Nehlsen Notebook

Homeless Pets and Viral Marketing

By Nancy Nehlsen, Owner

This morning I got word from one of my favorite charities, K9 Kindness, that our vet bill from spaying, neutering and emergency care for our rescue animals had reached $5,695.06. Our checking account balance had dwindled to $1,597.47. Although I have made it a practice not to impose upon friends for contributions, this was a crucial need, and K9 Kindness does an awesome job of helping dogs that have been abandoned, abused or separated from their owners due to financial crisis or health issues. So, I quickly sent out a personal plea to animal lovers on my email list asking them to send $5 or $10 to K9 Kindness Rescue, Inc.

K-9 KinknessAnyway, to get to the marketing message here…. I sent my email to 15 or 20 people. Within minutes, not only had half of them emailed me to tell me about their own pets and promise a donation, but they also sent my plea to animal lovers on their email lists. Before you know it we had an active network of dog lovers grabbing for their checkbooks and asking their friends to grab their checkbooks.

The whole experience brought tears to my eyes. People really do step up to help, even in difficult economic times. Then I realized what we had accomplished – a great viral marketing campaign. And the reason it worked was because each person was making their own personal plea to people they know. Viral marketing works!

Whether you are raising money for a charity, trying to drive viewers to your website, or selling lap joints, the personal touch in viral marketing is the key to creating a successful campaign. Send your email to a list of people who recognize your name, and hopefully trust your judgment. Then ask them to send your email to their email list and so on. People want to help people they know – and they prefer to buy from people they know. Make it personal and viral marketing works. The homeless dogs of America thank you.

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