You have probably heard of "viral marketing?" In the world of Internet Marketing, it’s one of the major buzzwords. But what is it, exactly?

Viral marketing is a marketing or advertising technique that relies on word of mouth. Do you remember that popular advertising campaign from the 70s that went, "And I told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on…" Well that, in a nutshell, is viral marketing.

A virus spreads. If you come in contact with someone who has a cold, there’s a good chance you will catch it. And there is a good chance you will pass it one to whoever comes into contact with you.

Well, viral marketing works in the same way. But, while giving your cold to other people will just get you a lot of icy stares and dirty looks, successfully spreading your "message" through a viral marketing campaign will get you profits.

How Viral Marketing Works:

Here’s how viral marketing works. Say you have created a product in the golfing niche. It’s a great product, and you know sales will be good if you can just get the word out about it. So you write a short report filled with ten of your best, most effective golfing tips, along with links back to the golfing product you want to sell. And then you give the short report away for free. And you encourage the people you gave it to, to give it to other people. And so on, and so on.

The more people who read your free report, the more potential customers you will have for your product. If your report is really good, and has real value, the more other people will want to share it with their friends and fellow golfers. And that is the essence of "going viral."

The Benefits of Viral Marketing:

When it comes to viral marketing, there are almost too many benefits to count. But here are just a few.

1. Viral marketing is easy. Launching your own viral marketing campaign is easy. You don’t have to be a guru or expert to do it. You also don’t have to spend a lot of money on getting started.

For example, you can write a quick, two thousand word short report in a few days (depending on how fast you type), use free software to turn it into a PDF file, spend a few hours uploading it for free to dozens of free ebook sites and, just like that, your report is in a position to go viral.

2. It builds trust in potential buyers. People are more likely to buy from people they trust, who know what they are talking about. For example, writing and giving away a great report related to golfing will convince potential buyers that you know what you are talking about, and buying your golfing product is worthwhile.

3. You can reach a lot of people. Probably the greatest benefit of viral marketing is how many people you can reach. For example, a free report that goes viral can reach thousands, even millions of people that you couldn’t reach otherwise.

Considering how easy it is, and how profitable it can be, viral marketing is one marketing technique you can’t afford to ignore.

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Bill Vannot teaches e-marketers the art of Viral Marketing, through an ever-growing archive of top quality, ‘How To’ Marketing Videos. Stop by and see how Bill’s Videos can help you.

An elderly couple arrive at a fast food joint.

What is personal branding? Well, to put it simply, it is all about image. In the world of Internet Marketing, your image can have a major effect on how successful you are. And branding yourself is all about shaping your image in a way that will have the most positive effect on your online business.

Want proof of how good personal branding works? Take a look at some of the more successful Internet Marketing gurus, those who have become (or, more accurately, have made themselves into) household names within the world of Internet Marketing. With most people trying to sell a product they have created, or promote an affiliate product, it takes a lot of time and effort to get potential customers to even see what you want them to buy, let alone actually buy it. But gurus can create a product one day, and have people begging to buy it the next. And any affiliate product they recommend is almost guaranteed to have a jump in sales.

Why? Because they have taken full advantage of personal branding, and are now reaping the benefits. But exactly how does personal branding work?

Becoming an Authority:

Probably one of the most important elements of personal branding is establishing yourself as an authority. Think about it. When you are sick, who do you think is more likely to be able to help you feel better? The lady next door, who has heard about a home remedy or two that, while she’s never tried them, she’s heard really work? Or a doctor with years of education and experience who has successfully treated dozens of patients who had the same thing you have? If you’re like most people, you’ll pick the doctor.

Personal branding is about setting yourself up as someone who knows what they are talking about. Many people online are looking for information that will help them solve some problem or reach some goal. And they want advice on how to do that from someone who knows what they are talking about. And personal branding can help to establish you as that person.

Standing Out From the Crowd:

There are a lot of people online hoping to do the same thing you are hoping to do, which is make money through affiliate marketing. It can get pretty easy to get lost in the crowd. But, with personal branding, you can set yourself apart. You can make sure that you are the one who gets seen, and you are the affiliate potential buyers buy Affiliate Product X from.

Establishing Trust:

Who are you more likely to buy something from, or take recommendations from? Someone you have never heard of and don’t know anything about? Or someone you have not only heard of, but you have heard nothing but good things about?

Sometimes, in affiliate marketing, it can be hard to establish trust with potential customers. How can they be sure you wouldn’t promote a bad product just to make a quick buck? But, with personal branding, you can make yourself known, and establish yourself as a "good guy" who only promotes good, valuable products.

Considering how powerful a tool personal branding can be, you should start thinking of ways you can establish a "personal brand" of your own.

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Bill Vannot teaches marketers how to brand themselves, through an ever-growing package of top quality, ‘How To’ Marketing Videos. Stop by and see how Bill’s Videos can help Brand You.

It happened again. You were just over at YouTube, looking through the videos, when you found one that was absolutely priceless. You’d love nothing more than to put it on your iPod so you can share it with your friends. There’s just one problem, the files at YouTube are not compatible with your iPod.

But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the idea. In five minutes or less, you can have that YouTube video playing like a dream on your iPod, or any other media player, for that matter. How? By using a free YouTube file converter.

You heard right. You can use online video converters to convert your videos for free. You don’t have to buy any expensive video conversion software. And you don’t have to install programs on your computer that you aren’t one hundred percent sure about. The entire process takes place online, with the help of your browser. And it’s not just iPod-friendly formats you can convert YouTube video files into. Find the right YouTube file converter, and you can convert YouTube videos into formats that will play on just about any device you can think of.

One free YouTube file conversion site you might want to check out is Vixy.net. At Vixy.net, all you have to do is enter the URL of the YouTube video you want to convert. In seconds, you can have a video that has been converted into the avi, mov, mp4 (for your iPod), 3GP or MP3 (if you just want the sound) format. The process is fast, easy, and simple. In just a few steps, you can have the video converted, downloaded and ready to add to your iPod.

But what if you already have a video saved on your computer in the YouTube format? How can you convert it into something you can play on your iPod without a URL? Well that’s where Mediaconverter.org comes in. Mediaconverter.org is a YouTube video file conversion site, where you can convert files that are already on your hard drive.

Just click a button, search for the file, click a few more buttons, and you are ready to go. And Mediaconverter.org can convert your files into a few more formats than Vixy.net. This is the perfect site to use if you have a lot of video files already saved on your computer, and would like to get them organized and formatted for iPod use.

There are many other YouTube file converter sites available. You can use them completely for free, without registering for anything, or even giving out your email address, so you don’t have to worry about SPAM or a flood of annoying follow up emails.

There is no software to download, so you don’t have to worry about spyware or viruses infecting your computer. Most of them, there isn’t even a limit on how many videos you can convert. And the services are anonymous, so you don’t have to worry about anyone knowing your business.

Still, if you want YouTube file converter sites that are safe, reliable and easy to use, Vixy.net and Mediaconverter.org are great choices.

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To learn more about the powerful effects of viral video marketing, check out The Video Assassin viral video Marketing Course.

This article may be reprinted freely as long as the reference box remains intact.