No one wants to be "sold" to. In fact, advertising for internet marketers is quickly becoming more of a game than a straight forward business activity. With the onset and rapid growth of social media and the blogosphere, online business owners are being forced to either keep up with the Joneses or get out of the game.

In other words, if you aren’t on Twitter, Facebook, vigorously updating your blog and commenting on a variety of others’ blogs, you have the potential of quickly getting lost in the shuffle. The trick is to "sell" without "selling" these days. Confused yet?

Don’t be. Banner ads, ezines and newsletters are still an important part of your internet marketing business and at this point, remain lucrative vehicles for you to increase your customer list and revenue stream. However, the new advertising approach through social media and blogging is one that takes some additional thought, practice and for lack of a better word, sneakiness!

That’s right. You want to be sneaky. You want to take the anti-advertising approach when utilizing social media to promote your business so that you can invite people to join in on the conversation about your business and what you are doing, rather than simply advertise your latest offering or best deal.

It’s a delicate balance. For example, a tweet that says, "Go to my website for a great deal on an ebook that will help make you successful!" will turn followers into haters almost instantly. But rework your strategy and you will not only gain followers, but possibly even turn them into customers. Consider something more like "Great ebook on how to gain success. Really enjoyed it!" Be sure to include a link to the product and you have now just informed your followers about the quality of your product by giving a testimonial and "helping" them by sharing it!

You will also have to be complimentary and interactive with your friends and followers. Be sure to show an interest in what they are tweeting about, what they are doing according to their status updates and what they have to say in their blog. As an internet marketer, you can appreciate how busy they are and will want to show them that they are valued as well. This is also a great way to take your anti-advertising internet marketing approach to the next level. Leaving comments or re-tweeting is a great way to gain additional exposure. Just make sure what you are commenting on or sending out is relevant and will reach those who may also be interested in your online business.

It’s a game of give and take. It’s all about taking an approach that is less formal and more about appealing to others’ sense of community as opposed to filling a void they might have by offering your service and or product.

Remember, there is still room for more traditional online advertising of in internet marketing, but social media is a new and exciting way to try a new approach and grow your online business like never before.