What Works & What Doesn't in Viral Marketing

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Stop! Stop with the enforced eMail forwards already... Forcing or bribing people to forward your eMail to friends or family members to gain a reward looks skanky in today's ultra-permission-based world.

Especially when you tell visitors nothing about their friend's or family’s privacy in the space directly next to the eMail form.

History: Article | MAY 13/06
Edited : Lonnie A | MAR 28/09

A true viral campaign gets forwarded because consumers are compelled to do so by the glory of the content, not because you bribed them with points or something else.

What absolutely will not work:

Suggesting eMail recipients to forward your message to their friends and family will not work. Adding a line at the bottom of your eMail that reads “Please feel free to forward this message to a friend” is more likely to get it deleted than forwarded.

What absolutely will work:

Offering something worthy of sharing like a valuable discount, vital information or offering an incentive for sharing like additional entries into a sweepstakes or an added discount or premium service will work.

Relevant or timely information, research, or studies that are included in your eMail might encourage the recipients to share with their family and friends. Interactive content like a quiz or test, especially if it’s fun, will inspire forwarding.

Jokes and cartoons are almost always forwarded to everybody the recipient knows. Why? Because they are entertaining and entertainment is meant to be shared.

A really cool multimedia experience is always going to achieve a lot of pass-along. Rich media is new and the novelty and tech factors alone are often enough to make the eMail recipient eager to share it.

Oops! Almost forgot one really important thing... you can craft a brilliant eMail following all the rules, but if a friend of a friend visits the site and has an ugly experience less than what was promised, you are going to achieve a viral marketing blowout! Alright?  Ya, the bad kind. So be certain that your product or service is ready and is as advertised.

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