by Peter Johns

Created on: January 25, 2009

We're at the end of the industrial age and the beginning of the information age, so understanding the "viral phenomenon" is key to having success in today's marketing model. One of the first tools you want in understanding any model is an example of success within that particular model. It's just like studying old tests in preparation for a test you're about to take. It increases your chances tenfold of doing well on that test. Studying and understanding

an article that's gone viral, can increase your chances of writing a viral article yourself.

On December 14, 2008, an article I wrote for Helium.com, about an experience I had with a credit card company, went viral. By some estimates it was viewed and passed on to over 600,000 people in 24 hours. I made $1,246.00 in 24 hours and I've never been the same since. That's the definition of "Viral." It's the phenomenon of something, anything suddenly spreading like wildfire. It could be a video, an email, or a product (in a sense, the IPOD, and Wii are examples of products that went viral). In my case, it was a simple article.

The article I wrote simply explains how I figured out the "catch" to a credit card company's 0% offer and flipped it around on them. I'm sure part of the reason it went viral is because it's about a financial "David and Goliath" story of sorts during a global economic crisis.

Again, over 600,000 people viewed it in just 24 hours. The question is, why?. We're talking about an article, not a porn pic or a severed head video, just an article. Any business person would want to take this article apart and try to understand why it churned such an interest. Any business program at any of the top Universities in the country would take a gem like this and actually build a class around it. The first thing any business student would do - if given the assignment to write a "viral" article - would be to find one that's already gone viral and study it exhaustively.

If one person could truly determine the reason for an article going viral, the business paradigm of this country would change over night. Viral articles are the new "Gold."

"Where can I find a viral article? How many articles have gone viral? What's a viral article? Why do articles go viral? How can I make my article go viral?" These are questions that all the top business minds are going to be asking themselves, and perhaps the smartest of the smartest will crack the code behind the success of my credit card article. That would be a highly guarded business secret.

BUILDING NETWORKS IS CRUCIAL
There are many social networking sites out there: Linkedin, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Stumbleupon, etc. It would be very good to subscribe to these sites (as I have started to do in order to further promote my articles) and start building a network. You're building a business this way, and the members of your network are business partners in a sense. Then what you do is start sharing your articles with your new business partners, but do so carefully and according to the guidelines set forth by the social sites. You don't want to be accused of "spamming." Don't just throw your articles at scores of people without warning them first. Incorporate the articles into your profile so that your new business partners can view it at there discretion and convenience.

Good luck, and here's to you going viral too!

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