Apple introduced its new Retina display Macbook Pro laptop last week, and it was prominently covered by nearly every news organization in America. A laptop, with nearly as much coverage as a new iPhone. How? Why? Here’s four key characteristics of Apple’s marketing that you can emulate:

World-class products and services — Most of you have this, but you don’t market like it. Lift your marketing so that it is at least as positive as what your customers say and think about you.

The right mindset  — Apple doesn’t doubt itself. It isn’t defensive. It’s not afraid of making a mistake. It knows its job is to tell people how amazing its products are. That’s your job too.

Mainstream customer evangelists — Mainstream is the key word. Early adopter evangelists don’t help, because they really only communicate with other early adopters. That’s just five percent of your market. You want the 95 percent.

Don’t blast the press — Press communications overload leads to being ignored. Instead of blasting, have each of your top executives build relationships with 10 key journalists. Contact one each day (no more than five minutes each) with value for their audience, not a pitch. This way, each relationship is nurtured twice a month. When you need something from them, they’ll be there. I know, I was once on the other side as a syndicated columnist, and now I help clients implement this system.

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I help clients increase revenue and create customer evangelists and influencers through powerful marketing. My clients include Logitech, TiVo, Sony, and ZAGG. See my Web site for details about my work.