At age 53, dad-to-be Simon Cowell is constant fixture in the news lately. While he is best known for his abrasive personality as a judge on X-factor and American Idol…

He is also something of a marketing genius and business mogul.

Whether you love or hate him, Cowell is undeniably successful at promoting his shows and his talent…

Here are seven of Simon Cowell’s secrets to marketing success:

1. You Cant Be Afraid To Work Hard And Hustle

“My dad said to me, ‘Work hard and be patient.’ It was the best advice he ever gave me. You have to put the hours in.”

One interesting story from Simon Cowell’s career that illustrates the value of hard work is from his early days working at EMI…

Over six months, Cowell used a tape player to go over every single song in the EMI catalog. This gave him a better understanding of the company’s catalog than anyone else working in his department.

It would also help him later, identifying potential talent which others couldn’t see…

If you want to be successful marketing your product or service, you need to be willing to work.

Some new entrepreneurs (and some more experienced ones) are under the mistaken belief that making money is going to be easier because their business is online…

The fact is that if you want to your online marketing to be successful, you need to be willing to put in the hours. Providing outstanding customer service and promoting your brand takes time and effort.

2. Bringing Your Product to Market is The Best Form of Testing

“Holding auditions in front of an audience is testing.”

The true test of whether a product and its marketing are effective is if someone is willing to pay money for it.

Until you test your product in the market, you don’t know whether it is really going to succeed. Focus groups and surveys can help provide direction, but they are not the same as real people spending real money on your product.

The importance of coming to market quickly was emphasized in Eric Reiss’s book “The Lean Startup.”

In this book, he discusses why you should bring to market a “minimal viable product” as quickly as possible, and then iterate based on users’ response. A similar approach is to run Google Ads to a sales page, before you even develop a product, to see if there is actual buyer interest.

3. Create A Great Product And Your Customers Will Market It For You

“For the music business, social networking is brilliant. Just when you think it’s doom and gloom, and you have to spend millions of pounds on marketing and this and that, you have this amazing thing now called fan power. The whole world is linked through a laptop. It’s amazing. And it’s free. I love it. It’s absolutely brilliant.”

When it comes to online marketing you don’t need to have a huge budget to be successful…

One of the most effective forms of marketing is word of mouth. Social media marketing has made it easier for great products to be more easily discovered. An outstanding product backed by excellent customer service is the best way to transform your customers into brand ambassadors for your company.

4. You Need To Stand Out

“If you’ve got a big mouth and you’re controversial, you’re going to get attention.”

It can be a crowded market, especially if you are marketing online, so if you want to get attention for your product or service, you need to be willing to stand out…

One effective marketing strategy is to talk about what your competitors aren’t (or won’t). In any industry, there are “hidden secrets” which, if you are willing to talk openly about, will get you attention.

By discussing these industry “secrets,” you will also be viewed as more credible by your customers…

5. Deliver On Your Promises

“It was like ordering a hamburger and getting only the buns.”

Many marketers, particularly in the online realm, fail to deliver on their promises…

Or, as Cowell would say, they fail to deliver the meat.

When constructing your sales copy, it is important to ensure that your product or service is going to actually deliver on what you are promising. A common mistake is to focus too strongly on one-off sales, and not the lifetime value of the customer.

A customer might be tricked once with empty promises, but once burned, they will never purchase from you again…

Not only does this lower the lifetime value of your customer, it also ruins your chance for word of mouth advertising.

6. It Doesn’t Need To Be Perfect

“Not everybody is perfect, and I don’t think we should be looking for perfect people.”

An imperfect product (that is actually sold) will beat an unfinished, perfect product every time.

Some people are so worried about delivering the perfect product, they never selling anything… It’s better to get a product out there and receive customer feedback about improvements.

This is not to say that you should release a substandard product, but you should also not expect it to be perfect from the first version.

Even the best products have their flaws. Apple products are noted for the quality of their design and usability. People love them! But as anyone who has owned an iPod or iPhone can attest, it doesn’t mean they never malfunction.

Strive to improve your products and services, but don’t let perfectionism be an excuse for not taking action.

7. Sell Products You Would Want To Buy

“Every show I’ve ever, you know, produced, essentially it’s the show I want to watch myself.”

When selling a product, you need to put yourself in the shoes of your buyer. Ask yourself if you would you buy this product yourself…

If you wouldn’t buy it for yourself or a family member, then you probably shouldn’t be trying to sell it to anyone else.

When people truly believe in the product that they are selling, it’s obvious in their marketing. When you genuinely believe that your product or service can transform your customers’ lives, marketing becomes a breeze…

Simon Cowell doesn’t lack drive and ambition… not at all… but he also has a great understanding of what his audience wants and how to give it to them.

His marketing talent and work ethic has earned him a fortune of over $370 million, which demonstrates that even if you don’t always agree with Simon Cowell, there’s certainly plenty to learn from him.

In your corner,

Charlie

P.S. For more expert tips on mastering your marketing mindset, check out the Predictable Profits Insiders’ Club!