By Pam Renovato
Expert Author

Viral marketing is simply a marketing campaign that will result in the multiplication of you or your link. As it continues it grows and grows with your links being spread all over the internet. The more links back to you, the easier you will be found. Here are a few ideas and resources that you can use to get the ball rolling.

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1. Create an award that other web masters may apply for. Web awards are sought after for the credibility they give to the site. Most web masters will proudly display the awards they have won. You could create an award graphic and supply each winner of your award a simple HTML code to display the award they have won.

The code could be as simple as:


Of course the displayed award links back to you.

There is a simple, free cgi script you can install to help with your awards application. Fast award will help weed out duplicate and broken submissions to make your review process easier. Find this free script at: http://amusive.com/scripts/

Once you have your award set up, submit your award to: http://www.award-it.com/join.html This award site will give you plenty of submissions from people interested in your award.

2. Create a free ebook and offer all who download the right to distribute it on their site or ezine. If you do not have ebook software, you can have an ebook created for free at : http://www.ebooks-made-easy.com/

Once you have your ebook you an distribute it at software sites such as: http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/ http://www.freewarehome.com

Don't forget the free ebook directories such as: http://www.ebook2000.com/cgibin/links/add. cgi http://www.ebookdirectory.com/

3. You could distribute your own screen savers. Just incorporate your site's name and web address in this screen saver. You could create a digital file with your logo and web address and incorporate this file into the screen saver with the other images.

Here is a screen saver creator that will allow you to create as many screen savers as you wish to give away. These screen savers are distributable as .exe files. It is completely free and it is acceptable to use this software for business purposes. You can even create games with this software. http://www.flashwiz.co.uk/body.asp

If you create a free screen saver, you can submit them to software sites and screen saver sites such as: http://www.wulfert.com/input/submission_saver.html http://www.taynet.com/formmail/addition.html

4. You could give away email. Everyone.net will allow you to give away email with your domain. It is a web based email and you will be allowed to rotate your banners on the service page. http://www.everyone.net/

Also Bigmail will also allow you to give away email with your domain in it. The email is web based and you are allowed 20% of rotating banner space. http://www.bigmailbox.com

5. Create a top 100 site. If you wanted you could create your own top 100 business sites list for others to join. Each person who joins will send traffic to your site in their attempts to be ranked higher on the list. Which in turn brings them more traffic. Not a bad set up. Simply go here: http://www.topsitelists.com

6. Give away free guest books. Each guest book that you give away will have a link to your site on it. If you gave away 50 free guest books to 50 web masters to use on their site, you automatically have 50 web sites linking to you. Everyone who signs one of those 50 guest books will be exposed to your web site. The multiplication possibilities are endless! http://www.guestbook. nu/referrer.html

7. Provide free digital postcards. Your visitors will be allowed to send digital greeting cards for all occasions and just for fun. Every time one of your visitors send a digital postcard from your site, the receiver of the postcard will be given the location of where they may pick up their postcard. They must pick up their postcard at your site on a post office page that you create and they will be directed to your site to send postcards of their own.

On top of all of that each post card sent and received from your site will have a link to your site and will state 'This is a free service provided from (your name)'. The multiplication possibilities are endless! http://www.allyours.net/postcard/

8. Add referral scripts to your site. You will be surprised at how many people will recommend you if they enjoyed your site. If you wish, you could use free ebooks you created from above as a free gift to those who recommend your site to others. This will increase your recommendations. You can get a free referral script form: http://www.letemknow.com

9. Start a web ring. You will always have other web sites linking to you if you do this. A web ring is simply a group of sites that have chosen to link to each other. Each web site displays a graphic that allows the visitor to tour other sites in the same ring. Get a free web ring at: http://edit. webring. yahoo.com/h/create_ring.html

10. Finally the most obvious, but sometimes over looked- Always, always ask your subscribers to forward your ezine to those they think might enjoy it. Very often they will.

About the Author:
Pam Renovato is the web master of http://thefreeadnetwork.com She invites you to take a look at "Sprouts from Internet Business Valley" which will enable you and your customers to stop searching for resources and start promoting. More info at: http://thefreeadnetwork.com/sprouts.html