Why And How Viral Marketing Works

Short is better.Remember the K.I.S.S. standard….Keep it Simple Stupid. The shorter and easier to remember is always better than long and complicated.Clever viral marketing plans take advantage of common human motivations. Thedesire to be cool and greed drives people. So does the hunger to be popular, loved,and understood. 

The resulting urge to communicate produces millions of websites and billions of email messages. Most people are social. Nerdy, basement-dwelling computer sciencegrad students are the exception. Social scientists tell us that each person has a network of 8 to 12 people in theirclose network of friends, family, and associates. People on the Internet developnetworks of relationships, too. 

They collect e-mail addresses and favorite website URLs. Affiliate programs exploitsuch networks, as do permission e-mail lists. Learn to place your message intoexisting communications between people, and you rapidly multiply its dispersion.If you can design a marketing strategy that builds on common motivations andbehaviors for its transmission, you have a winner. What Works & What Doesn’t 

Stop with the enforced e-mail forwards already! Trying to force or bribe people toforward your info to a friends or family in order to be rewarded or win looks skankyin today’s ultra-permission-based world. Especially when you tell visitors nothingabout their friend’s or family’s privacy in the space directly next to the e-mail form.A true viral campaign gets forwarded because consumers are compelled to do so by the glory of the content, not because you bribed them with points or something else. What absolutely will not work: 

Suggesting that e-mail recipients forward your message to their friends and familywill not work. Adding a line at the bottom of your e-mail that reads “Please feel freeto forward this message to a friend” is more likely to get it deleted than forwarded. What absolutely will work: 

Offering something worthy of sharing like a valuable discount, vital information oroffering an incentive for sharing like additional entries into a sweepstakes or anadded discount or premium service will work. Relevant or timely information,research, or studies that are included in your e-mail might encourage the recipientsto share with their family and friends. Interactive content like a quiz or test,especially if it’s fun, will inspire forwarding. Jokes and cartoons are almost alwaysforwarded to everybody the recipient knows. Why? 

Because they are entertaining and entertainment is meant to be shared. A really coolmultimedia experience is always going to achieve a lot of pass-along. Rich media isnew and the novelty and tech factors alone are often enough to make the e-mailrecipient eager to share it. Oops! Almost forgot one really important thing….You can craft a brilliant e-mail following all the rules, but if a consumer visits yoursite and has an experience less that what was promised, you are going to achieveviral marketing, alright…the bad kind. So be certain that your product or service is ready and is as advertised. The ManyFacets of Viral Marketing In the beginning, e-mail was the one way thatviral marketing was started. Since that long ago day, viral marketing has gone from a marketing strategy to an art form and there are many ways to accomplish the objective of creating a successful viral marketing campaign. Seven of those waysare: 

1. E-mail: It was first but it is still around and still used. It is, however, getting alittle harder to use as more and more government restrictions are placed on it. Still…it does work.2. Newsletters: This is an extension of e-mail but it a very effective tool. If youinclude enough timely and valuable information, a good newsletter can drive up thenumber of visits to your website.3. Blogging: Providing the tools on your website to enable bloggers to interact withone another is a terrific way to get the message about your product of service outthere and being talked about. Bloggers have their ears to the ground for newproducts and services.4. Chat Rooms: A chat room on your website can and does encourage interactionamong your customers and that can’t be a bad thing. Also, you can use the chatroom to schedule special events like having an expert available to answer questionson a given day at a given time.5. Tell-a-friend Script: If you add this with a statement saying that e-mail addressessupplied will never be shared with third parties, you can increase your potentialcustomer list greatly.6. Video Clips: Including cool video clips on your website will keep the interest upand increase traffic.7. Flash Games: Although they are a little costly to start, they are an extremelyeffective tool to get your viral marketing campaign going. Once they are launched,they require nothing more from you. Your Ebook is your Viral Salesman