Viral Loop
Here's something you may not know about today's Internet. Simply by designing your product the right way, you can build a flourishing business from scratch. No advertising or marketing budget, no need for a sales force, and venture capitalists will flock to throw money at you.Many of the most successful Web 2.0 companies, including MySpace, YouTube, eBay, and rising stars like Twitter and Flickr, are prime examples of what journalist Adam L. Penenberg calls a "viral loop"-to use it, you have to spread it. After all, what's the sense of being on Facebook if none of your friends are? The result: Never before has there been the potential to create wealth this fast, on this scale, and starting with so little.In this game-changing must-read, Penenberg tells the fascinating story of the entrepreneurs who first harnessed the unprecedented potential of viral loops to create the successful online businesses-some worth billions of dollars-that we have all grown to rely on. The trick is that they created something people really want, so much so that their customers happily spread the word about their product for them.All kinds of businesses-from the smallest start-ups to nonprofit organizations to the biggest multinational corporations-can use the paradigm-busting power of viral loops to enable their business through technology. Viral Loop is a must-read for any entrepreneur or business interested in uncorking viral loops to benefit their bottom line.
Stats for nerds
3recommend
4mentions
4people
2010–2023years
75% recommend25% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Looking back my too three are:
Hooked by Nir Eyal Viral Loop by Adam L. Penenberg Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
- Remember that there's not just one answer. While other answers may work in different degrees, you should find your marketing mix.
While I agree with some strategies (particularly inbound marketing), I think that viral marketing has very high potential. Think about that: you want to grow from 100 to 1,000 users. How many hours did you spent on each one of those initial users? Now multiply it by 100. Seems scary, doesn't it?
Better harness the userbase you have, and let them spread your product. If each one of your users can bring one more user, you've effectively doubled your userbase, and then again, and by the third time you are 200 users away from your goal.
This seems so easy and magical on paper, but you have to design your product's virality: thinking about how it's easier for your existing users to bring more of them, and rewarding both, either with cash or with influence.
A lot of business have been made with this strategy in mind. Just look for the story of Hotmail. If you want to read more, check out Ideavirus by Seth Godin, and Viral Loop by Adam Penenberg.
- Great books i read in 2009
-The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort - hilarious
-Inside Steve's Brain
-Paypal Wars - old book but still very informative and relevant
-Viral Loop by Adam L. Penenberg
- Do you use viral looping as part of your startup? How successful have you been in doing so?
I read Viral Loop by Adam L. Penenberg and tried to experiment with Viral Looping, but not sure if my approach in doing so is accurate. Feedback?
http://blog.grooovy.me/69428087 for the read on the viral experiment
