Useful and believable promises
That's another way to think about marketing.
We only sign up/pay attention to/pay for offers from marketers when:
What's promised is something we think is worth more than it costs
and
We believe you're the best person to keep that promise.
This applies to resumes, meetings and even the kid raking your lawn.
If your marketing isn't working, it's either because your promises aren't useful (and big) enough or we don't believe you're the one to keep them.