In Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder", a group of
people travel millions of years into the past to hunt dinosaurs.
One of them accidentally steps on and kills a butterfly, which
dramatically alters the future.
This idea was also taken up in a movie called "The Butterfly
Effect", starring Aston Kutcher, about a young man who managed
to travel to his past and, by altering earlier events, changed
outcomes in his future, including some that were unforeseen.
The butterfly effect has its roots in chaos theory, where a
small event can have a ripple effect and bring about possible
dramatic changes - the fluttering of a butterfly's wings
possibly forestalling a monsoon that would have devestated an
island.
Successful internet marketing is the result of many such
"trivial" events at work.
But which ones will prove to be significant and how do we
sustain, and even build, the momentum which is generated?
One proven technique is known a viral marketing, which adopts a
strategy that encourages many people to pass on a marketing
message to others. It makes use of multiplication to "explode"
the distribution of the message by willing participants.
Hotmail used this method to get established. When the two
founders set up their free email system, all the messages that
were sent by subscribers had a text message at the bottom which
identified Hotmail as the origin. People would send emails to
their friends, who would be tempted to set up hotmail accounts
and send emails to their friends...
Within 24 months, Hotmail had 22 million subscribers, eventually
selling out to Microsoft for about $400 million.
The viral marketing method is:
a. Cheap. Most approaches take just a little time to set up and
then others promote your business for you.
b. It has the potential to reach a large audience by
geometrical progression, limited only by the enthusiasm of the
participants.
c. It can be effectively combined with other forms of
promotion.
d. It's also possible to sell other products than the one you
originally targeted. For instance, if you are selling garden
products, those interested in flowers could also be interested
in a catalogue that contains material on lawns, trees,
landscaping, garden tools, etc.
e. A viral product is fairly easy to create. It includes
ebooks, articles, branded software, audio and videos, free
reports, or even the first three chapters of your ebook.
f. A quality product that users are willing to pass on to
others is accompanied by an implied recommendation. They are
effectively building your reputation.
Special Considerations:
1. Whatever the product is that you use, it should be of
significant value and free - or of very low cost in relation to
its perceived value. But usually it is free and easy to pass on.
2. Make it easy for people to pass on by using buttons, active
links, tell-a-friend windows, etc. Many products also combine
very well with an affiliate program when the affiliate receives
some extra benefit from promoting the viral message. For
instance, by being able to brand an ebook the affiliate gains
credit when a reader buys through a branded link.
3. Buttons and links are not interchangeable. Many email
facilities do not handle HTML well, especially those that are
web-based. Codes can be easily corrupted. Use active links in
emails and save buttons for web pages.
4. Be sure your message includes a clear call to action. There
should be no doubt about what you intend recipients to do.
5. The INCENTIVE should be clear to those you want to act.
6. Offer clear instructions so that recipients know HOW to act.
7. The action you require should be simple and obvious. Don't
complicate it or confuse the reader, such as by adding numerous
links.
Viral Marketing is but one of many techniques that together
have a cumulative effect in attracting customers and subscribers
to your business - in attracting targeted visitors to your
website. Momentum is gained by aiming every element of the
overall strategy at developing the relationship with your
visitors. The momentum builds as it succeeds in identifying YOU
as one of the white hats - someone who can be trusted to provide
value and a solution.
Design your strategy in such a way that there is a positive
flow-on effect into the future rather than one which diminishes
after the initial zeal and enthusiasm which launched your
product.
Focus on delivering benefits to your visitors and making it
easy for them to collect. And don't step on the butterflies.
About the author:
Copyright, Ivan Kelly.
Ivan Kelly managed a Direct Mail business with extensive
mailing lists for ten years and has designed and promoted
many websites. He also provides quality free courses
on a variety of internet marketing subjects. A list of these
free courses is available at:
http://www.WebStartAdvisor.com/info.html
