Stoney deGeyter makes some excellent points in a blog post today that talks about building relationships online as part of your marketing and link building plan. From blogging to discussion forums to email marketing, the smallest effort can be rewarding and the smallest blunder can be disastrous...

From the post...

While it doesn’t take much to add that extra touch of relationship building or confirming in your message, every little bit goes a long way. Unfortunately, if you get it wrong, the damage done can be long-standing. Not only have you destroyed your credibility, you may sour the relationship entirely or prevent yourself from ever establishing that relationship to begin with.

You need to read the entire post to get the full effect, but Stoney does a great job of pointing out how marketing moves that are designed to save time can often end up costing you lots of potential customers. It's a powerful message and one that small business owners especially should heed.