Back in 2014, ad started appearing all over the internet for a new management tool called SpringSled. Most people had no idea what it was, or how it would help their business. And yet, with the offer of free access for the first year, SpringSled's offer went VIRAL, gaining nearly 140,000 leads on its waiting list before the product was even available.
And SpringSled isn't alone in this uncommon approach to online marketing. Dropbox, recently valued at over $10 billion, built their business in the same way.
How did these companies grow to tens- or hundreds-of-thousands of users so quickly?
A combination of factors, really…
A FREE AND COMPELLING OFFER
Email list building 101 is all about giving something of value for FREE in exchange for an email. But the most import word in that last sentance was probably “FREE.”
This is the most powerful technique for attracting new subscribers after high-quality, value-driven content.
FREE demands attention. FREE erases fear. FREE promotes action.
Free will convert first time visitors into new subscribers because there is virtually no risk. If they don’t like the content they can simply unsubscribe from your list.
But that’s not going to happen.
Once they’ve subscribed your lead magnet is going to blow their minds. It’s going to be relevant to their situation and help them reach their goals.
Their trust in you will rise. And after you’ve deepened the relationship, they’ll be more than excited about your new premium product.
Free is the key to getting strangers to walk through the door.
THE SECRET VIRAL LOOP
Based on the idea that people will often share interests with their friends, SpringSled started asking for referrals as soon as they got new subscribers.
Directly after their initial invitation to “get early access,” SpringSled prompted people to share the offer with their friends. Normally, this wouldn't have much of an impact, but in this case, instead of simply offering early access to those who shared, SpringSled offered an opportunity to “cut in line” and get their product for FREE for 12 months when people got 5 others to sign up.
This is basically a mixture of the classic “share to get in line” and Dropbox’s “invite friends to get storage” incentives.
And to make it simple, they included links to major social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, so it could all be accomplished in one simple click.
And since getting 5 people to sign seems reachable for almost anyone, the campaign exploded almost immediately – and without SpringSled spending much money at all.
SPRINGSLED & DROPBOX SET THE STANDARD
There are hundred, if not thousands, of case studies out there proving that polls, contests, and opt-in offers like the ones above are ideally situated to take advantage of the “social” mentality of social media.
These companies were on to something, but it doesn't take a huge company or a well-funded startup to be able to take advantage of an opportunity like this.
Viral opt-in campaigns can easily work for just about any type of business out there from e-commerce to local businesses to membership website to affiliate marketers and network marketers. We all need to have targeted lists of people interested in what our businesses have to offer, and this proven list-building strategy can get almost any business there a lot faster than normal.
ACCESS FOR ALL
The Dutch software developer, Wilco de Kreij, and his company Emarky, have developed a solution to make this kind of online list-building campaign accessible to anyone. It's a tool called UpViral, which can easily be incorporated into any lead-capture system your business might currently be using. In addition to the tool, there are upgrade options for full viral marketing training and even the ability to integrate the entire system directly into the Facebook Ads platform (via API).
If you'd like to see how UpViral can help grow your list exponentially, head on over to this page now.
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