A few years ago I read an awful, awful book that I shouldn't have read.

It was called “The Game” by Rolling Stone journalist Neil Strauss and it was essentially his compiled tips on how to succeed at attracting the opposite sex.

The ethos behind the book was rather distasteful. But I was recommended to look at it because of the insights it brought out into human psychology. In other words, if the tips worked for attracting and romancing a girl, could they work for attracting and romancing a client?

I was intrigued, but so embarrassed that I ended up skim reading it standing next to the bookshelf in Waterstones rather than buying it. I suspect Kathy would have killed me if I'd come home with it.

But it did indeed have some useful insights into attracting clients.

One of the strategies Strauss espoused that was completely new to me (but has great application in marketing) was “bouncing”.

The idea is that the brain forms memories of people in association with the environment it sees them in.

So if you chat to me in the pub in the same location all night, you only really form one memory of it.

But if we change location: sitting down, standing by the bar, talking in the beer garden; you form three distinct memories of talking to me in different places.

So it feels like you've known me that bit longer because you have three distinct memories of me.

So the strategy Strauss recommends for a serial dater is to “bounce” your date around various locations at the venue you're in so she'll think she's known you for longer and feel more comfortable with you.

I have no idea whether this really works for dating. But it does seem to work for marketing.

If you only ever communicate with your clients and potential clients one way, it tends to all blur together in their mind. One networking event looks much like another. A whole series of emails begin to look samey.

But if instead, they see you face to face, hear you on the phone, get an email from you, get a letter in the post, then it seems to embed distinct memories and make you more memorable.

One strategy that's worked well for me is to use video in addition to my usual blog posts and emails.

Even though people are watching a recording of me on my website rather than meeting me live, it seems to make a big difference to how close people feel to me. I've had more than one potential client say to me “I feel like I really know you already” the very first time we speak.

Now I go a bit overboard with my videos. White backgrounds, overlaid logos, theme music. But there's really no need for most of us. Our clients aren't hiring us for our professional video making capabilities – they're hiring us for our expertise and ability to work with them to get results.

So a decent webcam, camcorder or these days your smartphone is fine for short video blogging.

What matters is that you have something useful to say, and that you say it engagingly.

Try it out. You don't have to go public with your videos yet – share them with a few friends for feedback. My first few videos were awful – but you have to go through that phase to get any good.

And if you want, send me a link to a short video you've done and I'll give you feedback.