Stop with the enforced e-mail forwards already! Trying to coerce or bribe people to forward your information to friends or family in order to be rewarded or win looks distasteful in today’s ultra-permission-based world. Particularly when you tell visitors nothing about their friend’s or family’s privacy in the space immediately adjacent to the e-mail form.

A true viral campaign works because consumers are compelled to do so by the glory of the content, not because you bribed them with points or something else.

What absolutely will not work:

Proposing 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.

What absolutely will work:

Offering something worthy of sharing like a valuable discount, vital information or offering an inducement for sharing like further entries into a sweepstakes or an added discount or premium service.

Relevant or timely information, research, or studies that are included in your e-mail may encourage the receivers to share with their family and friends. Interactive content like a quiz or test, especially if it is fun, will inspire forwarding.

Jokes and cartoons are nearly always forwarded to everyone the recipient knows. Why?  Because they are entertaining and entertainment is meant to be shared.

A very cool multimedia experience is always going to achieve a lot of pass-along. Rich media is new and the novelty and tech components alone are often enough to make the e-mail recipient eager to share it.

Oops! Almost forgot one really significant thing.You can craft a brilliant e-mail adopting all the rules, but if a consumer visits your site and has an experience less than what was anticipated, you are going to achieve viral marketing, without doubt – but the bad kind. So be sure that your product or service is ready and is as promoted.

Related posts:

1. Why and How E-mail Viral Marketing Works
2. Employing E-Mail to Achieve Viral Marketing Objectives
3. How to Get and Use E-Mail Addresses for Viral Advertising