That's not a rhetorical question any longer since it was done in an experiment conducted by the Washington Post.

Joshua Bell, an internationally recognized violin virtuoso was invited to play at l'Enfant Plaza, a Washington metro station on their Orange line.

And nobody gave a hoot.

The biggest crowd that gathered was a whopping 4 people when one lady recognized the Bell and stood awestruck at the idea of him playing in such a lowly location.

And that's when you realize how hard a marketer's job really is.

If something beautiful and free can't be given away, how does one sell anything in this world? So many product owners leave it up to chance. Their sales copy is thin and poorly written. Their funnel is clumsy and uninviting.

So how do you stand out and gain the traction you need to make it work?

1) Referral:

Here I use the term in the following manner: the authority and goodwill you created with your readers and audience gives you the credibility to refer them to a purchase. The products own message dims in importance compared to the power of your recommendation.

2) Differentiation:

How are you attracting people to be exposed to you and your messages? Are your ads the same as everyone else's? Are you offering fresh valuable content: giving something away before you even mention you might want something in return? Can your audience take something from you without giving something back?

If you can answer yes to these questions and do it with personality, you are on the winning track.

3) Word of Mouth:

The other kind of referral and perhaps the most powerful of all. When someone you appreciate makes an uninterested suggestion, you are far more likely to listen than when exposed to an ad.

Even when you don't know the person making the recommendation, if they seem genuine and sincere, that would at least spawn your curiosity.

Things would have turned out much differently in that metro station if a person had stood there in the middle of the way and told people ?look at this guy, he's really good?. A crowd is a self-reinforcing thing and I'm quite sure many people would have been late that to work that morning.

The underlying principle behind all this is trust. It comes in different shapes and forms.

Recommendations from friends and acquaintances come through outstanding quality. Direct recommendations from sellers to buyers come from the establishment of credibility.

As an affiliate, read your review over and ask yourself ?would I trust me?? As a product owner, forget all the good things you know about yourself and your product and ask yourself ?based on this message only, would I buy from me??

Education and trust go hand in hand. That's why people give freebies to get signups or write great content that only links to selling pages. That's your opportunity to impress and teach, leaving your readers saying ?I want more of that?.