Suggesting that e-mail recipients forward your message to their friends and family will not work. Adding a line at the bottom of your e-mail that reads ?Please feel free to 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 or offering an incentive for sharing like additional entries into a sweepstakes or an added discount or premium service will work.
Relevant or timely information, research, or studies that are included in your e-mail might encourage the recipients to 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 always forwarded to everybody the recipient knows. Why? Because they are entertaining and entertainment is meant to be shared.
A really cool multimedia experience is always going to achieve a lot of pass-along. Rich media is new and the novelty and tech factors alone are often enough to make the e-mail recipient 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 your site and has an experience less that what was promised, you are going to achieve viral marketing, alright?the bad kind.
So be certain that your product or service is ready and is as advertised.
Another thing you can use virally is the use of branded ebooks, these are great, because there is an incentive for someone to send them on to other people, (with his link as well as your own).
Do you own a pair of jeans? Is there a label of some kind on the back pocket? That's viral marketing in one form. That patch follows you everywhere and is seen over and over. You are a walking billboard.
Anyone who has been on the internet for a while recognizes that hotmail was a real winner in the game of viral marketing.
The idea behind viral marketing is to create something that gets passed around and creates excitement and recognition.
In the case of hotmail, it was free email that created a stir.
A more recent version of viral marketing was implemented by the Rich Jerk. His sales letter was such a departure from what we are used to seeing, and so shocking it created a major stir on the internet.
Usually, with viral marketing, a service or something free is passed around. As people become aware of a free book, report, a free service or whatever they alert their friends who alert their friends and associates and on and on.
With the Rich Jerk, news of his sales letter and it's shocking contents, was the viral product. It was the news of it's presence that was passed around, much like the old party line on the telephone. People posted comments in forums and it was picked up from there and posted to yet another forum and on and on. Who could afford to buy that kind of advertising?
If you create information products of any kind, you can create a viral marketing tool of your own. Whether your area of interest is fly tying or the best way to negotiate on the price of a new car you can create a viral tool.
Offer a free report on your website giving information or tips on a topic related to the topic of your site. Include links in it back to your website and to your newsletter. Make it clear that it is free to circulate as long as your links are left intact.
Free downloadable tools are another option. Or you could offer the free use of tools on your website. Advertise what you have to offer and make it easy for users to notify anyone they think might have a use for your tools.
If your budget is tight think about forums to get your viral marketing campaign started. Always read and observe the rules of any specific forum, they vary. Some forums allow advertising and signatures and some do not.
Pay per click could also be used to get your viral marketing campaign started. Set a strict budget in the beginning until you see what ads bring you traffic.
Be creative. The topic of your website may lend itself to a wide variety of options for a viral marketing campaign.
Both Gerald Mason & Illa Maden are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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