Most successful marketers share some fundamental character traits. They are typically outspoken, creative, and love the spotlight. They are gregarious and frequently Type A people. These traits, the strengths that they are, come with pitfalls. The most highly successful people have learned to avoid them.

One - Pride of Authorship

Whether its a brochure you have developed, a sales letter you have written, or a website you have designed, your love of creation comes with a certain degree of pride of authorship. This is an excellent quality to have - as long as you don't let it blur your judgment.

When you are involved in a creative effort you will be influenced by your own biases and prejudices. You choose words and imagery based on what you think will be effective. Even if it's a bigger effort, the overall plan for an advertising campaign, for example, you will still be affected by your personal beliefs. It is unavoidable.

Because you are "too close" to your project to be completely objective, you must vet your creations with other people. We all have the tendency to believe that other people think and feel the same way we do about many things. Sometimes this is accurate, but usually it isn't. It frequently requires the input of disinterested third parties to produce something that has the result you desire.

If a friend tells you that you have written a wonderful article, that reinforces your belief that you have done an effective job. You must remember, however, that your friend carries some bias. Your friend likes you, and probably wants you to be happy. Your friend wants to remain your friend. That friend's own desires influence his decision to give your work an objective review. Because of this, the most useful critiques will come from people outside your circle of close friends.

Good reviews of your work make you feel good about yourself. The don't, however, push you to improve your creation. Probably the best critiques you can get will be the ones that focus on the shortcomings your project may have. Embrace these types of reviews. Analyze them and use them as positive guidelines, helping you to do a more effective job.

Two - Self Esteem

Everyone wants to be a winner. No one wants to fail. But the fact is, you will always have more failures than successes. The first step toward minimizing your failures is to understand your own weaknesses. It may be great for your self esteem to think you are flawless, but that type of mindset will relegate you to mediocrity.

When someone tells you, "Don't be so down on yourself," they may not be giving you good advice. If you have a problem area, you must know what it is so that you can work around it. By overlooking your weaknesses, you will become a victim of them.

If you want to see numerous examples of this, look at the articles on ezinearticles.com. Many of these are penned by self-appointed "professional" writers. Yet the quality of their work all too frequently rivals that of an eighth-grader. These people would do so much better if they would face the facts - their writing is awful. They would more likely to find success by contracting out their writing chores to someone with more talent and stick to the areas in which they do excel.

Three - Hard Work Will Prevail

It may be hard to accept, but sometimes a project you have chosen just isn't going to work. You may have analyzed and tested and believe, in spite of the results, that it can succeed if you just keep at it. In some cases, perhaps it will. But you must know where to draw the line.

At some point you must be willing to accept the fact that this particular project is not going to work, no matter how much it appeals to you. As Carl Sagan said, "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."

Know when to accept defeat and move on to greener pastures.