Mindmap Software Can Make Your Marketing and Promotion Campaigns Sizzle!

When we want to’ think’ on paper, a mind map is a perfect way to do this. There are a small number of mindmap software packages available, including some free software. It is worthwhile having mindmap software in your set of tools.

There are a number of reasons why you should consider using mindmap software. It allows you to be creative as one person (or a group of people) can put forward ideas; and as you ‘see’ them appear on the mindmap, it jogs even more creative ideas from you (or the group). It helps create a ‘flow’.

Often our creative ideas ‘pop out' unexpectedly and seem to jump all over the place. Mindmap software will enable you to organise your ideas to be more logical and systemised. This is particularly helpful when you are putting together your marketing and promotion strategies.

The mindmap software enables you to organise your points is like a flow chart, in the sense that it allows one idea to flow into another. It creates the concept of ‘step by step’ activities.

You can also use mindmap software in your Power Point presentations. After you have worked out your mindmap for the presentation; you can then make up a number of mindmaps for each branch you have created and save each one onto the last one. This then, becomes the next slide in your Power Point so that viewers see the growth of the mindmap as your talk progresses. I have used this with great success – it eliminates the ‘boredom’ of many Power Point presentations.

Where to use your mindmap software is limited only by your imagination.

* In your daily planning
* As a forerunner to your business plan or activity plan
* Following the index in an e-book
* In a Power Point presentation
* Brainstorming ideas
* As an overview in training sessions
* Organising major projects or marketing and promotion strategies
* Guiding staff to understand the dynamics of your business or project

I use a basic mindmap software. This basic software has limited features – but I find it quite sufficient for my needs. Some of the activities that my version of the mindmap software will do, include:-

* Provides an image library. You can also add to this through a ‘search of the internet’ feature.

* There is also an icon library where there are dozens of simple images that can be used as icons.

* There are three main types of drawing abilities available:-

  1. Organic – which allows you a limited amount of movement as you create parent and child branches.
  2. Freehand – allows you to move your branches in any direction you want. Freehand
  drawing can also take place where there are no branches.
  3. Arrow – makes a line from one part of a branch to another, appear as a dotted arrow line.  You can use this to show cross linking from one branch (idea) to another.

* There is a formatting bar that allows for you to change the colour of your text & branches. You just need to remember to click on a branch first.

* You can change the font position to anywhere on the branch (left, centre, right, justify).

* You can have ‘floating text’ positioned separately from the branches.

* As well as the images in the library, you can also use your own images from your computer e.g. a logo or a photo.

* If there is a group of child branches (or an entire branch) that you want to stand out from others (due to its particular importance), you can highlight it by building a ‘cloud’ around it.

I can definitely recommend using mindmap software, as I use it all the time to help me achieve a more professional, better organised way of getting my thoughts onto paper. If you struggle to do this, I really think you should give mindmap software a go.

There is a free trial available.