The term "viral marketing" has been tossed around the Internet for the past two or three years now. If you've been marketing online for a while, chances are that you've heard legendary marketers like Mark Joyner, Marlon Sanders and Yanik Silver refer to this term countless times.

But do you REALLY understand what this marketing term means and how it can greatly impact the success of your online business?

If not, here's a brief definition:

Viral marketing involves allowing people to give away and use your free product or service in order to multiply your marketing quickly over the Internet.

The idea behind viral marketing is that you include your ad with the freebie people give away or use. Below are ten high impact viral marketing strategies:

1. Allow people to reprint your articles on their web site, in their e-zine, newsletter, magazine or ebooks. Include your resource box and the option for article reprints at the bottom of each article.

2. Allow people to use any of your freebies as free bonuses for products or services they sell. Include your ad inside all of your freebies.

3. Allow people to use your online discussion board for their own web site. Some people don't have one. Just include your banner ad at the top of the board.

4. Allow people to sign up for a free web site on your server. Since you are giving away the space, require them to include your banner ad at the top of the site.

5. Allow people to add their link to your free web site directory. Just require that they return a link back to your web site, advertising your directory.

6. Allow people to provide your free online service to their web site, visitors, or e-zine subscribers. They could be free e-mail, e-mail consulting, search engine submissions, etc.

7. Allow people to give away your free software. Just include your business advertisement inside the software program.

8. Allow people to give away your free web design graphics, fonts, templates, etc. Just include your ad on them or require people to link directly to your web site.

9. Allow people to place an advertisement in your free ebook if, in exchange, they give away the ebook to their web visitors or e-zine subscribers.

10. Allow people to give away your free ebook to their visitors. Then, their visitors will also give it away. This will just continue to spread your ad all over the Internet.

Now that you have a better understanding of viral marketing and the above 10 strategies, what's next? Start experimenting with what you've discovered. Use one or more of these proven strategies. Brand yourself and grow your list and income exponentially.

Copyright 2005 Keith Gloster