As I've said many times: "Marketing costs the same whether it works or not." So the question becomes, how do you get your marketing to work effectively? Here's a proven, 5-step formula to marketing success:

1. Grab their attention!

2. Arouse their interest and emotions.

3. Capture their attention with a compelling fact or story.

4. Offer an incentive to take action . . . NOW. Create a sense of urgency to buy.

5. Tell them what to do, and make it easy for them to do it immediately.

Let's look at each of these steps in detail:

Get Their Attention by Arousing their Emotions!

The mistake entrepreneurs often make is to think that just because we are in love with our product or service, others will automatically want to purchase them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unless you grab your prospect's attention, arouse their emotions and tell them "what's in it for them", they won't even notice you or what you're selling!

Just think of the TV News headlines each day grabbing our attention: Love, hate, murder, fear, betrayal, money, sex, power, control, passion, --all emotional triggers that capture our curiosity and get us to tune in. The cover of any magazine will nearly jump into your hands with their captivating headlines. You've got to inject similar emotion into your product or service.

Remember, people are motivated to buy for 2 reasons:

1. To move away from pain

2. To move toward pleasure

More people are motivated to take action now in order to move away from pain. Notice TV advertising this week and you will see how most ads start with, "Are you sick and tired of being in pain, overweight, in debt, not sleeping?" It's true that humans will often do more to get out of pain than they will to feel pleasure. The most powerful marketing occurs when you tap into both motivators.

So spend some time thinking about how your product or service solves your clients' deepest pains and moves them toward pleasure. Make a list. Ask your current clients for feedback. This information is gold! Take a look at your list and notice what attributes of your product or service move people away from pain and which move them toward pleasure.

Now, structure all your marketing around these pain/pleasure motivators.

Offer an incentive to take action NOW!

Every department store advertises their big sale as "Save Big This Weekend Only!" If you walk in on Monday, the offer is over. Since it is also human nature to procrastinate, there must be a compelling call-to-action with a deadline. The IRS sets deadlines to motivate us to pay our taxes. Without a deadline, we will continue to pull the Scarlet O'Hara act, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

In all your marketing give your audience one simple call-to-action telling them what to do, when to do it, and providing them an incentive to act now. This week, notice how you can better market your products and services by applying this 5 Step Formula.