Virology

“The Secret Science of Viral Marketing”

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I. Buzz a) worth talking about

 

b) innovative c) fresh / new

d) controversial e) funny f) heart-warming

g) taboo h) secretive

 

i) anticipation j) inspirational

 

II. Pre-Viral Marketing a) word of mouth

b) media broadcast
1. telephone
2. newspaper

3. radio 4. TV

 

5. internet III. Viral Marketing

 

a) define viral marketing b) two forms of viral marketing

 

1. forced 2. hyper-viral (hotmail / site for entrepreneurs)

 

IV. Infection Stage a) maven / authority

 

b) media blitz

 

V. Delivery Mechanism

 

a) tools 1. tell-a-friend

2. blogs
3. emails
4. viral videos

5. viral audios / podcasts 6. articles

 

7. web site VI. Scalability

 

a) maintain life over time b) no crashing

 

c) don’t kill the host

 

VII. WIIFM

 

a) incentive b) reason or justification

 

VIII. Call to Action a) sell product, service or message

 

b) build a list, make a sale

 

"Viral marketing is the process of implementing means or tools through which the knowledge of
your existence self-propagates."

 

-Michel Fortin

 

Introduction

Hi. My name is Mike Filsaime. I have built my entire online business using viral marketing and the concepts laid out in this exclusive report. With virtually ZERO advertising budget, I have been able to build a business that did almost $4.5 Million in sales in 2006 and over 600,000 opt ins in under 4 years. In the Internet marketing community, this is unheard of.

Many of the strategies used in this report can be achieved with a simple, affordable, yet powerful software tool called ViralFriendGenerator.com

This information is about to change the way you look at your marketing. All your efforts up to this point are finally going to pay off when you put this bit of marketing genius to work for you.

The internet itself was perpetuated using viral methods, and where would you be today without it. Selling cars?

Some of the biggest marketers online are making a killing and investing next to nothing in advertising. -In the meantime, every poor Joe Somebody is trying to make ends meet and pawning the family jewels to buy more advertising.
I am about to reveal the truth behind how I and other internet elite, invest most of our effort, to infect the minds of masses to advertise our stuff for us.

Interested?
Read on to learn how to make this infectious method work for you and blast your business up the rankings to the top.
Follow this manual step by step and watch whatever your promoting spread like the plague.
All it takes is a little creativity and a sneeze…

Buzz

The idea that launched a thousand sites

 

In this section we cover how to find the unique aspects you already possess and turn them into a buzz worthy angle – “your viral agent”

 

What Makes You Worth Talking About?

It’s time to take what you have now and make it devastatingly contagious by pinpointing where to focus your effort. Take out a sheet of paper or use notepad to answer the following questions:

àWhat makes you or what you’re doing so special?

 

àIf you are promoting a website or a new product, what sets you apart from the crowd?

à Is there something you have noticed being mentioned everywhere that somehow relates to you? (i.e. a common thread in forums addressing an issue in your niche)

Discover a facet of what you do that might interest someone or something that sets you apart from the herd. Start looking deep for the viewpoint that makes you buzz worthy.

Example:What’s Worth Talking About - "Wassap!" Video for Budweiser

 

http://www.realityadz.com/view_video.php?viewkey=048d1a6f86c2c4591b7e

Imagine for a moment you’re back in high school. Everyone is talking about someone and rumors are spreading like wildfire. What would they say about you?

It’s Time For Innovation…

Now that you have an idea of where your strong and unique points are lets keep things on the edge. Another important buzz point to focus on is innovation

àHow are you breaking the rules?

 

àAre you using any new cutting edge technology or methods?

 

àHave you created something that can change the market or the world?

 

àHow are you riding the wave of a new discovery?

 

Example:Who’s Being Innovative – “Free Energy” http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1784833525509845733&q=free+energ y&hl=en

 

Example 2:"Innovative Beer Opener" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boQ92CbaF_U

 

If you are setting a new standard for tomorrow’s horizon use this angle.

 

Is Your Marketing Fresh And New As The First Winter Snow?

Ground breaking and heart-stopping like the first step on the moon…Where are you going that no one has gone before? If you are the first to market or you have created your own niche all together, use it! Get your creative ideas on the road and be the navigator on the next frontier.

àWhat are you proving that has only been talked about as theory?

à How can you connect your promotion to something that is new and hot? (i.e. take note of what news or events are getting major publicity and ways you can link them to you)

àHow can you open someone’s eyes and ignite the fire of their interest with your latest endeavor, make it new and full of wonderment?
If you present new and fresh ideas or concepts or just a fresh new perspective on something tried and proven then this is you way to go.

 

Hey, That’s Pushing It… Oh, Go Ahead… Be Controversial

Are you putting it all on the line to ride the line of socially accepted norms? If you’re presenting something that would make your mother blush, believe it or not, you have something built for buzz.

The herd loves a great scandal - take a look at my good friend “The Rich Jerk”, he makes a living telling it like you shouldn’t.

 

àCan you make someone blush at just the mention of your latest project?

 

àIf you make a commercial would it show on PBS or Comedy Central, why is that?

 

àWhen you release your product, will you get snappish emails from the conservative crowd? What will they say is controversial about you?

 

àWhat can you introduce that breaks away from the norm and gets in the face of prospects with an inevitable truth in a confrontational way?

Example: Speaking of edgy and controversial - (great one!) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3017194771837860523&q=free+energ y&hl=en

No one ever made it into the history books that behaved themselves. Be big, loud and opinionated. Just be sure to back up every shred of controversial propaganda with the cold hard proof to close with a bang.

L.M.A.O. Funny Spreads Faster Than The Flu

This is definitely the crowd favorite when it comes to getting people to pass on the word. Everyone loves to share the laughter, and when you connect this to what you’re doing its Benjamin time for you my friend.

àHow can you monetize using viral hysteria?

 

àIf you’re not the “last comic standing” How can you connect your latest project to a popular trend and use something funny as your driving force?
Take a look at these numbers:

Example 1: Look who’s starting a riot –
Top 10 Viral Videos
1 Star Wars Kid (900 million)
2 Numa Numa (700 million)
3 One Night In Paris (400 million)
4 Kylie Minogue for Agent Provocateur (360 million) 5 The Exploding Whale (350 million)
6 John West Salmon Bear Fight (300 million) 6 Trojan Games (300 million)
8 Kolla2001 (200 million)
9 AfroNinja (80 million)
10 The Shining Redux (50 million)

-Taken from “The Daily Mail”

Can you believe this? As you can see the number of people sharing funny videos out there is borderline ridiculous. If you have a creative bone in your body get this buzz to work for you.
Here are a couple examples of how to take funny to market…

Example 2:Is he serious... well, why don’t you ask? http://www.askaninja.com

 

Example 3:Absolutely brilliant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAMIlPudalQ

In the case of building buzz with funny as your driving force, the numbers speak volumes. There are always one or two “funny videos” in circulation at my office on any given day.

Doesn’t it just warm the heart?

People love to spread the love, just give them a reason. A good example is the shocking number of eCards sent out and received every single day containing a pre written “heart-warming” message. So how can you put man’s good vibrations into your marketing approach?

àDo you have a heart-warming story to tell?

 

àHow can you emotionally connect one-on-one with millions?

 

àHow can what you’re doing tug on hearts and endear you to millions?
If you can affect the emotions of a prospect you have a powerful ally on your side of the court. Take a look at the human spirit at work –

 

Example:Warm the Heart – “Free hugs” http://www.free-hugs.com/

 

Their viral video: 10 million views http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Just because it’s viral doesn’t mean it’s limited to being aggressive. It’s amazing what catches and spreads like wildfire, forging change on the deepest levels. If you can get the emotional power of the heart fighting for you cause you are sure to rest a marketer fulfilled.

That’s Taboo

 

Just when you thought the superstition was over and the world had grown up – here comes the buzz.

 

Example:“The Taboo”

According to Mark Hughes, author of Buzzmarketing, “an extraordinary event features at least one of six characteristics: the taboo, the unusual, the outrageous, the hilarious, the remarkable, or the secret.”

àHow can you put a subculture spin on what you’re doing?

 

àIs there a way to approach the underground angle in your next promotion?

 

àIs there a following for your genre, does your niche have a fan club?

 

Do You Have A Secret?

…And it’s killing you to keep it. This method perpetuates using the drive of the human mind. You can put your money where your mouth is when it comes to the masses inability to keep a secret.

In fact, you get the opposite desired effect. When someone hears a secret they just can’t wait to tell and before you know it you’ve got yourself an epidemic.

àHow can you build the curiosity around your project by keeping a secret?

 

àIs there a new way to present your material that makes it appear mysterious and classified?

 

àHow can you make your audience feel exclusive, when they see what you’re offering?

 

The Anticipation Is Killing Me

 

“I can’t wait to see that movie”
“What?! They pushed back the release date again? How can they do that?”

If you can build the anticipation for your promotion, infectious selling is a no brainer. Movie previews are the masters of buzz building through anticipation - suspending your rational thoughts; you are pulled along for 30 seconds of mind-numbing intrigue.
Take this lesson from the pros:

àHow can you build the anticipation for your product?

 

àAre you using a pre-launch formula?

 

àHow can you include small Previews of your next product or promotion?

 

Inspire The Masses To Take Action

Take a minute to really look at this one. Seriously… If you have a core story that could stir the people of the pit to climb mountains, consider inspirational buzz your way to go. Everyone loves a hero, a story of overcoming obstacles, defeating the odds to seize the day. You’ve got to ask yourself:

àHow can your message inspire people to take action?

 

àDo you have an inspiring core story? àHow can your personal struggles inspire someone else to overcome?

Pre-Viral Marketing

An epidemic is inevitable

I’ll use this space to give you a brief pre-requisite to the viral marketing material we’ll be covering in the follow sections. Let’s start with the basic concept behind the viral marketing explosion…

History of the Virus aka Word of Mouth Advertising

This is a concept that dates back to the very beginning of language, before there were marketing workshops, before copywriting boot camps, even before the internet, electricity and life as we know it…

There was word of mouth advertising.

Human kind has always felt a need to interact and connect, sharing relevant information. Now, what started ages ago with where the best grazing fields are, has advanced through time to sharing files and information over vast networks of infinite electronic space.

Now more then ever man has the ability to connect and share worldwide and as marketers you can employ this ancient method to get your message out and spreading.

The First Stages of Outbreak

 

This brings us to the dawn of mass media broadcasting…
Here, man has evolved to the point where his advancement has given him new ways to spread the infectious word.
Some of his agents of transmission include:

 

The Telephone

One of the easiest ways to reach people these days, everyone has a number for just about everything. You as a marketer can use this viral tool to create shout outs, or reminders.

Using online recording services makes this a hands free way to advertise and reach masses spreading your message through the personal touch of voice.

Newspaper

Print has power. Long has this been the favorite way to spread the viral effect. Read and reread newspaper advertising is a staple for many of the biggest companies of our time.

Not only that, print – since the first early days of the press, until now- has served the purpose of transmitting information across nations. Singlehandedly responsible for the rise and fall of power, this classic viral agent has not lost its influence yet.

Example:http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=20&t=23830

 

Radio

It plays even when you are unaware; constantly you are bombarded by this invisible killer. Racing through the atmosphere, around your head and through your body – advertising is as abundant in the airwaves as oxygen.

Effective at getting you out there locally or nationally, not only advertisers but musicians have long used this medium to infect the airwaves and affect change. Put to work for you, be prepared to handle a massive outbreak.

Television

-The biggest killer in history for big and small companies alike. This tool has been the unequaled master of the media for years. Since its early widespread inception and endearment to the people of the world, this tool markets directly to the eyes and ears of most consumers alive today.

Armed with the capability to make the public love or hate, the influence TV has on generations of viewers is astounding.

 

The Internet

Up and coming, what we have here is the future of mind control. Quick and agile with its hands on approach we see mankind great and small taking this viral agent to market.

Never has it been easier to advocate a cause or cause a riot. The great descendant of word of mouth advertising, now the public has an immediate audience around the clock and around the world.

Mass infection is now inevitable with computers in so many homes and businesses. It has never been easier to get in touch with anyone about anything. Never has it been easier to find or create a market and create a cash flow.

Now you can connect with any country in the world, translating your message, webpage or sales letter with a piece of software could not be easier.

Viral Marketing

The Infection Has Begun

Viral marketing is a term that started with the elite guru circles at exclusive lunch meetings, and spread like the plague through word of mouth. Now it has become a common play word for the seminar attending crews across the world’s nations.

Basically “Viral Marketing” and “viral advertising” especially online, is a way marketers can take advantage of pre-existing social networks to get a message out there using self-replicating viral processes, that are very similar to the way a physical virus or computer virus would spread.

Taken from the age old “word of mouth concept” the internet has only enhanced the ability to spread to new levels allowing you to harness the power of networks. Now you can reach large numbers of specifically targeted groups instantly.

Some of the first recorded offline / online viral campaigns were developed by Artist/Designer Tim Nolan of Spent2000.com in 1995. By placing abstract catch-phrases, quotes, song lyrics alongside video artwork, Nolan solidified this method to create "buzz" for a URL.

“SPENT2000 was originally used as an alter ego in the early to mid nineties during a period of intensive “guerrilla art”. After my introduction to the early internet in 1995, as a platform, the internet seemed to be the next logical step for this type of work.”

-Tom Nolan, http://www.spent2000.com/2005/

In his art he used phrases like "This city isn't safe" and put it next to a URL. This method built enough curiosity that people would remember to visit the site the next time they got online.

Viral marketing when you hear it mentioned today usually is in reference to stealthy Internet-based marketing campaigns. This can include blogs, apparently simple web sites, and other forms of astroturfing (or in this case internet propaganda), designed to create buzz and viral spreading of a launch of a product or service.

More often viral marketing’s goal is to stir up media coverage using a unique angle or story, the viral PR alone gives you more success in most cases than an expensive marketing campaign.

Viral advertising alludes to the fact that people pass on interesting, relevant or entertaining like funny videos or free marketing audios. Marketers will use these viral tools to build awareness of an event or strengthen a brand.

Some of the methods used are short viral videos that appear to be short funny film clips, flash games like advergames
(http://www.dressuptellman.com/), images or creative text.

Viral Campaigns are quickly growing in popularity; a couple reasons for this are the low-cost as compared to something like direct mail, and the excellent targeting and great response rates. You strongest point when marketing virally is the ability to reach a ton of interested people for next to nothing out of pocket.

One of the biggest threats to modern marketers is constantly finding new ways to acquire and then keep a massive customer base. Up until recently email marketing online has been the greatest asset to maintaining an extravagant internet marketing lifestyle.

You will find Viral marketing can be a fantastic alternative to this classic method while avoiding spam mail; by encouraging your readers to spread the word for you in a positive way.

Two Strands of Viral Marketing

 

Forced Viral

 

à Hotmail.com

Speaking of forced viral marketing, remember Hotmail.com’s viral beginnings? There campaign was an easy one as they were one of the first to offer a free web-based email to the masses. Basically the process was something like this:

1. On the front end they gave away free email and other services…

2. Every message sent from hotmail.com went out armed with a simple link at the bottom of every email saying something like: "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com"

3. From there all Hotmail did was sit back and wait while their outgoing free emails infected one small network of friends at a time.
4. A majority of all the people receiving the email would follow the link and sign up for a free email account.
5. The viral effect was highly infectious, and Hotmail’s popularity grew overnight

 

Hyper-viral

A classic example – I’m sure we’ve all heard of - is the Internet book giant Amazon. Not the first name that comes to mind when you think of viral marketing, this company expanded almost exclusively using viral tactics.

They did this with the simple position of encouraging their customers to by books for their friends and family. Then in every package of books they included a print letter encouraging the recipient to return to Amazon when they were looking for a book. Amazon also encouraged others with the use of their early affiliate programs, giving tools that would allow for the positioning of targeted dynamic content on their affiliates websites.

The Elements of a Viral Marketing Campaign

 

àSelf Perpetuation

When you attach your message, product or marketing to something people like - the natural effect is for people to have the drive to pass it on. If you give a good experience and attach it to what you’re doing it will expand virally. On the other hand if what your doing doesn’t satisfy, the effects will just drop off.

In short create something others will want to share using