When you think about marketing, chances are pretty good that cartoons and talking animals aren’t the first thing to pop into your mind. You’re probably processing numbers, identifying markets, and looking for ways to cut costs.

Maybe it’s time to get your nose off the grindstone and have a little fun. Why? Creativity plays an important role in marketing, and sometimes we need to take the time to get our creative juices flowing.

Don’t believe it? Take a close look at Disney. Now that’s a perfect sample of creativity and marketing going hand-in-hand! Walt Disney… a dreamer who put magic into his marketing.

Creativity can take on several different “personas”…

1. The Explorer
The explorer seeks out bits of interesting and new information like a sponge. Curiosity keeps him hunting for the unknown and ready to plunge into brand new experiences.

2. The Dreamer
A wild imagination is the best friend of a true dreamer. Nothing is impossible in the world of imagination.

3. The Artist
An artist is able to take a variety of bits and pieces, mix them all together and come up with a collage that entrances the mind.

Before you set this article aside and get back into the daily grind, let’s think of what all of this could mean to your marketing campaign.

“Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” – Dr. Joyce Brothers

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to attract success like a magnet? While others can’t catch a break no matter how hard they seem to try?

Few places is this more prevalent than in the online business world. With more than 97% of all business owners never making a dime from their ventures, it seems that lady luck is calling the shots. But maybe there is more to it than random chance.

After all, success rarely happens by accident. It’s actually our own failure that many of us plan.

Those who succeed at anything in life – in particular business – know what they want to achieve, visualize themselves achieving it and then make it a reality. They have a success mindset that goes beyond just the idea of wanting something; it becomes a part of who they are until they have no choice but to make it a reality.

In the early 20th century, multimillionaire Andrew Carnegie hired Napoleon Hill to study the world’s most successful people. Hill spent 20 years interviewing, learning from, and understanding more than 500 of the most successful people to ever live. Among them were the super wealthy Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Thomas Edison.

Using his research, Hill published Think and Grow Rich in 1937. Today it is still one of the most read books of it’s kind. It has stood the test of time because his principles for success can be applied by anyone at any time. In fact, many of his ideas have since been substantiated through scientific studies. One of which is the idea that people possess the power to think their way to success.

Key in Hill’s research was the discovery that successful people think differently. They have adopted a set of beliefs that enable them to be successful.

A simple definition of marketing is “the getting and keeping of customers.” To sell your product or service, you must have customers. To increase your revenues, you must have customers, and you must turn those customers into repeat super-customers.

The easiest way to do this, both on- and off-line, is through a content newsletter. There is no doubt that content sells. Useful content builds trust and credibility, and over time turns your customer from a stranger to a friend.

An online newsletter is easy to begin–all you need is an autoresponder. I use Aweber for my newsletter (http://aweber.com/?203081). You can advertise your newsletter on your website, on forums, on your business card, in articles you write, on traffic exchanges, and in your email signature. If you faithfully do these marketing tasks, your email list will grow over time.

You must provide useful and informative content in your newsletter. If you want subscribers to read it and (eventually) buy from you, do not offer them junk. I define “junk” as opt-in spam. Don’t fall into the habit of sending out advertisements veiled as “articles.” Don’t send only solo ads. Instead, research topics for your newsletter and write quality articles. Subscribers who are impressed with your newsletter will buy from you. But it will take time to build trust. Trust is not built through junk.

There are three phases to this process: 1) Get a lead; 2) Convert that lead into a customer; and 3) Convert that customer into a super-customer. Your newsletter will help you accomplish all three tasks.

If you sell or market a product or service, and you are driving traffic to your website, you typically have only one shot at capturing the interest of a prospect. If I go to your site and click away, I may never come back. You need some sort of follow-up system. A newsletter is the perfect vehicle for follow-up.

Marketing is an ongoing journey for your business.

That might seem like an obvious statement, but the actions of many small business owners might indicate otherwise. For many you build a web site, or create a brochure, or go to a few networking events and then you wait for results to happen. Effective marketing rarely works like that.

It takes regular and consistent effort to keep your pipeline full of good high-quality leads that you can work on converting into paying clients. It doesn’t have to be an all-consuming effort, but it does take consistent effort.

Here are four ideas for continuously moving your marketing forward:

Study up on marketing. There is no shortage of resources out there including books, audio programs, tele-classes, courses, etc. Look for the ones that offer proven, hands-on strategies and tactics, not get-rich-quick schemes.

Form or join a “think tank” or “mastermind group.” Find a group of people who will care just as much about your success as you do (and that you’ll care about their success). This isn’t just a group of friends who will tell you what you want to hear, but a group that will hold you accountable and support you.

Attend talks and workshops regularly. If you go an participate fully, you’ll often get just a much from the other participants as you will from the talk itself. Brainstorm with those you meet and find out what’s working for them in their business.