Don't fear sharing your best ideas online: 1) Competition already knows what you are up to 2) People like leaders not followers.

If you are a marketing professional who wants to reach your buyers directly, many experts will say that the media is the only way to tell your story, and that press releases only to reach journalists - not your buyers directly. They'll say that bloggers are geeks in pajamas who don't matter. They are wrong.

The difference is conflict, an important yet overlooked aspect of all good communications.

You sell more when you stop selling.

As financial market players know, advantage comes from reacting to news first. The same thing is true for all companies. When you start the conversation, you are recognised as someone who is plugged into the marketplace of ideas. If you talk about an idea early, you naturally get more exposure because the threads of conversation stem from what you have said. If you're in late you get lost in the cacophony.

Instead of one-way interruption, Web marketing is about delivering useful content at just the right moment that a buyer needs it.

Think like a publisher, not a marketer.