Email Marketing by the Numbers: How to Use the World’s Greatest Marketing Tool to Take Any Organization to the Next Level

Chapter 8 Review

• Buzz marketing is about making an impression and getting people to talk about you. (Note: buzz can be both negative and positive.)

• Word-of-mouth and viral marketing are ways to compel your constituents to take a positive action that compels their peers to take action as well.

• Viral marketing is also likely to include one or several of these strategies: gives away products or services, provides for effortless transfer to others, scales easily from small to very large, exploits common motivations and behaviors, utilizes existing communication networks, and takes advantage of others’ resources.

• To encourage viral marketing, you must ask, keep risk factors low, and provide an incentive for both the constituent and the person that he or she is referring. Email is the perfect medium to test various offers and incentives to find out what compels your constituents to act.

• Forward-to-a-friend is a viral component that can drive success, but it extends beyond slapping a button onto the bottom of your email. Your content itself must be conducive to viral marketing.

• To leverage viral and WOM tactics, take a look at your close personal network. Husbands, wives, parents, and children all care about your success and will likely be more than willing to help.

• Remember, referrals are typically the least expensive leads for any organization. That’s why WOM marketing and viral marketing are worth your time.