“Inbound marketing,” a term coined by HubSpot in 2006, describes a modern approach to marketing and sales that focuses on attracting customers with informative content and quality customer-provider interactions. This strategy was created in response to the overall ineffectiveness of old outbound marketing methods, like knocking on doors, cold calling, and buying ads and email lists.

If you decided to build a house in the 1850’s, you would sharpen your axe and chop down the sturdiest tree you could find. If you wanted to sell your services or wares, you would pack up your goods and travel door to door, perhaps leaving a notice at the general store for when you would return. While these home building and marketing tactics worked well in the mid-19th century, they aren’t very practical in 2015. We no longer see people building their homes out of rough lumber and pitch and salesmen on horseback are hard to find. However, what you may not realize is that some of their old strategies are still practiced today via outbound marketing.

Back in August, my two-year-old son and I spent our summer vacation at Myrtle Beach, SC. It had been at least eight years since I had seen the ocean and it was my son’s first time, so we had really been looking forward to the trip. The week we chose to be there could not have been more perfect. The weather was gorgeous and the beach was pretty vacant. After a long day of jumping waves, building sand castles, and searching for seashells, it was time for dinner.