In an article for MarketingProfs Mike Sprouse, chief marketing officer of Epic Advertising, provides seven key steps to turn your big idea into a big success. As you create your firm’s marketing programs consider these seven steps:

1. Figure out what makes you tick, what makes you passionate about your career, or what you see in your industry that you really enjoy and think you can add value to.
2. Create a business plan. It should go beyond the necessary dollars-and-cents analysis and include a how your idea will benefit your company, your job, and your target audiences.
3. Figure out the “who”—who else in your company or industry might share your passions and ideas. Develop a “who’s on board” list of people who might be willing to help bring your idea to market.
4. Once you have people on board, figure out—with them—the “how,” or the process via which you’ll make your idea a success.
5. Establish key goals or benchmarks—two or three short-term targets and one long-term target.
6. Finally, when you’re ready, figure out how you will tell your story to people who may be interested. If your idea is a good one, then it is your responsibility to share it with them.
7. Have fun. When ideas or projects cease being fun, the passion dries up and, typically, the end product suffers.