Do You Know The Two Essential Elements That Marketing Requires to Produce Results?

 

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our marketing, but in our products, that we are underselling.”  

Cassius Venditor

 

Marketing is not magic. It is not mystical. It can’t sell the unsellable…at least not for very long. Marketing requires two essential elements to be successful:

 

1. a product that enough people will buy once they know what it is.

 

2. a cost effective way to let those people learn about the product’s existence.

 

While the above are essential elements of successful marketing they are not sufficient elements for achieving success. In addition to the above, maketing must also discover who the prospects are and how to reach them with a cost-effective way that is sure to attract their attention with a favorable selling message which is believable and which tells them where they can purchase the product.

 

The Many ‘Ifs’ of Marketing

 

If the buyers are not out there, marketing fails no matter how good it is.

 

If the buyers are out there but it costs far too much money to reach them, then the marketing fails.

 

If the buyers are out there and you don’t reach them with your message, the marketing fails.

 

If the buyers are reached but they don’t read the ad or even know it is an ad that would interest them, the marketing fails.

 

If the buyers notice and read the ad but don’t believe the claims made in the ad, the marketing fails.

 

If the buyers are reached and believe the claims in the ad but don’t know where to buy the product, the marketing fails.

 

Marketing is complex and often very difficult to get right. However, marketing must always have the two essential elements mentioned above in order to be successful.

 

If your marketing efforts are not working, be honest with yourself. Ask these questions:

 

Is my product saleable?
 

Did I even consider its salability when I created it?
 

Did I look for a need in the market and then try to fill it?
 

Did I just create what I had a notion to invent whether anyone would ever want to buy it or not?
 

Do I act on the assumption that anything will sell given the right marketing?
 

 

For the best chance of success of selling novels, the marketing should go into the book before the first word is written.