On the Internet, viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect.

Viral marketing increases online sales! That concept seems to pop up everywhere on Internet marketing resources. So what exactly is viral marketing?

The simplest way to explain viral marketing is to think in terms of mainstream networking. Your contacts know about you and your site and you hope to that they pass that information on to someone else. But hoping is not a good way to approach web marketing, you need to be pro-active in promotion.

By implementing viral marketing strategies, you provide an incentive for web site visitors to carry a sales message. This incentive is usually a free "carrier" tool for that marketing message or a means by which it is easier for people to spread the word about your products and services.  The idea is not to push your visitors into delivering your sales message to others, but as a side effect of them gaining benefit from a utility or service that you offer.

A good example of viral marketing is many of the free email services available on the Internet. The messages that you send from some these free services invariably contain promotion for the company providing the service; plus there's advertising in their user interfaces.

A very successful strategy is the development of articles and tutorials such as these. You will notice that at the end of each article and tutorial in the copyright info, I request that if the content is going to be reproduced that reference is made to Taming the Beast.net. If I am fortunate enough, a webmaster may place an article on a high traffic web site (along with the proper acknowledgement) and this will create some traffic to our web site. Using this strategy, you are relying on the honesty of the user to acknowledge the origin of the tool.

Another very popular method of viral marketing via the Internet is through the use of ezines and newsletters. If your newsletter contains information of value, such as tips, hints, news or tutorials, you'll find that subscribers will forward it on to others; but be sure to ask them to as people do need a little prodding even for obvious actions.

The use of newsletters can also help build content for your web site which increases search engine visibility. 

Podcasts, stand-alone ebooks and whitepapers are also excellent viral marketing strategies.

Viral Marketing creates a win/win situation for all parties. The user is provided a service or valuable information for free and in turn provides your site with free advertising. Start turning your web site visitors into part of your online sales force!