I am reading Permission Marketing by Seth Godin. I can't resist, I have to quote this:
There is one critical resource, though, that is in
chronically short supply. Bill Gates has just as much as
you do. And even Warren Buffet can't buy more. That
scarce resource is TIME. And in light of today's
information glut, that means that there's a vast shortage of
ATTENTION.
This combined shortage of time and attention is unique to
today's information age. Consumers are now willing to
pay handsomely to save time, while marketers are eager
to pay bundles to get attention.
Interruption Marketing is the enemy of anyone trying to
save time. By constantly interrupting what we are doing
at any given moment, the marketer who interrupts us not
only tends to fail at selling his product, but wastes our
most coveted commodity, time. In the long run,
therefore, Interruption Marketing is doomed as a mass
marketing tool. The cost to the consumer is just too high.
The alternative is Permission Marketing, which offers the
consumer an opportunity to volunteer to be marketed to.
By only talking to volunteers, Permission Marketing
guarantees that consumers pay more attention to the
marketing message. It allows marketers to calmly and
succinctly tell their story, without fear of being
interrupted by competitors or Interruption Marketers. It
serves both consumers and marketers in a symbiotic
exchange.
Four free chapters of the book are available here: http://www.sethgodin.com/permission/
