I love creating marketing campaigns that are unique, it truly is something that brings me joy. I am sure if you’re reading this, you’re on a mission to launch something that will change lives. I want to help you on that mission and give you some steps for success.

Before I start brainstorming I always do a few things that provide a strong foundation for success. Without taking these steps into consideration, you are flying blind and pouring money down the drain. So here are six (6) marketing tips you should know before you start any campaign.

1. Know the outcome that you want

When you are starting out your thought process, begin with the end. What do you want the clients to do? What action do you want them to take? How many people do you want to take action? How are you going to measure the success? What is your ultimate goal? Once you figure these things out you can build towards these goals. Taking this step adds focus to your campaign and makes you a rockstar.

[Tweet “Start your marketing campaigns with the end in mind.”]

2. Know your budget

Budget is key. A lot of company owners want you to tell them how much money you need. However if we all had our dream budget, we could do incredible things! I have found it easier to pitch a number before I start.  For example: I would like 10K to do a campaign to build a plan to boost our online membership.

For me it just makes sense. I have done the,” Here’s my dream everything-you-want-in-a-campaign and then tell me what you need, then I will give you half of that and you’ll have to pick and choose your children.” outcome.  I don’t like that. I like starting with a budget and seeing what magic I can make with it. So ask yourself what you feel you’ll need. Take a general look at what you want to accomplish but don’t dive deep into researching everything as your time is precious. Once you get a budget than the building begins.

What if you don’t have enough? If it’s so incredible, and you know that it will have a great return on the companies investment then go ask for more and be specific on why you think it’s important and what your exact plans would be.

3. Know your audience

Knowing your audience is key. You have to know what their desires are, where they are spending their time, what they want out of life so your marketing will speak to them and you’re spending money where they are at. If they don’t hang out on twitter, do not spend all of your money and time building a twitter party. You can’t make that decision though until you know your audience.

So interview them. Ask them what blogs they read, what social media they use, what stores they frequent, what magazines they read, what websites they visit both socially and professionally. Knowing this is so key to your campaign’s success.

[Tweet “Interview your audience to understand them better.”]

4. Know the channels you are going to use and how

This goes with knowing your audience. Once you have defined where your audience lives, figure out how you can make a big splash in those areas. Don’t try to do them all as that will spread your money thin. Select a few you can concentrate on and build out a strong presence they can not miss. Set yourself up for that tempting “You can’t ignore the amazing things that are going to change your life that I have to offer” opportunity.  Create a plan that’s consistent across all of the platforms that you are incorporating so it’s branded and builds attention.

5. Know your team’s limits

If you are a team of one, be realistic with what you need to accomplish to get this done. If you have a team of 5 still give realistic goals, timelines and keep them accountable. This does not mean micromanage. It means having a weekly check-in for status, update, and seeing if there are any spots to trouble shoot that the team can help with. Setting goals for yourself and deadlines adding it to a calendar is key to the success.

[Tweet “Know your limits. Building a solid marketing plan should be realistic.”]

6. Know that you can adjust and move on

Sometimes even with the best planning and intentions a campaign still doesn’t work quite right.  continually ask yourself questions, such as: From what I have learned on this campaign so far can I make minor adjustments and see if it works? Will that need additional funds? How easy is it to make changes? If it’s easy to make some adjustments to see if a title works better and you have the opportunity to do A/B testing then do it! It’s fine to adjust.  But sometimes it just doesn’t work and that’s okay. Scrap it, have a meeting with yourself and your team and do a postmortem. What worked, what didn’t and why. What could we do differently?

I am a firm believer that there are no mistakes, just expensive lessons. When you’re in marketing you have to take risks. With these tips they hopefully will be a little less risky because you have a solid plan in place.

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