this term refers to email marketing newsletter subscribers who receive a referral or forwarded email, open the message and click on a link. Many successful email marketing campaigns aim for viral responses. Viral marketing requires companies to spread product awareness through their user’s networks, capitalizing on social networking aspects and word-of-mouth behaviors. Marketers aim to craft marketing messages that not only appeal to their mailing list, but also inspires their recipients to share these messages.
Often, viral responses are considered very valuable by web marketers. Viral marketing messages are able to reach some potential customers or subscribers better than traditional marketing messages. Users often delete messages from email marketers, but are not so quick to do so for email from friends or people they know personally. Because these responders have received their information about a product or company through a trusted source — someone in their own network such as a friend or family member — the message is already trusted. The responder is likely to have genuine interest in the product and may be more likely to convert to trial or sale on a site.