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There is something that brand new marketers need to know.

There is a basis for marketing. it will lead to success. It's a foundation that has moved from traditional marketing to digital marketing and whatever comes after.

We call this the modern day marketing imperatives. They are the 24 pillars of marketing on which to build any successful strategy, such as the need for inspirational action and the importance of talking to customers.

These commandments couldn't have come from anyone. They would have to come from someone with experience who has lived in the marketing world for a long time – and even helped shape it. Someone who has spoken to the best marketers in the world on hundreds of stages, built their own company teaching marketers, and spent most of their career marketing for … marketers. 🤯

You guessed it – the only person we could think of who could set the modern day marketing imperatives is our CEO Ryan Deiss.

Time to give him the stage …

Here are Ryan's 24 modern marketing commandments.

# 1: Get revenue FIRST and brand SECOND. Trademark matters, However, the main goal must be selling. It is possible to sacrifice the brand at the altar of sale and still recover, but you cannot sacrifice the sale at the altar of the brand and hope to survive.

# 2: You should write offers … not slogans. Slogans may win awards, but they don't make sales. Good marketing inspires ACTION! It doesn't just inform or entertain. There's also a special place in marketing hell for advertisers and marketers who collect awards for their "creativity" but have never owned or influenced a sales number. They would do us all a favor if they stick to finger painting.

# 3: You should balance dates with gut. Dates should rule the day 9 times out of 10, however Sometimes you have to trust your instincts and do the things that cannot be tracked.

# 4: You should be willing to pay for attention and awareness. Paid vs. Organic … inbound vs. Outbound. This is not a debate. This is the buffet selection of a dessert. The answer is yes! "

# 5: Make an effort to make at least a few people angry. The opposite of love is not hate. It's apathy. If your brand doesn't have haters, it almost certainly doesn't have avid fanatics either. Great Marketing DIVIDES!

# 6: You should be specific. Make certain claims and deliver certain content. If you want your brand to be respected, take your stand and be absolutely clear !!! (Such as posting a self-glorifying list of “marketing imperatives” on Twitter.)

# 7: Don't stop marketing just because a lead is generated or a sale is made. Marketing shouldn't stop with the order Just like date nights shouldn't stop after you're married. Never let romance die

# 8: you should Deliver BIG ideas in just a few words as possible (F = ma) – "If you have nothing to say, out of love for God do not let yourself be convinced that you have to say it." – Roy H. Williams

# 9: You should use as many words as you need … It doesn't last too long… Just too boring.

# 10: You should deliver at least 2X what you promised. Under-promise and over-fulfillment … Don't let your marketing department write a check that cannot be redeemed for your product. (NOTE: In the spirit of tradition, I give you more than 10 commandments …)

# 11: You shouldn't chase shiny items. Stop talking to marketers about what's new and what's current Talk to your customers and see what they do.

# 12: you should Choose clarity over wisdom – see commandment no.2.

# 13: You're supposed to talk to your customers. How can you know what your customers want when you are not talking to them? Marketing isn't "guessing and testing". Marketing is research, research, test, research, research, test, research, test, then scaling. You can't call yourself a marketer if you haven't spoken to at least 25 customers.

# 14: Don't confuse the reason people buy with the reason people stay. Customers are quick to forget the real reason they bought as soon as you scratch the first itch. That is why it is important that you Talk to BOTH prospects and customers when writing a copy.

# 15: You shouldn't suggest marriage on the first date. Focus 70% of your time on the message, 25% of your time on determining the message sequence, and 5% of your time on targeting. Targeting is overrated. With the right message, the best targeting is always the untargeted target, filtered through really compelling, well-timed messages.

# 16: You shouldn't pour water into a leaky bucket – OR – you shouldn't step up a fool. Optimize the offer FIRST… Then reinforce it.

# 17: You're supposed to be telling stories. Tell stories of transformation … stories of identity … stories of triumph over a common enemy. People don't take action until they first imagine taking those actionsSo paint a story of a more glorious future and then paint it in. Do this and they will ask you to take them there.

# 18: Remember that people only ever buy one of two things: 1) transformation or 2) identity reinforcement. Know what you are selling.

# 19: You're supposed to be authentic. Speak like a human, don't pretend to be something you are not, and most importantly … say the truth! (NOTE: In the King James Version, only write if you're ironic.)

# 20: you should Create movements. Don't you know that moves will be made when marketers stop talking about "drills" and "holes" altogether and instead talk about the bad bastard who created the need for the 1 inch hole in the first place?

# 21: You're supposed to be entertaining. While information can grab a person's attention for a moment, that is The only mechanism available to HOLD is entertainment. As my friend Roy (see Commandment 8) likes to say, "Entertainment is the only currency available today that can attract the attention of an overly distracted audience."

# 22: you should Make people laugh from time to time. The best marketers can crack a joke at a funeral.

# 23: You're supposed to make people cry, and long for things they haven't yet. It's okay … it's our longings that let us know that we're still alive. And the most important…

# 24: You should love your customer and Longing for their happiness and success. Empathy is the most valuable skill in marketing and the only one that cannot be taught.

These commandments are the foundation of marketing – you build the rest of the house on them knowing that no matter how big you make your foundation will never break.

Come back to them when you find yourself distracted by the latest and greatest marketing tech stack or the new social media app that everyone claims is knocking Facebook off the podium.

Because it doesn't matter what technology or platform there is. All that matters is getting the right message to the right person at the right time.

And that's all that will ever matter today and beyond.