Viral marketing is a term that has been floating around for nearly a decade. It is a form of marketing that relies on creating a message or a product that is so captivating and so compelling that it is almost impossible for recipients not to pass it along to their networking contacts, who in turn, will pass it along to their networking contacts, etc., etc., etc. until there is a huge surge in brand awareness and demand for your product or service.

The classic example of viral marketing is Hotmail, which, as you know, offers a f.r.e.e e-mail service to people on the Internet. Unfortunately, when Hotmail started out, not too many people knew about it.

To remedy that, the powers that be at Hotmail added a little caption promoting their service at the bottom at of each of their e-mails. Within a year and a half, they had over 12 million subscribers. That's when Microsoft stepped in and purchased it for $400 million. Not bad for a free service, huh?

Fast forward a few years and we've got people in many, many fields creating marketing messages that enlist the recipients as a voluntary sales force; people who receive the message, spread the message like wildfire throughout their various business and social networks. Just think of all the e-mail jokes you receive and you'll know what I'm talking about.

We can accomplish on the Internet in seconds what it would take us months or even years to accomplish offline. With just the click of a mouse a message can be sent to hundreds or even thousands of people. The result is that our networking efforts can produce monumental results.

Look at Scott Stratten. He's a guy who created a short video that was seen by more than a million people on the Internet and brought him over 70,000 new subscribers to his newsletter. (Are you starting to see the power of all this?)

Ah, but what if you don't have the money to make short movies or if you haven't got a creative bone in your body? Then you must do whatever you can do to have your marketing message seen by as many people as possible that, in turn, will pass that message on to others. Here are just a few things you can try:

• Create a simple mailing list (perhaps something like a quote of the day) - with inspirational, educational or funny content that will be passed from one person to another. At the bottom of each issue put a small message about yourself and your offerings.
• If you send a newsletter, be sure to ask readers to pass copies along in every issue.
• Put a tell-a-friend form on your Web site.
• Use autoresponders to stay in touch with your prospects and customers. Give tem unexpected bonuses that they can pass on to others.
• Get as much media coverage as possible by sending press releases regularly.
• Enter into joint ventures with people who share your target market and cross-pollinate your mailing lists while you each endorse the other.
• Submit articles to article banks and your name will be seen over and over again when the articles are used in newsletters and placed on different Web sites.
• Create affiliate programs for your products and services. Let others promote you to their networks.
• Write an e-book that you give away and allow others to give away or sell, if they wish, as long as they do not alter it. Naturally, your marketing message will be front and center.

Bottom Line: If you want your success to be outrageous, make sure your message is contagious.

Leni Chauvin, The Client Attraction Coach,