by Deborah
Carraro
© 2009
http://www.myvirtualpartner.com/viral_friend_generator.html
Ask
any successful marketer what has had the biggest impact on the growth and success
of their business, and they're sure to cite the power and benefits of viral marketing.
Imagine tripling your mailing list each and every time someone opts in, or having
a video you created or free special report take the internet by storm and become
the newest "must" in your field. That's the power of viral marketing
but not many online entrepreneurs understand viral marketing or know how to take
advantage of it.
The DNA Of Viral Marketing
First
a simple clarification: 'viral' has nothing to do with being disease related or
unethical. The term simply refers to the rate of growth. If something doubles
or triples every day of its own accord. If you've ever done any gardening, then
you've no doubt had experience with weeds that double daily. I know I've had many
a time where I've spent an afternoon pulling weeds in the sun only to be dismayed
when I return the next day to see them poking their heads through the soil again
and back full strength a few days later. That's the way it is with viral marketing.
If everyone who is introduced to a product simply tells two others about it twice
in a day, then in a month you will have probably covered the country!
Top
3 Tips For Maximizing The Benefits Of Viral Marketing
There
are many ways of maximizing the benefits of such an important marketing technique.
I will share my top three:
- Find out where your target
market hangs out: One of the keys to marketing is to find out where your target
market hangs out online. Luckily this is done pretty easily. Just do a quick Google
search for [FIELD OF INTEREST] blog or [FIELD OF INTEREST] forum and you'll probably
get some really good results. A simple search will give you a large number of
sites, blogs and discussion forums that are interested in the very thing you have
on offer. But finding them is not enough. Once you've indentified where they hang
out, you must become a regular contributor to these sites. I'll be honest: there's
work to be done here. And lots of it. You will need to read and collect considerable
information before you can write with authority. Only when you're accepted, will
you be able to influence others with your opinion.
- Make
free resources available: Moving the free line is a term I first heard coined
by Eben Pagan. He's a master of packing a lot of valuable content into free resources.
Don't be afraid to share some of your best tips. Once the visitor or reader gets
the value of what you offer, it will be much easier to pass on your message -
even if it's a sales pitch. Joel Comm says that giving away free content "get[s]
your name known and you get to be seen as an expert by people who otherwise might
never have heard of you." Encourage readers to distribute your resource freely.
-
Tell buyers that you welcome any referrals: And if a referral results in a sale,
share a percentage of the profit with them through a formal or even informal affiliate
program. This way you create a strong incentive for the users of your stuff to
introduce new users.
If you handle your viral marketing
efforts well, you'll be able to generate a buzz in your target group that will
ultimately lead to several tangible benefits:
- Hits on
your sites will increase substantially.
- Discussion forums
or boards will discuss your goods or services by name
-
New leads will be targetted and qualified
So spend some
time over the next week thinking about a free special report that you can create
to test virally.
