Ideasicle X is a new way to come up with ideas in teams, virtually. And for users of the platform there’s a decent amount of room for nuance, for personalizing the experience, and acquiring the “skill” to truly master the platform. Below I’m going to explain how you can be great at Ideasicle X.

Know when (and when not) to use it.

If you’ve got a big idea for a pitch, don’t use Ideasicle X to write scripts. The team of 4 is much better suited to come up with the big idea for the pitch in the first place. Or naming stuff or taglines or promotional ideas or PR stunts, all good. Really any idea project you would never bring to a committee—scripts, logo designs, brochure copy, etc.—don’t bring to Ideasicle X.

Remember you’re not only a customer, you’re a participant.

One of the big differences between Ideasicle X and traditional freelance is that you get to watch the ideas unfold as they are posted. This gives you the opportunity to chime in, encourage certain ideas, discourage others, post your own ideas, and generally keep the team on track. As you get more projects under your belt you will get better at knowing when to intervene and when to let the team sort itself out. But at least it’s all visible 24/7 on the virtual Idea Stream. Whereas with traditional freelance teams, the team is briefed and you don’t see anything for at least a few days.

Inspire the team with the briefing materials.

We give you two powerful vehicles to brief the team virtually. One, you can upload a PDF of your creative brief. Two, you can upload a video of you or someone in the know on your team describing the brief from top to bottom. You want to keep the creative brief tight (see more advice on that here), but with the video you can explain all the stuff you didn’t want to muddy the creative brief with. Your own creative direction, things to stay away from, things to explore, your personal initial thoughts, etc. But keep the video under 10 minutes or you risk losing the team.

Embrace your inner Bill Belichick when recruiting your team.

One of my favorite things about usig the Ideasicle X platform is recruiting the perfect team. First, over invite. You want to end up with 4 on the team so invite 8-10 to make sure you can field a team of 4. Not everyone will be available or agree to your proposed fee. But invite a few who could anchor the team in the category in which your idea needs reside, even if that’s an employee. Have a few who have expertise in the discipline of idea (e.g. writers for taglines, promotional people for promotions, etc.). And then a few wild cards. People with no experience in the category or discipline who brings something else to the team. The more different the members of the team are, the more exponential the ideas will be. And don’t forget you have three resources to recruit from: your own employees, our ever-growing list of freelancers who’ve been invited into the platform, and…well…anyone else in the world you want to invite (you can input any email address and invite that person to your job).

Think of Ideasicle X as a sport

Running an Ideasicle X project is incredibly fun and something you can get more and more proficient with as you get more experience. If you’re apprehensive and a potential customer, contact an IX Facilitator and we’ll walk you through your options, help you onboard, and even help you get going on your first project.

It’s like a sport. A sport where the goals are ideas. And the skills of which you can get really, really good it.

Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of Ideasicle X. Follow him on Twitter @WillOBurns.