Listen, please! Stop it already with the enforced e-mail forwards! Trying to force (bribe) people to forward your info onto friends & family in order to “build your list” looks amateur 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 e-mail form!
A true viral campaign gets forwarded because consumers appreciate the quality of the content, and not because you bribed them with a ‘freebie’ or something else.
Here’s what will not work:
Suggesting that e-mail recipients forward your message to their friends and family will not work! Adding a line at the bottom of your e-mail that reads “Please feel free to forward this message to a friend” is more likely to get it deleted than forwarded. Besides, it looks like and amateur and that’s not the image you want to convey!
Here’s what will work…
Offering something worthy of sharing, like:
- Valuable discount
- Vital information
- Additional entries into a sweepstakes
- An added discount or premium service
Relevant and timely information, research, or studies that are included in your e-mail might encourage the recipients to share with their family and friends. Interactive content like a quiz or test, especially if it’s fun, will motivate the forwarding of your emails.
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. The novelty and tech factors of rich media alone are often enough to make the e-mail recipient eager to share it.
Oops! Almost forgot one really important thing….
You can craft a brilliant e-mail following all the rules, but if a consumer visits your site and has an experience less that what was promised, you are going to achieve viral marketing, alright…the bad kind. So be certain that your product or service is ready and is as advertised.
Anything less and you’ll not only be cheating consumers, but yourself as well.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to check back often for more updates. As always, we appreciate your feedback, comments and questions.
Until next time,
Godspeed
James
~+~
{ 4 comments }
I can tell that you’re putting a lot of determination into your blog and detailed articles! I am deeply in love with each and every single bit of details you post here (you can find not several quality blogs left .
Thanks for the kind comments, they are most appreciated! And yes, I work my tail off at getting the best stuff people can use in their hands
Great article, I have read through this valuable page numerous instances and believe it intriguing. I look forward to additional posts written by you, will check back again shortly.
Hi Jamar,
Thank you so much for you reading loyalty, I will do my best to keep your friendship.
James
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