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Want to know one of the biggest barriers standing between your carefully crafted marketing messages and your potential customers?

You.

I can hear you now: “Why would I sabotage my own marketing? I only make money when it works.” I’m not suggesting that you’re doing it intentionally. You’re just giving in to your own boredom.

By the time you pull the trigger on a marketing effort, you’ve been working on it for a while. In some cases, if it’s a complex campaign, you may have been staring at the headlines and layout for months. You’ve tweaked each word and made slight shifts until you can’t see straight anymore.

Which explains your boredom. By the time it’s finally done and launched, you’re sick of it. And that’s where you get into trouble.

Who gets tired of your marketing messages first? You do. Long before your target audience has completely absorbed your key messages, you are so sick of them you just have to freshen them up. Right?

Don’t. Just leave them be.

On average, your target audience needs to hear the same message eight or more times before it even registers with them. And every time you deviate from the message, they have to work to connect the dots. I think one of the most difficult aspects of marketing is not coming up with creative ideas; it’s keeping your mitts off them once they’re in place.

Before you change your core messaging or creative direction, remember to ask yourself this question: How close were you to the magic – and perhaps your first sale – eight-plus times when you changed gears? When in doubt, leave it alone.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2010 Drew McLellan