Over the past couple of years, it has become more common to hear e-commerce gurus talk about the advantages of making their Internet Marketing efforts viral by sending their customers a free eBook or report. This is called “luring them in” in every day marketing talk. If you can bring something to the table that they do not have to pay for then you might hook them for life.
The idea of conducting marketing in a viral manner is similar to the idea of having a real life virus. An illness would be passed on from one person through contagion. This is the concept behind viral Internet Marketing too, with the idea being that your message will be passed on by one person to another independent of your efforts. Basically it is the internet’s version of word of mouth advertising. Some people would even go so far as to call it “word of mouse.”
There are basically two reasons why other people might start promoting the e-book or report for you so that it becomes viral.
It is either because:
- People love the product so much that they cannot help talking about it
- You are paying them off somehow to do so with a bonus, discount or even cash payment.
Be sure to think of these two elements when creating these products and make sure that they have a reason to be excited about what you are doing.
The main purpose behind all of this is to help create a big buzz about what you are selling. Viral Internet Marketing simply does not work unless you get people talking about you. This is called “creating a buzz.” This has less to do with the product itself than it’s marketing and packaging. You might feel that you are losing out by giving people something for free but actually the opposite is true. A favorable impression is everything.
Pick a title that suggests new and provocative information is available and be sure to get other internet marketing experts and gurus to promote it and recommend it. Customer testimonials are also very valuable when it comes to this type of Internet Marketing as it helps give the product some validity. You can also hire friends or ask friends to review it to get some of that “word of mouse” going initially.
Your goal is to create a free perk that others simply must get their hands on and the they feel they must recommend to other people because it is so revealing or is such a good deal that it absolutely must be shared.
