At least not in the traditional sense of marketing.

Years ago, in the era of 3 TV network and expensive communications, if you had a product you wanted to sell to everyone, you had to go out and tell them about it yourself.

Didn't matter if most of them weren't going to buy right then, you just needed to reach "mass" so that you could achieve the highest volume of sales possible.

Obviously, things have changed.

If you are reading this, you join about 300 others on a daily basis who (thank you) trust me to be a channel of information for you. So, while you don't take my word as the gospel, if I say a book is lousy, you may be less inclined to buy it and vice versa.

So, a publisher looking to sell a book about marketing/technology and all of the stuff I blog about would be wise to get me to read it and review it (how they do that is a topic for another post).

Isn't it cheaper to talk with 1 person than 301?

Let's look at a different, more specific example.

My friend, Jeff, works at a law firm that sits in the intersection of law, pharmaceutical companies, and the FDA.

Not too many of you reading this blog care about that (aside from wanting the result: safe drugs, of course), but day to day, just not so relevant.

I'll probably take more credit than I deserve (ego stroke here), but I'll say that Jeff was a loyal blog reader of mine for about a year when it dawned on him...

"I don't need to reach everyone, I just need to reach the right people who want to buy my services."

So he and associate are the driving forces behind the FDA Law Blog.

He's got about 1000 readers per month and he doesn't really care all that much if it's more. Sure, he'd like it, but what he knows is that he's got the 1000 people who care most about the intersection where he sits.

He's quoted in industry articles, recognized as a thought leader, and it's a great, great marketing tool.

Along with Jeff, those 1000 people are at the epicenter of the law/pharma/FDA world, so if anyone else has a question, it is likely that one of those 1001 people will get "looped in" to the conversation at some point.

And you know who the go-to digital resource is for those guys?

Yep, Jeff.

So, whether you are marketing soda, shoes, services, or sex (well maybe not that), find the folks who are ALREADY interested in and focus on it every, single day.

Then, when everyone else says, "hmmm....I need a new pair of shoes for my wide feet," they will search out that individual or community of experts. And you will be there waiting for them...

A paradigm shift indeed.