If you've been reading SEOmoz for a while, y email lists australia ou can probably feel my personal allergy to "sales" as a process and to "selling," even when that's what I'm supposed to do. It causes discomfort to be on the pushing or receiving side of sales and over the last two decades, we, as a generation have been drifting further and further away from it. Door-to-door salesmen are nearly gone. The effectiveness of brand advertising, direct mail, trade show marketing and cold calling sales have all diminished rapidly in favor of a new set of channels we all use to buy - nearly all of which center around the web.
Just look at what marketers themselves have to say about where they'll be spending their dollars over the next few years: Forrester Marketing Channels Data 2009 The trend is quite clear - this new bundle of marketing channels that consumers pursue themselves (social media, blogs, SEO, email marketing, etc.) is the future. T invest nor where ROI is going to see dramatic rises. We're living at the beginning of the new era (and if you've been reading SEOmoz, you're likely part of the revolution).