Viral Friend Generator

527 words |

Want more traffic for your web site? Check out this twist to the old "Tell A Friend" concept.

Viral Friend Generator (http://www.viralfriendgenerator.com) by Mike Filsaime looks like the usual name squeeze page, with an added twist: it offers a Tell-A-Friend page so that the visitor can easily fill-up the form with the email addresses of their friends...

...with yet another twist.

An incentive is given if the visitor will type in the names and email addresses of 3 friends. The gift is kept secret, so the curiousity factor kicks in and the person fills up the form.

The visitor then gets sent an email explaining how they can download their Secret Gift. This is done automatically, so you won't go crazy keeping track of who invited 3 friends and whom you should send the "secret gift" (usually a downloadable file) to.

So yes, you can easily create a Name Squeeze page, and yes, you can easily install a "Tell A Friend" script. What needs to be figured out, though, is how to automate the Secret Gift Reward system.

And if you can't figure out how to do it yourself, then the VFG is there to help you out.

Here are some observations of ViralFriendGenerator:

1. In some cases, a person signing up and recommending the service to 3 friends gets the email containing the gift, but not the email asking them to confirm that they've signed up for the list.

So, if your objective is to grow your list, then you've lucked out because you just sent away your "secret gift" but did not gain a subscriber.

UPDATE: The confirmation request arrived some 20 minutes after the "Your Gift" email arrived. Weird thing is, the confirmation entered the Yahoo Bulk Folder, while the gift email entered the Yahoo Inbox.

I noticed that the Gift email contains the same email address in both the "To" and "From" boxes. Perhaps that's what helped the message enter the Yahoo Inbox. I wish the system did not have to resort to such a tactic, though.

Or perhaps it was a programming error?

Let's say the person who filled-up the Tell-3-Friends form is janedoe@example.com

The Gift email looks like this:

From: Mike <janedoe@example.com>
To: Jane Doe <janedoe@example.com>

The Gift Email is signed "Mike Filsaime."

2. Related to the previous point is that people who do receive the email requesting confirmation of their subscription can still receive their tell-a-friend gift even if they do not confirm their subscription.

Perhaps the "Tell-A-Friend" offer should appear on the confirmation page? Then again, this will cut down on the viral reach of the system because not everyone will confirm.

3. Listen to Skye Mangrum in the ViralFriendGenerator screencast. Study how she emphasizes certain words, so that if you do choose to make an audio recording in the future, you'll know how to speak persuasively.

Looks like more people are focusing on list building (VFG launches on Feb 28). If "there's money in the list", there's also money in helping others build a list.

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"Viral Friend Generator"
First Posted: February 15, 2007 | Filed in: Web Traffic

14 Comments »

14 Responses to “Viral Friend Generator”

1. on 23 Feb 2007 at 3:52 pm 1 Munawar

   Hi Manuel,

   I'm looking out where I can get affiliated with Mike new product launch. Viralfreindgenerator.?

   br,
   nawar

2. on 23 Feb 2007 at 4:11 pm 2 Manuel

   Hi Nawar,

   I haven't found the link for affiliates of VFG. Perhaps it's open only to VFG customers?

   Kind regards,
   Manuel

3. on 25 Feb 2007 at 6:28 pm 3 Doc

   I've been viewing the Viral Friend Generator video that Skye and Mike F. created using Camtasia Studio and have been studying how well the video engages the viewer with persuasive callouts, graphic elements, arrows, and timed annotations.

   My question is how did she go about creating her video? Did she use the PowerPoint Add-in feature in Camtasia Studio? Were Studio Effects used? Or did she not use PPT at all? If you had to guess, how would she have made this in Camtasia Studio?

   In Good Health,

   Doc

4. on 25 Feb 2007 at 9:01 pm 4 Manuel

   Hi Doc,

   It looks like they used PowerPoint (e.g., Custom animation for text, Zoom In Slightly), plus the add-in feature in Camtasia Studio.

   (I didn't notice any Studio Effects.)

   Kudos to the script writer and the person who prepared the actual PPT file.

   Kind regards,
   Manuel

5. on 28 Feb 2007 at 8:38 pm 5 Franck Silvestre

   There was a WSO on the warrior forum about this product, and with the purchase, you were able to enter the closed door affiliate program.

   It is close now.

6. on 01 Mar 2007 at 2:16 am 6 peter

   Franck, are you saying that there is no affiliate sales available for this product now? It has only just been released hasn't it?

   Peter

7. on 01 Mar 2007 at 8:32 am 7 Manuel Viloria

   Hi Peter,

   I wouldn't count on the VFG affiliate program being closed. Most likely, it will remain open to everyone who purchases the product.

   What's probably closed is the WSO in the Warrior Forum.

   Manuel

8. on 01 Mar 2007 at 9:20 am 8 C5

   Referring 3 friends or so is not a sure way to get visitors...what if 3 emails (all of which, owned by the supposed referror) were given instead? like me, for example:

   i watched the video.
   i entered 3 emails (all mine)
   i got the free gift.
   my 3 'friends' did not watch since all 3 emails are mine.

   conclusion:
   i got my gift
   he got no new visitor

   statistics:
   well, how many would think like me?

9. on 01 Mar 2007 at 9:27 am 9 Manuel Viloria

   It depends on the person who installed the script, because the script can be set so that it is more strict about the 3 emails.

   For example, the free gift will be sent only after the 3 friends sign up at the site.

   IP monitoring can also be switched on to determine if the 3 "friends" are all just the same person.

   Merchants know that there will always be a certain percentage of unusable email addresses. Such is life online.

10. on 01 Mar 2007 at 9:32 am 10 C5

    Did you buy it?

    How's the crack doing? I got a new one...called the Musical Cipher

11. on 01 Mar 2007 at 1:12 pm 11 Manuel Viloria

    Yes, but not because of the script.

    Afterall, there are free versions of the Tell-A-Friend or Refer-A-Friend script:

    Viral Friend Dominator (by Scott Boulch) - Please test this carefully first.
    http://www.viralscript.com

    TAFPro (by Paul Galloway) - Interestingly points out how one feature of VFG can get you into trouble. He reveals how you can protect yourself from this.
    http://www.viralsoftwaregiveaway.com

    So, why did I still get a copy of Viral Friend Generator? I'll reveal why in a future post.

    (About the ciphers? My brain is begging me to rest first...) =)

12. on 02 Mar 2007 at 8:55 am 12 C5

    Let me guess, you'll make your own?

    Sorry about breaking your brains with my ciphers. There's another you can find at http://ciphers-crypts-and-codes.blogspot.com/2007/03/storyflow-cipher.html which I developed during my teens years...

13. on 04 Mar 2007 at 6:20 pm 13 Manuel Viloria

    Hi Cecile! Change of plans with Viral Friend Generator because...

    Tell A Friend Forms may not be used with Aweber.

    I was hoping to take this TAF concept a notch higher, but this risk of getting accused of inappropriate mailing and the threat of getting one's Aweber account suspended is a tad too much.

    I wonder if this whole TAF issue can be solved more easily than your Storyflow ciper.

14. on 04 Mar 2007 at 11:35 pm 14 C5

    I knew you had something in mind than to use it for what it was meant to be!

    Without a clue, it's easier to solve the TAF issue than my Storyflow Cipher. Or, they could be both mind-bending... But I'm sure, once you get the key, you can read through and get the message!