I just finished the book “Word of Mouth Marketing” by Andy Sernovitz and it was a great read. Here are a few bullet points to get you started on word of mouth advertising. I’m going to make a full post later on how companies like Johnny Cupcakes, Threadless, and Linty Fresh have used word of mouth to great success.
- Look on the web for people talking about you.
- Decide who will join those conversations. Start today.
- Create a blog.
- Make a new rule: Ask “Is this buzzworthy?” in every meeting.
- Come up with one buzzworthy topic keep it simple.
- Put something on your site that will remind them to talk to a friend.
- Let your talkers sign up for a private newsletter.
- Pick one easy way to track down word of mouth.
- Put a tell-a-friend form on every page of your website
- Put a special offer in an easily forwardable email.
- Add a small gift and word of mouth tool to every package you sell.
- Have a private sale for your talkers.
- Apologize for mistakes and solve problems fast.
- Partner with a charity.
- Do something unexpected.
- Be nice.
Do something worth talking about!
I would recommend this book to anyone out there trying to find inexpensive ways to spread the word about their company. You can get it at Amazon for under $10 on kindle. Click the link below for a link to the book.
Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking