The 21st century has signaled new and more efficient means of promoting one's company and products to various markets without having to spend much in traditional advertising. New technological advancement made the use of internet marketing not only a fad but a way of life. Internet marketing has been found a reliable way of increasing one's sales. However, success in internet marketing depends a great deal on how the internet marketer uses the various internet marketing tools.

Internet marketing has been the preferred marketing method not only by small and medium business but also by corporations. However, it is more popular with home-based business due to its efficiency and the minimal costs involved. The proper use of email marketing tools will determine how fast one can get a potential customer to become a real customer. Potential customers are a plenty, and they are just like everyone out there. However, a good internet marketer can identify the target market from these potential customers who may be patronizing g a competitor's products.

While your potential customer is presently a real customer of your competitor, you still have a great chance of turning him into your real customer if you use the right email marketing tools. One such tool that works perfectly well for most internet marketer is the use of follow up. These potential customers may have already bought from your competitor; the problem is that customer may have felt ignored or disregarded for lack of a follow up mechanism. By wooing that potential customer through follow up emails and offers, there is a chance that sooner or later, he would become your real customer.

The secret is with determination and persistence in intensively sending follow up emails to the potential customer. Other marketers refuse to spend time with a prospect or a customer who do not respond after one or two emails. By looking at this as a method of wooing or courting, the effective email marketer will continue to pursue the potential customer without let-up.

Another effective email marketing tool is the use of viral e-books which may be a new concept but is definitely as effective as the other marketing tools. By the way, it is called viral for their ability to be passed on like a virus, from one person to another.

Viral e-books can be your ticket to success in terms of increased website traffic. People who are interested in a certain topic or issue have no choice but to download your e-book particularly if they stand to benefit from the e-book topic. Thus, the number one rule in creating your e-book is that it must be on a topic that would be of interest to your target market and to their contacts, making the e-book a good material for passing on.

Of course, you have to get a very good writer who will create your masterpiece but that would be a minimal cost considering the multiplication effect it will have on your business. You capitalized on one e-book which would be passed on several, sometimes hundreds or more, people with buying potential. This is probably one cost with a huge return on capital.

Do not scrimp on your e-book because it is the reason why people will visit your website. An e-book which does not present a worthwhile topic will just as easily be thrown to the next garbage can or in the case of computer users they can just easily delete your e-book link.

When you get your e-book done, you must make sure it is in a format which would be capable of being opened and read by majority of computer users. You can choose from an e-book with an executable format or EXE format or the more popular PDF format. Most marketers prefer the PDF format as it is easily downloadable provided the user has am Adobe Acrobat reader which can also be easily downloaded free of charge.

In choosing the format of your e-book, remember that people generally have an aversion for everything difficult. Thus, you must choose a format which is downloadable-friendly and which can easily be passed on from on e computer user to another.

To make your e-book truly of viral quality, it must be on a very useful topic that will appeal to your target market. People who get hold of your e-book must also have a good beneficial motivation, financial or otherwise, to pass on the e-book to their contacts. People who can add their links when passing the e-book will have more reason to pass on your e-book to their contacts.

The more e-book you have on various topics but all leading to you website, the larger the scope of your reach.

You may also want to try using a viral video which follows the same principle of a viral e-book except that it is in a video format. People who like your viral video will surely pass it on to others and you will get more traffic on your website. However, make sure the viral video will be of interest to as man y people as possible to make it really viral.