ - how has your column had an impact on your site traffic?
There is definitely a crossover between the two sites. My column appears every Wednesday and when I check my hits on StickyIdeas, they're always highest on Wednesdays.

More important than the numbers, many people have read the column, gone to StickyIdeas and then written articles for it. I've begun working with Jack Rubinger in Portland, Oregon, a public relations guru, several folks in India and I reconnected with David Lubars, head guy at Fallon Worldwide. We went to college together and I haven't talked with him in 20 years. It's all because of the connectivity of the two sites.

One of the best things that came out of the ClickZ articles is that I heard from Glenn Peters and Lynn Fantom, my first bosses at Kobs & Draft in New York. They were both great to me, but I lost touch over the years. When my first article appeared, I heard from both of them that day. It was great catching up with them. It also proves that the advertising world is still very small, no matter how many agencies there are around the world.

In your opinion as a seasoned copywriter, what is the most important skill a copywriter for the Web must have?
Be clear. Be brief.

Why is good content a must on a site, and how does one discern it in regard to their own sites?
I call it the "Cool Barometer." I get a lot of article submissions on StickyIdeas. First, I see if it's just a commercial for the person's business. Those get tossed first. Then, I see if I can learn something from the article. If I can read and say, "That's cool. I didn't know that," it goes on the site. If I'm bored, I figure most other people will be too and it goes in the circular file.

As a lifelong copywriter, I've spent several thousand hours having my work critiqued, re-written and bastardized. StickyIdeas is a place where people can put up uncensored, unedited articles about what they're passionate about. If that passion comes through, it's a winner. And you can't fake passion.

And in talking about passion, tell us about your work as a creativity coach with Before and After. What do you think is the greatest obstacle to overcome in regard to being creative?
I'm almost fully certified, but I've been training for months to become a creativity coach for Tom Monahan at Before & After. The greatest obstacle to creativity is that people stop asking questions at about age four.

When we're young, we ask a million questions. I have a four year old daughter and a three year old son. Everything out of their mouths start with "WHY?" The older we get, the less chances we take being wrong, so we shut up and stop learning. It's really a shame. If you're afraid to ask questions and try things you become creatively constipated.

And creativity doesn't just happen in ad agencies. If you've ever seen a lawyer defend a murder suspect in a packed courtroom with questions flying and a man's life hanging in the balance, you'll see some real creativity.

I've run brainstorming sessions where we generate more than 500 ideas in two hours. It almost doesn't matter who the people are. If you show them a way to do it, they'll love it. I've seen it over and over again...someone from a technical department pulling me aside after a brainstorm session telling me that it was the most fun they've had at work in years. What could be better than that?

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