This may come as a surprise for some but the people who are the most successful with self-promotion aren’t actually promoting themselves. They promote useful ideas to the public. Their products and services benefit the person who is actually using them. Take craigslist for instance, it is built on the simple business model that benefits everyone. People spend hours every day searching for jobs, housing, rentals, pets, dates. Craigslist directory offers millions of services for any area of your life.

When finding a new strategy to promote your business, try to seek momentum and ride it. Sean “P Diddy” Combs knows how to find the right momentum in business, and he isn’t called “the king of self-promotion” for nothing. The Motown records intern has risen the ranks to CEO when he introduced the world “the greatest rapper of all time” Biggy Smalls.

He is a mogul who knows his hook and brings an interesting angle to the promotion of his business. In February of this year, P Diddy’s line Sean John was displayed during New York Fashion Week along with chic designers like Marc Jacobs and Donna Karen.

“It’s going to be the way I present myself,” P Diddy said before the showing of his line “and my style is a little bit different than other designs. I don’t know if I’m gonna [be able to] turn water into wine, but I’m gonna definitely turn it into some Kool-Aid."

Make sure your message is the most important thing—not the amount of money you spend. A website called 37 signals said an interesting analogy about how companies fail at gaining customer’s respect. “Companies that spend tons of ad/PR dollars to convince people their products are worthwhile are like guys who spend lots of money on gifts and dinners to woo a woman. What kind of relationship are they really building?”

Think of your business as a relationship. You must start with a foundation of strong communication and that you care about the other person’s interests. In order to “offer something of value” you need to listen to what they want.