Many people who are familiar with Internet Marketing or Internet Business still don’t have a firm grasp on viral marketing and why it is so valuable to those in Internet marketing or Internet business.

Let’s start off by covering the basics of what viral marketing is to better help you understand the hype.  The term viral marketing is used for any marketing strategy that encourages the recipient of a marketing message to pass it along others.

This creates the potential for a great deal of growth in the message’s exposure and impact.  It is called "viral" marketing because of the rapid rate at which the message can be spread.

Viral marketing’s success is dependent on the message containing something that the recipient finds worth passing along to others.

It could be an offer such as buy-one-get-one-free, 15% off your next purchase or a free subscription to a publication.

Whatever the case may be, it must be something people feel the urge to pass on to others.

Viral marketing has proven its usefulness as a marketing tool over the course of many, many years.

Statistics show that over 90% of people say they would recommend a web site, product or service to someone they know if they were given a good deal or quality service or products while only 1% of people reported that they would recommend a website, product or service if they were dissatisfied.

The one fact that is probably more attractive than any other about viral marketing is that it is a relatively inexpensive marketing method.

The greatest cost involved is that of the time spent creating the offer to be sent out.

There are no real advertising costs to be incurred because you’re sending your message out predominantly via e-mail, unlike paying for exposure such as additional web space or advertisements in ezines.

Knowing what you know now it’s easy to see what all the hype is about.

Whether or not the newsletter was worth continuing to receive is dependent on the quality and content.

I mention this because it’s one of the most crucial factors in whether or not a newsletter will work for your business or marketing venture.

Newsletters, like books, magazines, e-books or ezines, are only as good as their content.

You can have all the eye-catching pictures and graphics you please, and a great layout, but if the content isn’t interesting and informative to your readers then it’s bound to be a waste of your time, and the time of youíre their time, too.

This leads us to the question, "What do you need to make a great newsletter?"

A great newsletter must give the readers what they want.  If you’re a niche marketer you’ll want to give your readers a variety of information and news related to your niche.

If you’re in the Internet dating business your newsletter should have cover a variety of dating-related subjects, success stories, personal improvement articles, or the like.

Whatever your market, you’ll want to give the readers what they’re looking for.  Many site owners have found that asking the readers for suggestions has worked very well to keep abreast of what they want in the newsletter.

In addition to great content there are other items that need to be included.  One key element that should be included in any newsletter is a link to send the reader back to your website.

This should be located in an area that is highly visible, preferably on the first page if your newsletter has more than one page.

This gives the reader easy access to go to your site for more information on something mentioned in the newsletter and will also entice them to visit just for the sake of visiting.  Remember, people love to click on links!

Another critical element of your newsletter should be an open invitation for people to pass your newsletter along to friends.

Pass-it-along advertising has had huge success in the past and is a great free advertising tool.  So don’t forget to invite your readers to pass your newsletter along!

If you have a brick and mortar business you must ensure that you have a knowledgeable staff that can interact with them effectively; answer their questions, provide accurate information and be prompt and courteous.

If you have a web-based business you need to provide much of the same customer service functions, but virtually.  In order to do this your website must be interactive.

To create an interactive website you must provide functions on your site that allow your customer to feel like they’re getting what they want, when they want.

If they want product information they need to be able to click and receive, right then, right there.  They may also feel more at home if there’s a means by which they can communicate with your or other customers.

To do this you can create a message board or blog on your site that will allow them to virtually connect with other people with their same interests.

These types of things make a customer feel like their needs are being met and leaves them feeling more satisfied.  And a satisfied customer not only spends more money but will send potential customers your way.

Another important tool for your website is a feedback form.  This form allows customers to give you feedback directly from your site, rather than having to send it from their e-mail.

By placing the feedback form on your site you make the customer feel like their comments, concerns or complaints are important to you, and this makes them feel good about you as a business person.

Be sure to place this form in an easy-to-find location on your website.

While adding these tools to your website may seem complicated, or even pricey, they are well worth it in the long run.

Most web-hosting companies offer these tools and many more in their hosting packages.

For a few additional dollars each month you can improve your customer satisfaction rating and traffic flow greatly.

More and more "brick and mortar" businesses are turning to the Internet to expand their visibility in an ever-increasingly competitive worldwide market.

You may wonder how a traditional brick and mortar business would make its debut on the web.  The answer to that question is two-part.  First it would depend on the type of business that you own.

The needs of different types of businesses can vary a great deal.  Second it would depend on what you want to get out of taking their business online.

Do you want to take your business to the Internet to increase your sales opportunities by providing ordering online, or do you want to merely increase your visibility and stick to selling in person or via phone?

Let’s cover each of these topics separately.

Depending on the type of business you have taking it to the web can involve many different things.

Perhaps you own a flower shop where you would have to not only have your available arrangements seen by customers but would also need to quote delivery times.  Another possibility is that you offer a service-based business.

In this instance you would need your site to offer enough information to get the customer’s attention, but concentrate on the customer-service aspect of providing additional information and services via e-mail and phone.

Another factor to consider when taking your business to the web is shipping of goods ordered online.  In a traditional business most customers make their purchases in person, so shipping is not a concern.

However, when selling goods online your customer could be across town, across country or around the world.  You need to be prepared to handle the shipping aspect of internet business while still offering competitive prices and maintaining your profit.

Making your business’s debut on the Internet can be very exciting and loaded with possibilities.  If done right you can see a great increase in profitability.

Just remember to have a solid plan in place before taking your business online and make sure to cover all the bases so that your internet debut goes as smoothly as possible.

According to the dictionary, "Internet" is defined as: "an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world" and "Marketing" is defined as "selling".

So, if the two definitions are combined, you get "Selling using an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world." That about sums it up.

The term "Internet Marketing" covers an array of different methods of selling products and services that are delivered electronically or by freight.

The list of things that can be sold on the Internet is basically the same list as things that can be sold in the brick and mortar world.

Selling things in the real world means that the customer contacts the seller by going into his place of business or by phone.

Real world merchandize is always delivered physically. In the world of Internet Marketing products can be physically delivered, of course, but many things that are sold on the Internet can be delivered electronically, as well.

Some things sold through Internet marketing can be delivered either physically or electronically. For example: Information is available in the form of e-books and sound and video files that can be downloaded directly from the site that is selling them but they can also usually be ordered in a hard copy form and physically delivered to the buyer.

The term, "Internet Marketing" covers a wide variety of products and services and the possibilities seem to be endless.