Do you really need viral marketing software? Here’s a look at the five elements of an effective strategy. After you learn these, you may decide that what you need is something else.

Offer something free. What you offer may be information, an e-book, a software program or something else entirely. One idea is that you might give a free download of a limited function software program. However, to get the “premium” version or membership, the customer would have to pay for it.

Video game providers often use this technique. You may play these games free, but to get certain features or limited time, you must pay for the “complete” version. People that love the game and get addicted to it in the trial, will often pay for the extended version. Viral marketing software cannot tell you what to give away. Only you or a company that offers personalized service can determine that.

Another element is to create a methodology that would enable your free offer to be accepted if others were to receive it. Typically, this is done via e-mail. When a person surfs the net and comes by something useful, funny or interesting, they tend to share it with on average up to 6 friends, according to surveys. The number of people that you can speak to grows exponentially, this takes us to the next element.

You have to make sure that you would be able to handle the new spike in business without your customer service having to suffer. You may need to have an auto-responder set up or other virtual "assistants" in place. You may need to upgrade your website to handle the traffic or increase your stock, if you are selling an item. If you are providing a service, you will need to figure out what your ability is to handle new clients. Can viral marketing software do that for you? No.

The fourth element is to use common reactions to your advantage. For example, a common reaction to a picture of food is hunger. If you sell food, you want photos in your e-mails and on your websites that are “appetizing”. Another example is the “what can it do for me” mentality. People don’t care to know every detail showing that a car has reinforced side beams. People just want to know that their family is protected in the automobile in the event of an accident. Tell someone what your product will do for them and you will have a brand new customer.

The last element, is to take full advantage of existing communication networks available. That’s the one thing that viral marketing software might be able to do for you. But, obviously, it cannot provide everything that you need for a successful campaign.