The term viral marketing defined as network-enhanced word-of-mouth was coined in the late 1990's by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson.

Viral marketing is all about vocal online experiences of the internet users. For instance, if you write articles for some newsletter, you could add a line at the bottom of the article saying, "Know someone who would be interested in this? Click here to email it to them!" The prospective client is sure to click on this icon.

Viral marketing is a type of a virus, which is patient and cunning and is a very cost effective way to generate awareness of a product or server. It can scale easily from small to very large. It has a great reach among the masses as it utilizes the existing communication networks on a great scale.

You need originality and creativity to create a viral marketing virus. Next step is to spread the virus by making it unique and informative. The virus has to originate from a credible entity otherwise it will be mistaken as blatant advertising and thus be immediately discredited. Finally, the leave-behind message on the website should resonate with the target audience.

Interestingly, a viral campaign has three stages, seed, germination and growth. Online viruses need a quality genetic material to thrive on successfully. But there may be some failures. The reasons for failure are usually incompatibility with the brand, irrelevance to target audience, unrealistic expectations and lack of sustainability. Hence, the product should resonate with the target audience.

You can design an email newsletter for marketing. It should have detailed description of the product. You can use graphics and include a subscription link so that the prospective buyer can subscribe to the newsletter if interested. The contact information too is important for you as you can then send emails telling the customers abut any new product that you may have!