@walkingkeys. thanks for the great post. I do SAAS and provide a subscription service to access my software. I've found that people don't respond well to ads anymore. Too many over hyped and under delivered ads.

People do trust their friends though. When a friend tells you a good restaurant, movie, or product, people will be more apt to purchase. This is why most companies are moving away from ads and more towards affilliate marketing and network marketing.

It seems almost every company in the world now will pay you for a referal.