Imaging you found a dusty old cook-book with secret recipes for marketing success. What would those recipes look like? What would you need to throw into the cauldron to create something really spectacular?

  •     1 part Fear
  •     2 parts Risk
  •     1 Unicorn Horn
  •     5 Warted Toads
  •     1 large Ogre
  •     3 Zombies

1 Part Fear

Anything marketing strategy is ultimately a gamble – a well-calculated gamble but a risk nonetheless. If you’re not risking then you’re not doing what it takes to push the envelope and get seen and heard. Sure you could take a run-of-the-mill routine marketing template and create a campaign around that, but who would really care? The thing that gets people to pay attention is controversy. And that’s a scary thing, but it’s a necessary ingredient for success.

1 Parts Risk

No matter what route you’re taking, each step is essentially a risk. Your plan might work, or it might not. The client could love the concept or they could hate it. Your consumers would listen or they could turn a deaf fear. Everything is risk, so just like fear, learn to embrace is and you won’t be paralyzed by fear of failure.

1 Unicorn Horn

Every success needs something that much more amazing working behind the scenes. Here I mean talent and team work. You need to always be looking for the unicorns in your team and how to get them to start working as a pack. Don’t have any? Then it might be time to dig a little deeper in your employees otherwise unnoticed potential or start hiring some freelance talent.

5 Warted Toads

Call this the ugly side of marketing – the deadlines, the pressure, the late nights. Just like you have to slave over a cauldron for that perfect recipe, on some level you need to stand guard and keep stirring the pot figuratively too because there’s always going to be another obstacle around the corner. The more you’re prepared for these toads, the better you’ll be at handling them.

1 Large Ogre

The ogre is the competition and there’s always going to be competition. Ogres don’t go away over time; in fact, they multiply. The more successful you are, the more ogres you can expect sniffing you out and heading your way. Ogres relish being loud and obnoxious, and they thrive from your response to them. The best way to deal with ogres is to not give them the attention they so desperately want.

3 Zombies

The secret recipe for marketing success isn’t just about what you need, it’s also about what you need to watch out for so you don’t stumble and fall. This is a potion to make yourself more aware and better able to see what’s headed your way. In addition to the toads and ogres, there are the zombies. This is deadweight you’re going to need to cut if you want to keep soaring. Slashing zombies is going to be tougher than dealing with ogres and toads. Zombies are usually internal nuisances. These are usually people that got hired on early on and now they’re sort of fixed to the company like a barnacle – but they have no real purpose or worth.

Author Bio:

by Shireen Qudosi

Shireen Qudosi is Benchmark Email's Online Marketing Specialist and Small Business Advocate. An Orange County based writer, Shireen specializes in online marketing and public relations. She has written for over 75 publications and has launched nine successful new media campaigns to date. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Denver Post, the Oklahoman and Green Air Radio, among others.