• If the word Viral sounds contagious and something you should watch out for, or you just might catch it.. YOU’RE right! Similar to a virus, when someone is ailing due to a bug they caught from someone else, viral marketing is when a product/idea, etc. spreads from one person to the next.

    The latest in the trend of viral tools is the Refer-a-friend software. Instead of the traditional squeeze page, where you are just asked for YOUR name, there is a 2nd step which allows you to send the information to other friends who may benefit from this information. Sometimes there is an extra bonus included or you are only entitled to a freebie if you can send it to 3 or more friends. This could be a way to easily triple your sign up rates with the same expense, since your visitors are doing the work for you!

    Even though we have seen it in action for a long time.. I mean how many emails have you forwarded to your friends for one reason or another??

    The main internet marketer who has corned the viral marketing field would have to be Mike Filesame. The creator of Butterly Marketing, which is the grandfather and still widely sold product on how to succeed with viral marketing. Basically its Web 2.0 instead of Web 1.0. Web 1.0 was all about doing whatever you could to use the web to benefit yourself and earn, without adding any value of any kind to the overall web. Web 2.0 is a completely different system. With the birth of YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia, etc., the web is now one big social community of sharing. It’s a VIRAL atmosphere, where WE are the creators of the content and the beneficiaries.

    Here is a direct quote from Wikipedia on Viral Marketing – “Viral marketing is popular because of the ease of executing the marketing campaign, relative low-cost (compared to direct mail), good targeting, and the high and rapid response rate. The main strength of viral marketing is its ability to obtain a large number of interested people at a low cost.”

    I remember a few years ago, a little golden nugget of advice I got from an email list. I THINK it was the Rich Jerk but I am not certain.. and of course I never did anything about it, although I still plan to..

    Actually.. I am going to play the VIRAL game as well. Click Here, and follow the fast instructions, and this piece of advice that will SHOCK you with it’s simplicity will be on it’s way to you!

    Be well,

    Andrea

    Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
    • Digg
    • del.icio.us
    • Google
    • DZone
    • ThisNext
    • MisterWong
    • Wists
    • Bumpzee
    • Netscape
    • StumbleUpon
    • Technorati