If you work with a company that sells software, odds are that your approach to marketing and public relations is the same as it’s been for years: press releases, calls to magazine editors and reviewers, and perhaps a customer newsletter that announces updates and improvements.
But we’re in the 21st century now, and savvy companies with sharp marketing teams are realizing that the industry has changed and that visibility is more about identifying and engaging the opinion leaders, not the Media Establishment. Ask yourself this question: would it mean more to you if a half-dozen of your peers said “hey, this is very cool” or if some unknown flack or journalist for a major publication said “this is very cool”? I know your answer, and that’s why I spend more time reading blogs and news sites than reading traditional print publications.
Public relations and marketing has always been about influencing public opinion, and it’s the same as it ever was, with apologies to David Byrne: influence the opinion leaders and you’ll influence the market.

Where’s this discussion going? I received the following email message this morning and am just so impressed with the marketing team at Softland for recognizing the value of what I call the Influence the Opinion Leaders strategy:

Whether or not I accept the invitation is irrelevant. This is just darn smart marketing.
In fact, here’s a tip for other people marketing products or services and trying to break through the endless clutter of our marketplace: go and Google a few key phrases that describe the problem you’re solving, then contact each of the top fifty Website authors and invite them to receive a free copy of your product. No strings attached, no requirement that it be written about, no prohibitions on resale. And just watch how your company will suddenly be part of the zeitgeist, not part of the lost world of traditionally marketed products.