Viral Marketing
Money-Making…
Viral
Marketing
Introduction
The concept of viral
marketing is simple…
Implement an entity that
is so compelling, so interesting, so valuable, that anyone who comes in contact
with it immediately has the desire to share it with someone (or everyone) they
know.
In other words, it’s
viral.
But only in the sense that
once that entity is out there, it takes on a life of it’s own, spreading and
multiplying like some powerful yet non-threatening virus.
As Martha Stewart says,
it’s a good thing.
There are numerous and
creative methods that can be implemented for viral marketing. But in order to
be effective, any method chosen needs to contain these same three primary
ingredients (in one form or another)…
1. content or characteristic that is valuable, useful, entertaining, etc.
2. information about you, your business, and/or your products
3. encouragement and/or means to pass the viral entity along to others
Here are several examples
of viral marketing methods…
·Hand out a free ebook that the viewer can download
from your website.
·Hand out a free ebook that the viewer can brand
with their own information before they themselves distribute it.
·Write and distribute your own articles with topics
that are directly related to your website and/or products.
·Syndicate your blog or newsletter content through
RSS.
·Place a funny or instructional video on your
website.
·Offer interactive games or puzzles on your
website.
·Offer email services.
·Offer a greeting card service.
There’s really no limit to
the methods in which viral marketing can be implemented. The only criteria is
that viewers have the ability to either tell other people about it or to
personally pass it along to someone else.
Beyond that, the “virus”
can pretty much spread itself. Which is exactly what you want to happen.
The true benefit of any
viral marketing technique is the fact that you only need to set it in motion
once. From that point on, it becomes a word-of-mouth type process that spreads
and multiplies on its own.
Naturally, you can also
continue to independently push, promote, and advertise any viral method on an
ongoing basis…
Like taking the time to
list your free ebook in as many download locations and directories as possible.
Or visiting discussion
boards and letting the readers know about some ebook, funny video, or free
greeting card service you have available (without breaking any of the board
rules).
Or implementing and
improving keyword search engine optimization for pages that are associated with
your viral marketing methods (just like you would any of your other website
pages).
Viral marketing methods -
if used properly - can be responsible for the majority of targeted traffic and
overall promotion you receive. And of course, the more traffic you receive, the
more income you’ll ultimately generate.
Viral
Marketing Techniques
Adhering to the following
guidelines will help you achieve the most benefit from viral marketing.
First and foremost, you
need to provide something that’s both original and interesting. If you want the
best viral results, you can’t distribute ebooks that have little or no value in
terms of content.
Just because it’s free
doesn’t mean it can be inferior. Instead, you should view ebooks (or any other
viral entity) in the same light as you would a product that you intend to sell.
As something worth putting a price on.
If it’s not good enough to
put a price on, it’s not good enough to use as a viral marketing tool. After
all, no one is going to recommend something that has little or no value, much
less pass it around to their friends and associates.
No matter what you come up
with - ebook, report, funny video, greeting card service - make certain it’s
something people will want to talk about and share with everyone they know.
Otherwise, there won’t be any viral benefit to enjoy.
Another important factor
involves thinking outside the viral box…
The most common method for
distributing content is to use free ebooks. But what about audio and video
presentations? These two formats in particular have recently gained a great
deal of popularity. Take advantage of that fact and you could see a tremendous
boost in your viral marketing results.
If you create videos, here
are two places where you can receive maximum exposure…
Google
Video
http://upload.video.google.com (submit your video)
YouTube
You also need to be
imaginative with regard to how you get the word out. Here is a list of some of
the more creative ways to do that…
·Get your product listed on any and all websites
that offer free downloads.
·If your product is an ebook, submit it to as many
ebook directories as possible.
·Create a version of your product that people can
brand with their own information prior to distribution.
·Let product owners know that you have a free
product available, one they can include in their bonus package.
·Locate large giveaway packages. Many of them have
open submission, allowing owners to include their products along with all the
other offers listed there.
·Sell your viral product on eBay for a small fee
which includes rights to either resell it or give it away.
The goal is to get your
viral products in as many hands as possible. The more people who see them, the
more they’ll get passed along. And the more they get passed along, the more
benefit you’ll achieve.
Articles
Articles are one of the
few things that can perform two different and equally effective viral tasks…
They can either be the
viral marketing product or they can be the tool that promotes your viral
marketing products.
The Viral Product
The key to success is
getting your article widely distributed. And in order to accomplish that, you
first need to start with an article that webmasters, newsletter owners, and
other online users actually want to distribute.
Some will publish your
article on their website, others will publish the article in their newsletter,
and still others will simply feel compelled to pass it along (by sending either
the article itself or the URL address where it’s located).
Without writing quality
articles, of course, none of that will take place. Or, if it does, the results
will be minimal at best.
In order to get the most
benefit from articles, you need to choose extremely compelling and interesting
topics. One of the best approaches is to give the reader the solution to a
problem.
For example, here are
three headlines that offer some very desirable content…
Lose 10 Pounds In 10 Days Or Less Without Pills Or Surgery
15 Ways To Generate Massive Site Traffic Without Spending A Dime
5 Simple Changes That Will Double Your Existing AdSense Income
Of course, the next order
of business is to actually deliver the kind of quality information the headline
promises. And that’s what makes people want to publish it, distribute it, and
pass it along to others.
But getting the article
distributed across the Internet doesn’t do you much good if there’s nothing in
it that leads back to you, your business, or the products or services you’re
selling.
That’s why the article
topics you choose need to be either directly or indirectly related to whatever
it is you want to promote.
Depending on what that is,
the content of the article should include links such as your primary website
address, your product affiliate URL, a download link to a free ebook, report,
or autoresponder series, or your newsletter subscription page.
Since they’ll be included
within the body of the article, they need to be included in such a way that it
doesn’t appear like a blatant ad. All you’re doing is suggesting something that
contributes to the value of the information contained in the article…
For more tips and information on how to lose weight safely and easily,
check out The New You Ezine.
Or…
If you’d like more information, you can download a free report entitled
“How To Develop Your Own AdSense Empire In Less Than 3 Weeks”.
In addition to including
your links in the body of the article, you have the author’s resource box.
Whatever you decide to place there, make certain it gives you the most benefit
possible.
The Tool
Aside from having an
article as the viral marketing product, you can simply use them to promote your
other viral entities.
For example…
If your free viral entity
is an ebook or report that includes several methods which can increase AdSense
revenue, write an article based on one of those methods. Then, somewhere within
the body of the article, give them the link where they can download the free
ebook (which contains all the other AdSense revenue methods).
The point is, the content
of the article you write will be…
1. associated with a specific viral product
2. lead to that viral product
The more valuable the article,
the more it will get distributed, and the more people will have access to your
viral product. That in turn means your viral product will be viewed on a much
wider scale.
The final result is more
traffic and ultimately more sales. And that, of course, is the precise purpose
of viral marketing.
The Viral Ebook
Of all the viral methods
available, distributing free ebooks is still the most popular. And oftentimes,
it’s still the most effective.
The first, and most common
form, is the basic free distribution ebook. It contains valuable information
about a specific topic and can be easily and immediately downloaded from a web
page.
Some webmasters require
that a person give up their name and email address in order to have access to
the download. Although this might be a good method for increasing the size of
your mailing list, it can seriously diminish the number of people who take
possession of the ebook.
Keep in mind that the
primary objective is to widely distribute a viral marketing product. It would
be best - at least in this particular
instance - to find some other way to gain names and email addresses for your
mailing.
For example, within the
ebook, you could offer readers some other freebie in exchange for their name
and email address. That could be an autoresponder ecourse, another ebook,
website templates, a software program. Something of value that is related to
the same topic discussed in the ebook.
Or you could make that
same freebie a bonus for signing up for your newsletter. Any offer that would
still gain you new mailing list members.
The second form of ebook
is one that can be branded. In this version, the end user is allowed to insert
their own information. For example, they could include their name, a link to
their website or business, and/or an ad for a product they would like to
promote.
How much information you
allow them to insert is entirely up to you. But you need to consider the value
factor. The more benefit the end user will achieve, the more likely they’ll
actively distribute the ebook after it’s branded.
You don’t have to let them
take over the entire promotional aspect of the ebook - after all, it is your
viral marketing product - but you do need to allow them enough branding so they
feel as though promoting and distributing the ebook will be well worth their
own time and effort.
Of course, the ultimate
value of the ebook - both for you and for anyone who brands it - is the fact
that it contains content that’s worth passing along to other people.
If your ebook appears to
be nothing more than a promotional message for some product or service, it’s
unlikely anyone will want their name or business associated with it. And even
if they do, there won’t be many people inclined to help distribute it.
What you need to provide
is good, concise, and exciting content. No fluff, filler, or BS. Just the most
important and interesting facts about whatever topic you’ve chosen. Keep it
short and sweet and to the point.
This is the perfect
example of quality versus quantity. It’s not about how many pages you pack into
the ebook. It’s about how much value you pack into it.
It doesn’t matter whether
there are 10 pages or 50. If the reader feels as though they gained a
considerable amount of benefit from the content, you’ve got yourself a winner.
And in this case, that means a viral winner, something that will be widely
distributed.
Creating and Compiling
Your Free Ebook
Writing your own ebook
content can be a rather daunting task, especially for someone who doesn’t feel
comfortable doing that sort of thing.
But since the only other
alternative is to hire someone to do the writing for you, it would be in your
best interest to at least give it a shot. Who knows… you might be surprised how
easy it can be.
Step 1: Choose A Topic
Sometimes, this can prove
to be more challenging than the content itself. Let’s face it. Without a
“killer” topic, you don’t have much chance of producing an ebook that countless
people will be anxious to distribute.
Although there are many
directions your content could take, the most popular ones are those that have
two distinct characteristics…
1. It promises the reader a timely solution.
2. It tells the reader exactly how to accomplish it.
For example…
The topic is “lose weight
quickly and safely”. The title of the ebook is “Lose 10 Pounds In 10 Days Or
Less Without Pills Or Surgery”. The content of the ebook tells the reader how
they can do that.
Or…
The topic is “free website
traffic”. The title is “15 Ways To Generate Massive Site Traffic Without Spending
A Dime”. The content lists what those 15 ways are and explains how to implement
each of them.
When choosing a topic,
always think ahead. Can you associate a really killer title with that
particular topic? Can you gather some really dynamic content based on that
particular topic?
If the answer is no, pick
something else. Something that does in fact fulfill all the characteristics
that an ebook needs in order to qualify as a viral marketing product.
Step 2: Conduct Research
Make a short list of keywords
that are directly related to the topic you’ve chosen. Then conduct searches
using each of those terms.
What you’ve looking for is
quality information about your topic. It can be articles, web content, or any
other form of previously written information.
What you’ll do with that
information is become totally educated and familiar with your topic. A good
method of doing that rather quickly is to print out the information you’ve
found and then read it over and over again.
Once you feel as though
you know the topic inside and out, you’re ready to start developing your own
content.
Step 3: Create A Table Of
Contents
Even before you begin to
write, you need to establish specific areas within your main topic that you
want to cover throughout your ebook. Basically, you need to develop a table of
contents.
For example…
If you’re writing about
how to lose weight, you need to break the main topic down into sub-categories.
These might include such things as nutrition, exercise, and mental attitude.
If your ebook covers 15
ways to generate free traffic, you should make a list of those methods so you
know exactly what sub-topics you’ll be writing about.
The more specific you can
be about how the overall content will be structured, the easier it will be when
you actually begin writing. And that includes where and how you’ll insert your
own promotional URL addresses and information.
Remember… above all else,
this ebook is intended to be a viral marketing product. Make certain you’ve
established a convenient and natural means of weaving your own information
throughout the content.
Step 4: Develop The
Content
The main advantage of
having a clear and concise structure (table of contents) is the fact that you
can simply fill in the blanks.
Pick an area of the content
you feel most confident and knowledgeable about and then start writing. Don’t
worry too much about making sense or being letter perfect. Just get something
written.
If you run out of steam on
that particular area of content, move to something else. Write whatever you can
and then move to yet another area. Keep doing that until you’ve filled in as
much overall content as possible.
If you run completely dry
but your content isn’t complete, go back to your original research information
(what you printed out) and re-read any areas that you still need to develop.
Be aware, however, that
the information you printed is merely a means of educating yourself. If you
can’t write something on your own, it means that you haven’t become as familiar
with the topic as you need to be.
In that case, keep reading
the printed information until you do know the topic well enough to write
something new, something original.
Step 5: Edit and Proofread
What you’ve initially
written should be considered nothing more than a first draft. That’s why it’s
important not to labor over the writing style or being letter perfect when you
first begin writing.
After you’ve gotten the
overall content down, then you can go back and re-work it. Go over it as many
times as you want or need, refining and editing until you’re satisfied with the
end result.
When you feel as though
you’ve reached a final draft, put the content aside for at least a day or two.
After it’s cooled off, you can go back and perform one last edit. Or, if you
know someone who is more qualified and they’re willing, have them do it for
you.
Either way, make certain
your ebook has been checked and re-checked and is ready for public
distribution. Both in terms of content and any URL addresses and business
information you’ve included.
Step 6: Compile Your Ebook
Once you’re certain the
content of your ebook is as good as it can be, it’s time to compile it into an
actual ebook.
You have two choices… PDF
or EXE format.
Most people choose PDF,
mainly because it’s a universal format that both Windows and Macintosh users
can access with Adobe Reader. And since Adobe Reader comes installed on most
computers, opening and reading a PDF ebook isn’t a problem.
Even if Adobe Reader is
not installed, it’s simply a matter of downloading a free copy from the
Adobe.com website at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
By
Geoge O.
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