News from the MFRmail Newsletter

What exactly is "viral marketing"? Viral marketing is "any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence" (1).

Most of you know that "word of mouth" advertising or marketing is one of the most effective means of attracting quality referrals to your practice. Having trusted clients, with whom you have a successful relationship, are one of the strongest means to get the word out to others. But there are many ways to promote this "viral" spread.

One of the most difficult ways of spreading the word, for many practitioners, is to actually ask current clients and contacts for exactly what you want. On a regular basis, mention to your clients that if they have anyone who might benefit from the services that you provide, please pass the word along. Most clients will love to help you succeed, if you only ask! Offer business cards to them, give them handouts or brochures that talk about your work. Remember, if you are distributing articles, assure that your name/business name, phone number, and website are prominently displayed on any handouts. Purchasing a rubber stamp with all of this essential information is an inexpensive way to assure that your name is included on all promotional materials.

Another highly effective means of viral marketing is initiating a monthly newsletter, such as the one you are reading. If you are not already doing so, start collecting email addresses from new clients. On your history form, add a few lines requesting their email address, whether it is acceptable to contact them via email for correspondence and occasional information newsletter, etc. Collect email addresses from colleagues, referral sources, media outlets, etc. Then, start a simple newsletter. A newsletter should offer value to the recipient. It can include health tips, self treatment tips, or other pertinent or interesting information. Contained within the newsletter should be your name, address, and phone number. It should contain a section that describes your practice and speaks of your specialties. Writing an article on a specific condition that responds well to your treatment may peak the interest of the recipient to pass this email on to a friend. Your newsletter should have a very visible section that easily allows someone to forward the newsletter on to someone else. If all of this seems like a lot of work, just think how much time and energy, not to mention money, you spend on attracting new clients through other means.

Once your newsletter gets passed along from the original recipient to someone else, the virus gets going! Remember, we are talking of a virus in a way that means your message or name gets passed along to others with only the click of the "send" button, rather than the type that we all try to avoid. Make your message easy to understand. Send them out regularly, but not too often. Studies show that once a month may not be often enough to keep you in people's minds, but weekly is too often. Find an interval that allows you to continue to report relevant information without becoming a pest.

Email newsletters can be formatted from a standard email program, or you can subscribe to one of the many Internet companies that specialize in this process. Sending a newsletter formatted through your present email server will lack the graphics and design tools and will often suffer from poor deliverability. Multiple emails sent from your standard email server often have a more problems with deliverability/spam identification. I use Constant Contact for all of my newsletters. They offer easy to use templates to get you started quickly with professional looking emails that will shed a positive light on your practice. They also allow you to archive past newsletters onto your website. You can easily add links to your website or other websites. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you desire. Deliverability is quite high with low rate of return/spam.

No matter which method you choose, assure that all of your contacts have given permission for you to send them email. Having your newsletter labeled as "spam" will not effect your deliverability in the short term, but repeated spam reporting will effect your ability to deliver future emails in the future. Programs such as Constant Contact use a number of proven methods to assure maximize deliverability.

Viral marketing requires works, but if the message that you spread is of interest and if it is presented in a professional manner, the virus will spread, and so will your business! Remember, often all you need to do is ask. Ask clients to tell others about you. Ask for email addresses for those interested in receiving a newsletter from you. Ask them to forward this email to friends. While you are at it, would you do me the favor of forwarding this email along to a friend? That is all it takes!

If you would like more information on the program that I use, click here Constant Contact helps you to connect with your customers and build your business. Try our no risk FREE 60-Day Trial.

(1) Wilsonweb.com