[danielhodgins]

37 Signals has followed a "market by sharing" strategy since the beginning.

They have no sales force or advertising and yet manage to create entertaining, educational and valuable content in a variety of formats that gets spread throughout the web and garners them valuable distribution.

The idea is to share everthing that's in and around your domain. For instance, a small web design shop could create content on the following topics:

* How to write a killer proposal * How to close sales * Design tips for small businesses * Mobile strategy for small businesses * Is Groupon worth it? * Web site tips * etc

Most businesses will never achieve the reach that 37 Signals has - for obvious reason. Not all of us could invent Ruby on Rails. However, I think every small business and startup can implement the strategies used by 37 signals - share everything, including your secret sauces and recipes just like chefs do, and you'll increase reach and decrease user acquisition costs.