I have written hundreds of articles on product management and marketing. These articles have brought people to our website where they learn that we offer training courses and consulting. I don’t think I have to jump up and down on everybody’s head, saying “BUY BUY BUY” to get people to sign up for a seminar. Thought-leadership programs drive sales.

My friend David Scott has written about thought-leadership as a key marketing strategy in his book “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.” Watching from afar has been fairly interesting. His blog has driven people to buy his book; both his blog and his book has driven people to hire him to do keynote speeches where more people buy his book. Ah, the circle of life.

David's discussions on how youtube can be used as part of an overall thought-leadership strategy has brought him to the attention of “Fox News” and “The Wall Street Journal.” And today, he's is in the paper.

And here’s the great part: he didn’t call them; they called him!

Old Rules; beg for coverage and beg for each sale;

New Rules: create thought-leadership by participating in a community that helps customers buy.

White papers, technology briefs, industry articles, interviews and speeches at conferences: these show that you and your company are not following the pack but leading it. You should definitely investigate thought leadership programs as a key element of your marketing strategy.