I have just finished reading The Attention Age - Volume 2 by Rich Schefren.

Now, I’ve heard his name about the place for a while, but until now I hadn’t checked out any of his stuff. I finally decided to go and have a look, and find out what all the fuss was about - and I joined up with his affiliate program.

Now, this report was released last year, and it is really just one long pitch for Schefren’s ‘Business Acceleration Home Study Course’. So, at the end, when I realised this, my heart sank a little.

However. There is some really excellent information and advice in the report. Schefren outlines how social media has changed the marketing landscape for good - and why many of the old sales and advertising techniques no longer work.

He also describes a number of techniques and strategies that will help to get your message heard in the ‘Web 2.0′ age.

The thing that stuck with me the most was his argument regarding trust and transparency. He gives five great case studies that demonstrate not only why you need to be honest and up-front in your business practices today, but that also show the power of social media - which is the driving force behind this truism. I’m all for this - there’s not much point in being untruthful in any business. It just hurts your integrity in the long run. This is the very reason I disclose when I link to an affiliate.

He argues that any business that ignores the internet communication revolution does so at its peril. Now, what he has said - not to mention his list of clients - is enough to convince me to keep an eye on him in the future as I attempt to build my own online business. It’s also got me thinking about many of the businesses I’ve worked for, and how much they are ‘in the dark’ regarding this change in the marketing atmosphere.

In short, the things to focus on today are building yourself into a brand, creating a community of people who trust you, and to whom you provide excellent free content - and in this way, you turn them into loyal customers, rather than sending them away in frustration at yet another blatant attempt to part them from their cash.

If you’d like to check it out for yourself, click here (aff).