Make ‘Em Come To You

By now I’m sure we’ve all been recipients of someone’s email joke of the day. As is typically the case, this email has been forwarded on from someone who had forwarded it on from someone else before him.

This phenomenon, when used to market a product or service online, is known as “viral marketing.” It’s taking advantage of the likelihood that someone will forward on your message, and in the process, will drive traffic to your web site.

There are other forms that viral marketing can take on, ones that are more subtle, but often no less effective. For example, take bluemountainart.com. For those of who don’t know, this site is one of THE most popular sites on the ‘Net, and it’s because they allow visitors to send out all kinds of schmaltzy electronic greeting cards for free. They’ve got cards for all occasions, and they’re so hokey, they can’t help but make you feel good.

So what’s the catch? There is none, but every time someone sends you an electronic greeting card, you have to go to a special url to view it….and before you get a chance to leave, you’re asked if YOU want to send a greeting card to someone else. Pretty smart, huh? Since it’s such a free and feel-good service, a large number of folks actually take them up on their offer, and bluemountainart.com now has over 12 million visitors per month, all achieved with very little outlay of marketing dollars on their part.

Another interesting example is something the AllExperts.com site does. If you are one of their experts (as is yours truly) and one of their visitors happens to post a positive comment about you, you’re automatically sent an email notifying you of the posting, and giving you the link back to their site to see it. When you do click on the link, you’re also shown your existing profile (a reminder that you may to edit it) and of course, the directory to the rest of the site, so you just might use it and post something about other experts.

So, how can you incorporate this strategy into your marketing plan. First and foremost, give your email recipient a very good reason to come to you. Start with something intriguing, personalized, or particularly relevant to their interest, and then get creative.

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