What do I mean by that? I mean, make things that have viral potential. Things that start slow, but have the innate possibility to explode.
Look at what the big successes where. Facebook, Napster, Youtube, Digg, Stumbleupon, Hotmail. All these sites where simply ideas, with a huge viral feature.
Read this pdf. Read it thoroughly. Although many of the things in there are exaggerated and over-analyzed, you can learn a lot.
The internet itself is a viral medium. You need other people to connect to you, and for them to use most of the features, they need to connect to the internet. Its no wonder the internet population has exploded in the last few years.
Dont think small, think big. Struggle for projects that make you a little cash at first, but only to monetize your viral projects. You are obviously into affiliate marketing. Well, affiliate marketing is in itself viral. Try to see it from a merchants perspective. You have a product, a site, and you set up an affiliate script. That instantly opens new ways of marketing, with ideas and resources that you could never think of, and would never have access to.
Dont make a blog. Anyone can make a blog. Put effort in making a multiuser blogging platform that even my grandma can use.
Dont write a piece of software, and sell it. Write a piece of software that fills a need, and allow people to easily share it with their friends and assosiates.
Read this guys pay per install idea as well. This guy, is doing it right. He used a technique, made it work, analyzed it so he could write it down, and shared it on a free ebook. Giving it for free makes the idea viral. The technique itself is viral. As he mentions in the pdf “People would download my files, and seed them themselves. I could turn off my pc, and still make money out of it.”
The viral nature of the 2 pdfs I mentioned, is what made me post about them. Someone else will probably read this, and share the books himself. This is as viral as it gets.
Enough with the philosophy, lets bring it down to an average affiliate’s level. What could you do to make viral thingies and profit from them?
Well, sharing pay per install torrent files is one. But this one is bulky as well. You have to find popular software, and upload it one by one. Why not make this technique truly viral? How about a software directory, that auto-packs all submitted software into the pay per install program, and publishes it to the internet? That would be truly income on autopilot. The pad files needed for that get picked up by other sites as well, making your user-submitted content multiply. Boom.
Another thing, is niche blogs. Why struggle to make a niche blog, when you can make a multiuser blogging platform for enthusiasts to that niche? Its more hard work, but if it takes-off, it cannot be stopped. Do you have any idea how many people want to write, but dont know how to make a page themselves? I dont mean only blogger and wordpress, I mean, look at facebook and myspace. I have seen many people, work on their profile page for hours. A profile page is essentially an easy to build minisite. There are hobbyists all around the world who want to make a site for their interests, and dont know how to do it. You just have to build the substructure, and find them. Boom.
Another thing, is photos. Everyone loves photos, and what good are photos if you do not show them to others? Its the viral idea flickr and deviantart was built on. Dont make a simple photo gallery, make a platform that anyone can easily upload his pictures and share his album. Starting to see the pattern here? Boom.
The same thing applies to backlinks. Stop begging for links, and make your own fucking directory. Make your own splog farm, and put your links there. Dont ask for links, demand them. Put up digg and stumble buttons on your posts, make readers link to you. Sell links on your high PR site, dont buy them. Boom.
Lastly, if you have the balls, make your own affiliate program. Have others burn their brain cells trying to find new ways of promoting your services. But make sure you respect your affiliates, because they are in for the money, and they can ditch you in no time if you screw them. And not just that, they will tell other affiliates as well, and they will bury you in a single afternoon. Boom (this can actually explode both ways…)
As soon as you start thinking like a businessman, you will make it big time. It takes a huge mind shift, so it is not for everyone. It also takes courage to risk a lot. If you dont have the balls for it, its best that you stick to sending ppc traffic to zip submits.
