The 3 MOST Powerful Forms Of 'Viral Marketing' That Will PUT Your 'Opt-In' List Building Efforts On... Auto-Pilot!

You've seen your competitors' marketing tactics work, and you're convinced that they're using "viral marketing" to get their list building efforts on the fast track. However, before you start scrambling to copy these strategies from them, take a minute or two to consider three of the most powerful types of viral marketing: opt-in forms. You'll see that they're more than just the old standby.

1. Give Them What They Want - In Plain English!

Here's a quick fact: People are more likely to act on a call to action that is written the way they would normally speak it rather than in traditional sales-speak. It just doesn't make sense to try and get them to act according to your agenda if you're not going to try and communicate your message the way they talk. By using the words that they use on a regular basis, you can increase your opt-in list building efforts by leaps and bounds.

* Use "please" instead of "as requested by" or "You will be receiving".

* Use "you" instead of "we".

The reason that you'll see most opt-in forms encourage people to sign up for their list by using the word "will" is because most people feel like their actions have already been taken. There's no need to play the strong-arm game, which comes across as manipulative and pushy. Instead, it's fine to let them know that you're expecting them to do what they signed up for in the first place. They may not take action right away, but they'll know that at some point down the road, if enough compelling information reaches them, they'll want to sign up for your list. You can always use other tactics in combination with this one if needed.

2. Research The Market to Find Out How They Use the Internet

You may have a great idea for an opt-in form, but your list won't be as big as you think it will be if you don't know what people are looking for when they search the web for information regarding your product or service. You can find out this information by conducting a couple research projects so that you can see what people are looking for when they use the keywords related to your company and niche. If there's a particular type of information that people in your target market are looking for, you can develop a test page using various keywords and see what type of response it gets back from the search engines.

3. Use the Right Social Networking Tools

Don't reinvent the wheel when it comes to developing your opt-in form. Check out some of the free tools like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIn that have already been created for various companies to see which ones work best for them. You can also download your own set of opt-in forms so that you can custom-fit them to work for your specific type of business.

Conclusion

Viral marketing tactics are a proven way to increase your opt-in list building efforts. There are several different types of viral marketing that you can implement, but the most powerful ones will depend on your niche. The one constant is that the more information you can provide people in an easy to understand format, the better off they'll be when it comes to signing up for your list. This leads us into our next article on an even more powerful form of viral marketing…

For Part 2: How To Produce Viral Marketing Content That Will Increase Your Opt-In List Building... AUTOMATIC! (This article also includes an excerpt from our best-selling book: Viral Marketing For Dummies) .