You’re right that long form salesletters and ebooks are losing some efficacy as they become more popular and easier to make. Just from my own personal experience, I remember when downloading an ebook felt like a great deal, an opportunity to get the content of a good ‘ol fashion book without the trouble of buying it.

Now, I’m skeptical of free ebooks. In too many cases, “free” means “valueless” unless there is something else going on.

Developing relationships with your customers, as you say, is a pretty time-consuming activity. To do it well, you can’t do it with thousands of people at the same time. You have to do a bit at a time, and go “deep”. That’s why it’s such a good strategy… it’s hard to replicate, and it’s a “credible” signal.

It’s also something that gives the advantage to the little guy. That’s what Seth Godin’s Small is the New Big is basically all about, if you haven’t read it.

This is exactly the reason why long page salesletters and ebooks are starting to lose their value/credibility lately, and the growing trend in providing sample content, MP3s and videos. Gone are the days when a marketer can write a salespage, throw it up on a website, run some PPC campaigns and sell a product like hotcakes.

I believe that reducing information asymmetry on the web has a lot to do with developing relationships with your customers. And knowing how to properly leverage word-of-mouth marketing.