Shared by Steve
Interesting read from Seth Godin. With all the hoopla surrounding viral YouTube videos, and other such ads, which frankly I can’t see they get a lot of real traction. Traction in this context, meaning people actually taking an action that generates revenue for the viral ad creator … Here’s some examples of viral "products" and "services" that went ballistic because the viral component was built in by design.

Enjoy,

Steve

Viral marketing is an idea that spreads–and an idea that while it is spreading actually helps market your business or cause.

Two kinds of viral marketing: The original classic sort in which the marketingisthe product and which a self-amplifying cycle occurs. Hotmail, for example, or YouTube. The more people use them, the more people see them. The more people see them, the more people use them. The product or service must be something that improves once more people use it.

A second kind has evolved over the last few years, and that’s a marketing campaign that spreads but isn’t the product itself.Shepard Fairey‘s poster of Barack Obama was everywhere, because people chose to spread it. It was viral (it spread) and it was marketing (because it made an argument–a visual one–for a candidate.)

Something being viral is not, in an of itself, viral marketing. Who cares that 32,000,000 people saw your stupid video? It didn’t market you or your business in a tangible, useful way.

Marketers are obsessed with free media, and, as is often the case, we blow it in our rush to get our share. We create content that is hampered or selfish or boring. Or we create something completely viral that doesn’t do any marketing at all.

I wrote the first mainstream book about viral marketing. It’s free (still) eight years (and millions of downloads) later.

Download 2000Ideavirus.pdf

I haven’t updated it or made it pretty, but I think the core ideas stand up pretty well. (I even talk about the Zipf’s Law and the long tail, but didn’t realize it at the time).

Here’s how the book itself is an example of viral marketing:

1. I posted the PDF for free. Three thousand people downloaded it on day one.

2. The file is small enough to email to your friends. I encouraged people to do just that.

3. Some people mailed it to fifty or a hundred people. It spread.

4. That’s just viral. The marketing part? I released a $40 souvenir hardcover edition. People knew the idea but didn’t like the format or my design skills. So they paid a lot for a book they had already read. It went to #5 on Amazon (#4 in Japan). We sold the rights in dozens of languages. And thepaperbackrights. And it helped me get speaking gigs.

BUT! 5. That’s not why I did it. If I had done it as a clever way to sell books, it would have failed. It would have failed because I would have somehow tried to track it, or added friction, or tried to profit in some way from the idea. I was way too dumb at the time to have done it right if my goal was to do it ‘right’.

The critical element of viral marketing is this: it’s built in. It was built into Hotmail and built into YouTube. The more people used the camera on their cell phones, the more the idea spread, the more people wanted a camera.

If you want to do viral marketing, you can try to come up with a viral ad, but you’ll probably fail. You’re better off building the viral right into the product, creating a product that spreads because you designed it that way.

Viral marketing only works well when you plan for it, when you build it in, when you organize your offering to be spreadable, interesting and to work better for everyone involved when it spreads. If I don’t benefit from spreading it, why should I spread it? I won’t. If you don’t benefit from your users spreading the idea, it might spread, but it won’t help you much. So both elements have to be present.

The reason for this post is that viral marketing is getting a bad name, largely from clueless marketing agencies and clueless marketers. Here’s what they do: they get a lame product, or a semi-lame product, and they don’t have enough time or money to run a nationwide ad campaign. So, instead, they slap some goofy viral thing on top of it and wait for it to spread. And if it doesn’t spread, they create a faux controversy or engage a PR firm or some bloggers and then it still doesn’t work.

Being viral isn’t the hard part. The hard part is making that viral element actually produce something of value, not just entertainment for the client or your boss.

Be sure to visit Seth’s Blog for more insightful info – great blog !

This is simply a fantastic idea … Simple & Fantastic!

Sometimes is the simple and easy things that generate the best R O I for your marketing time and expense.  Rad this little system and marvel at its simplicity and effectiveness.

This would take about half an hr to implement in the Ultimate Referral Marketing System.

Enjoy!

Steve

Here is a simple postcard to get them buying

This is a sample postcard for an art gallery (it doesn’t matter that this is not your business – it only matters that you take the idea and MAKE it fit your business).

This was a whopping $100 investment – and made them a healthy $3,000 profit in 5 days (mailed out to 120 people). These numbers may seem small to you – but to this business it was huge … their biggest EVER. And after they implement the follow-up campaigns and lead generation sequences, they will see 10 times these numbers.

The postcards were done with a gold foil invitation look … and went out to their existing customers (and NO, you cannot use e-mail postcards to replace this – invest the money and do it properly! My offline marketing returns many times better response than online only (by 400% and more).

=================== Front of postcard ===================

A FREE $50.00 Gift Certificate has been gifted to YOU

By at

I was just reflecting, as most of us do with the _____ (insert your holiday or reason why here) _____ upon us, about people, and especially my most loyal and appreciated customers. I thought about some ideas of how I could say thank-you … What’s better than giving away money?

Come see us in the next 2 weeks with this $50 gift certificate. I will have some new help around the store to take care of your projects. Finally get that picture framed that’s been under your bed or in the attic.

It’s my way of saying Thank-You for your loyal patronage!

================== Back of postcard ==================

Welcome to the Michelangelo Club. You will be the first to hear of (and benefit from) all the new offers for our Michelangelo members … Look for them in the mail … Enjoy your FREE GIFT.

See you this week …

PS … Come see me in the next 3 days and I will add an extra $5.00 to your gift certificate!!

Thank-you for your loyalty over the years and welcome to the Michelangelo Club.

What to do with your $50? (make that $55 if you come in soon)

• use it for custom framing
• use it as a down payment
• please allow up to 4 weeks to complete the project

When you come in – let me know your e-mail address for future Michelangelo specials coming up this year!!!

******

That was VERY simple – they wrote it up in half an hour – had it printed and mailed in the next 48 hours. There is nothing difficult about that – and yes, there are ample ways you could improve the offer. The point is – IT WORKED. The point is not for you to critique it or poke holes in it – rather to find a way to make it work for your business.

There are undoubtedly more ways you can get your existing clients back to buy – to buy more often – and to become more devoted purchasers (through clubs like this).

So … what offer can you make to your clients?

The ideas are endless if you put some thought into it and find ways to get them back to buy.

Find a few ways to make these lessons work for your business …

http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/troy-white/balancing-life-and-business-while-building-your-fortune.html#more-376

From – Troy White Editor, Small Business Mastery Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE

The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System

24 years in the insurance business and I feel like I’ve been chasing a Unicorn for all these years.  The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System … does it really exist?  Can it really exist?  If it did exist, what would it be like?  What would it actually do?  I mean if you’re going to stick the word "Ultimate" in front of something, it had better be pretty darn fantastic … Right?

Not meaning to provide more questions than answers – so I’ll stop asking them and relate a mental exercise I recently went through to get these answers.  If I could design the Ultimate Insurance Marketing System, what would I have it do.  Here are a few of the things that my mind came up with – as a P&C Broker focused on Commercial Insurance.  These are some of the "attributes" I desired.

• Affordability – a key component in this tightening economy
• Ease if Use – used a CRM App lately?
• Adaptable – it’s got to be multi function and flexible
• Web Based/Hosted – I’m tired of Remote Access and Database management

Following are several of the Functions I wanted it to be able to perform – Tasks I wanted The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System to Perform for me :

• Client Nurturing
• Prospecting
• Lead Warming / X-Date Follow Up
• Automated Campaigns
• Cross Selling Campaigns
• Testimonial Request Letters
• Claims Follow Up
• Thank You / Appreciation to New & Renewal Clients
• Referral Marketing / Referral Contests

I had a few more but, I don’t want to appear greedy …

So why was I going through such a mental exercise in the first place?  Well, I must admit, I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted after putting in a significant amount of time and effort into a certain "nameless" CRM app that gave me the SHAFT and not the GoldMine I was after.

I was seeking more Referrals … and from the reading I was doing, I needed to be building Better, Stronger Personal Relationships with my clients, prospects and referral partners.  Sending out some letters in A10 Window Envelopes with Metered Stamps just wasn’t getting the deal done – for me.

This is getting long, and I know I’m no Shakespear so I’ll Cut to the Chase.  I believe I have found my Unicorn of Insurance Marketing. A system I will confidently stick the label Ultimate in front of.

In fact I’ve made a little 5 minute video for you – as a form of Social Proof.  Seeing is believing.  Watch it and see how in 5 short minutes [could have actually done it in 3 mins.] I demonstrate the following attributes of an Ultimate Marketing System.

• Affordability
• Ease of Use
• Web Based
• Flexible
• Client Nurturing
• Thank You / Appreciation
• Referral Generating

 You can watch the video by CLICKING HERE.  I call it …

How To Go From "Policy Peddler" To

Trusted Agent / Friend / Referral Magnet

Pay Close Attention at about the 2:55 minute mark – I show you how I looked before I found this system, then at about the 4 minute point, you can see how I look AFTER I found The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System.

I’m working on the video right now where I show you how you can put lost clients on an automated Client Win Back Campaign in under 3 minutes! 

Until next time.

The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System

Why do I call it the Ultimate Insurance Marketing System?  A rather bold claim I agree.  You tell me what other system allows the speed, flexibility and low cost as this one.

Watch here as I show you how to …

- Enter a New Customer into the System

- Never forget their Birthday again!

- Never forget their Spouse’s Birthday – Ever!

- Add their children and birthdays to you database

- Send your New Client a Thank You Card – automatically

- Send your New Client a Referral Card 15 Days Later – all on autopilot

ALL THAT IN UNDER 5 MINUTES … MUST SEE VIDEO!

CLICK FOR VIDEO

– Video Moved  to Static Page for 800 x 600 Viewing –

I will be working on some new campaigns for the Ultimate Referral Marketing System and wanted to see if any of you folks had a urgent need or pressing desire for a specific campaign.  Lets all discuss it here … would love to hear your feedback. Here’s some of the one’s I’m looking to finish up and convert over to the new editor.

- Lost Client Win Back – Personal Lines and Commercial Lines

- Quoted but Closed lead warming campaign – contact at next renewal

– X-Dated, but not ready for our appointment 3, 6, 9 ,12 months from now

- PL Cross Sell to Commercial Clients

- Commercial Lines Cross Sell to PL Business Owners

– Home Ins X-Sell to Auto policyholders

- Auto X-Sell to Home Policyholders

– Work Comp X-Sell to PKG Clients

- Group Benefits X-Sell Card to any Commercial client

- Did you know we Do … Umbrella / Health / Life

Ok folks – theres some of the ideas I have on the burner to either re create or create from scratch.  Votes?  Assistance?  Ideas … Contributions of successful content?  Let it rip!

…From One of the Nations

Foremost Referral Marketing Experts

The Insurance Referral System Webinar

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