Viral Marketing - The Virus You Want To Catch

By: Alan Richardson

It matters not whether you have akiller product or spectacularly designed website. If no one knows you exist, your business is dead. Marketing is key. The ruthless competition for your internet business requires you use all the e-commerce methods at your disposal to drive traffic to your site. Of the many methods at your disposal, one of the best is the viral marketing method.

I know. The term conjures up a nasty scenario. Mention the word 'virus' in the company of computer users, and all sorts of dreaded visions emerge. However, the virus implied in viral marketing won't kill you. In fact, this very beneficial virus just might jump start your business and take it to the next level.

Viral Marketing Overview

In internet marketing parlance, Viral Marketing, or Viral Advertising, refers to a marketing technique designed to build internet-wide awareness of your product or company. While it can take many forms, the object of viral marketing is the same... to spread the word about your product or service, without specifically promoting that product or service. The goal... to hook your audience with information of interest that compels them to distribute your information to others. For those whose interest gets piqued by your information, an invitation to visit your website for more detail is included.

Viral marketing has become a popular means of advertising and marketing because of its low cost and potentially wide reach. To avoid the spam mail tag, viral marketing counts on the eagerness of one person to pass on your information to others he or she may know. This personal touch assures your message will get opened... and read.

Using Viral Marketing to your advantage

Two of the more popular methods employed by viral marketing revolve around providing content, such as articles or newsletters. For example, the article you are reading right now is a one example of how viral marketing works. As an internet marketing consultant, one of the ways I reach interested parties is writing and distributing articles related to my business. I then send the article to a number of article submission sites. Here they get picked up by interested readers, who may then distribute the information to friends, family, or more likely, to their own business customers. The article can be incorporated into other related business websites, where it may reside on the site itself or be distributed in newsletters or email campaigns. Thus, not only my own customer base, but those of others as well have access to my information... and my website.

More and more web-based companies are utilizing effective viral marketing techniques to advertise their presence and attract interested visitors. Like search engine optimization and other marketing methods, viral marketing has become an important tool for pulling in business. It's subtle, it's low cost and it's very effective.

Make viral marketing part of your web business advertising arsenal. You'll be happy you did.

About The Author Alan Richardson is a well-known internet consultant and publisher with http://www.optimalwebservices.com - a Web resource firm in North Easton, Massachusetts, offering free advice and information for web-based small businesses and entrepreneurs. To read other articles by Alan, click here. To signup for the free 'Optimal Web Services for Small Business' ezine, click here