At one time or another, we have all created an advertisement or, more likely, an advertising rep has created one for you that, quite frankly, tanked. The ad was so bad that even your mother wouldn’t redeem the lousy coupon or offer. If you’ve been reading my column for any length of time now, or are fortunate enough to be one of my marketing students, you know that we only do marketing that is virtually guaranteed to create a positive return on investment every time.

This is more important than ever before. Back in the days when we made stupid, crazy money without even trying are gone forever. Things are looking up overall, so I am optimistic for this year, but I never want to waste my precious advertising dollars.

I demand (and so should you) that every advertising dollar spent returns a multiple of that dollar. I aim for a minimum of $3 to $1 R.O.I., but have achieved results as high as $14 to $1. That means every $1 invested in marketing created $14 of true and measurable instant revenue.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.