They just might pass it on to a friend while encouraging that friend to forward it to their friends.

That my friends is what makes viral marketing so powerful.

There are many free advertising resources available to online marketers. What most people do not realize is that they can get their marketing message sent out to a targeted group of people by using viral marketing tactics and best of all, it is free!

So what is viral marketing all about? By following these suggestions you may find that viral marketing can be an effective part of your marketing campaign.

1. The most common type of viral marketing is when people share quality experiences with friends. Some examples are software products, online services, online marketing tools, free advertising resources, etc. The product or service must be beneficial enough to encourage people to want to share it with others.

2. If you want to have your viral email message forwarded frequently then you should place a relevant marketing offer in every outgoing email message. It is important to make sure that the incentives are good enough and that the people getting them feel that they are of sufficient quality to avoid any displeasure or backlash. Your offer should be something specific, such as free software, an e-book, or maybe a promotional item that you have available for your company.

3. One way to avoid complaints is not to consider a name and address that is received through viral marketing as an opt in. This means that after the referral email is sent you should not add them to any subscription list. Ask them in the referral email if they would like to receive future mailings, allowing them to opt in.

4. Response rates increase dramatically when people see that a message is coming from someone they know. So, personalize your referral emails. The subject is important because it can identify an email as friendly. The subject line should show three things about the email. It should identify the email as an advertisement, that it includes a special offer and that the email was sent from a friend.

5. If you can understand what makes a marketing message worthy of being passed along to others and incorporate it into your offer or program then you will be able to drive traffic to your website.

6. Your website can also be used to take advantage of viral marketing. Create informative articles and post then to free article sites. Make sure the title is unique and that at least one link to your website appears in the article. Do not forget to have an Email This Page To A Friend link on your website, you can find the code out on the Internet.

Another suggestion is to write free articles for a website that is related to your topic of interest. Especially one with a good newsletter or that distributes articles.

7. Email newsletters are a great way to enjoy the benefits of viral marketing. By providing quality information in your newsletter, readers will be more likely to pass it on to their friends. Remember to always include a Send to a Friend link in your newsletter along with a Subscribe to Newsletter link. This will make it easier for you to gather new subscribers to your newsletter.

8. Viral marketing can be extremely useful for a one time campaign, but it can also be a great tool for expanding your business over time. Whether your goal is branding or to drive more visitors to your website you can use viral marketing in a manner to encourage others to pass along your messages.

9. Viral marketing is something that happens naturally, your message should be something of interest while offering something valuable in order for your message to be successful.

10. What it comes down to is that your viral message must be perceived as having value. To most of us entertainment has value. We all like fun, interactive content that inspires us to pass it on to a friend. How many jokes have you received in your inbox?

So, should you try to incorporate viral marketing into your email campaigns? Yes! There is no doubt about it, viral marketing will allow you to reach more than just your target audience and without much cost. Just remember that viral marketing is another strategy to be used in your online marketing campaign and is one small step toward achieving your objectives.

One last thought. Your viral marketing message can offer one of the most amazing incentives around and contain some of the best content found on the Internet, but if people visit your website and do not get what was promised, you may just see viral marketing at its worst.

Feel free to forward this to a friend.

Copyright 2006 Joe Rispoli