In the world of marketing, the oldest form of promotion, "word of mouth," has found a new avatar in the digital age - "viral marketing." The internet, with its ability to connect people across the globe, has made it possible for information to spread rapidly with just a click of the "send" button. Savvy marketers have harnessed this power through the use of digital products like eBooks. Two stand-up comedians from San Diego, California, Steve Roye and Paul Stoecklein, stumbled upon this potent phenomenon while trying to promote their new website, killerstandup.com.
Roye and Stoecklein's viral marketing strategy was born out of a simple idea. They created a second website, FreeJokeBooks.com, which offers free downloadable joke books and humorous tales in the form of executable files. These eBooks, which resemble individual websites, are circulated via email and drive traffic back to both websites through hyperlinks.
Stoecklein admits that he initially overlooked the potential of the email aspect. He viewed the books as freebies to attract visitors to their sites, not considering the viral effect they could have. However, this seemingly straightforward idea turned out to be a largely unexplored territory. While many people use jokes or eBooks as marketing tools, the combination of the two was a novelty.
The comedians' eBooks leverage the universal appeal of humor. Stoecklein emphasizes that unlike regular email jokes, the hyperlinks in their books are not deleted by readers, increasing the potential for subsequent website traffic.
The duo launched FreeJokeBooks.com on March 3, 2001, by sending one of their eBooks to a few friends and family members. Within days, they recorded over 30,000 hits from several countries worldwide. Roye was astounded by the rapid spread, noting that they had readers in Finland within hours of launch, despite not knowing anyone there.
Despite the promising outlook for FreeJokeBooks.com, the comedians acknowledge that there's always room for improvement. They are continuously refining the concept, learning as they go. As comedians, they admit to often ignoring the rules, which they consider both their biggest flaw and strength.
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