If you have been visiting marketing websites or blogs a lot, then you might have encountered the tell-a-friend HTML script. As the name implies, the tell-a-friend HTML script is a computer script written in Hyper Text Markup Language or HTML that enables users to “tell-a-friend” about a particular website or blog. The script is embedded onto the website itself, and enables visitors of that site to import their e-mail contacts and send recommendations to them via e-mail.

The tell-a-friend HTML script is a type of viral marketing tool wherein the visitors promote the site and/or products or services to others via word-of-mouth. People who visit the site refer it to their friends and family through e-mail, and if they in turn like the site they can refer it to others as well. This enables awareness about the website to spread across social networks online, generating buzz and increasing web traffic to the targeted site.

Another advantage of using the tell-a-friend HTML script to market websites virally is that they are cheap and easy to operate. Because everything is done by e-mail, there is little if no financial resources used in spreading the referrals. However, incentives are also sometimes incorporated with the referrals to encourage the recipients to visit the site and endorse it to others.

The basic tell-a-friend HTML script is free to download from tech and marketing sites on the web, although pro versions which added features such as e-mail client integration and monitoring components are available upon purchase.

If there ever was a secret recipe to the success an online business, the customer would be the main ingredient. Customers are an indispensable factor to any business, as they are the main source of profit and growth. So it is probably of no surprise that web entrepreneurs and marketers are trying all kinds of things to attract people to buy their stuff. One simple yet very effective technique that these marketers use is the “tell a friend” forms.

If you have ever visited a business website, you may already encountered the tell a friend forms. Embedded on the webpage, the “tell a friend” form or “refer a friend” form is marketing used to help people “tell a friend” about a website via e-mail. The form is composed of a series of computer codes, written in either PHP or Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). The person simply has to fill up the form with his or her name, e-mail address and the email contacts he or she wants to send the message to, and click the Send button. An e-mail will then be sent to the selected contacts inviting them to visit the website. The e-mail may also include incentives such as discounts or free items to encourage people to visit the site.

Tell a friend forms work by using word-of-mouth to market the business to people. With the form, people are able to tell others about the business, and they in turn tell other people and so on. Through this method, brand awareness of the target business is spread rapidly over a wide area. And since it uses the existing communication network of e-mail messaging, it costs little or no resources to set up and operate. The tell a friend form is widely available in the web, with basic forms acquired free of charge.

Before tell-a-friend software applications were developed and became in common use, there were no real easy invite tools that can be used to automate the referral system of a website. Although viral marketing is not a new concept, the use of automated referral system is relatively new. Formerly, website visitors would manually email a website link to their friends. However, this only happens if the website is really worth recommending. It must be interesting, useful, informative, and/or entertaining for it to merit the attention of people online. This was the era before social networking websites were founded. The concept of online viral marketing was still in its infancy stage.

It was only in 1997 that a truly viral marketing campaign strategy was used by Hotmail.com in recruiting new subscribers. In fact it was in this campaign that the term “viral marketing” was coined to describe the strategy. It was actually the first and simplest type of viral marketing campaign implemented by a major online company. It implemented the easy invite concept by putting an invitation link in every outgoing email messages of the subscribers. In turn, the subscribers themselves become endorsers of the free email service of Hotmail.com. However, this free email service is just a “hook” or incentive used to attract people to subscribe to other paid services offered by the company.

Today the use of easy invite concept in a marketing campaign is now very common. More sophisticated software applications are also now used for this purpose. The tell-a-friend referral software application is the automated version of the email link appending technique used by Hotmail.com back in 1997 during the launching of the company’s services. Even ordinary startup companies are now using the same concept to provide marketing leverage in promoting their products. As the name suggests, the automated referral system is the epitome of the easy invitation concept.

If you watched a new movie and you liked it, you probably will casually refer it to others. The same is true for other satisfactory products and services that you have availed. Local restaurants typically establish their reputations through word-of-mouth advertising. However, for it to succeed, it must be supported by verifiable facts. For instance, a restaurant must really have excellent service and delectable cuisine. If this is the case, then the word-of-mouth advertising will be self-replicating and self-sustaining to some extent. This refer-a-friend strategy is very effective in promoting products that it is actively being utilized by marketers. It can be used a more cost-effective means of promoting product awareness and increasing sales.

Some big companies became successful by using the refer-a-friend strategy. This is the case with companies such as Amway, Avon, and Tupperware. These consumer product companies became household names because of the successful utilization of social networks. Although traditional mass media advertising are being used by these companies, the sales and product awareness are mainly created and sustained through multi-level marketing. This marketing strategy is a type of viral marketing that relies on social networks. New participants and consumers are recruited by existing members. In turn, these new recruits will recruit others.

In order for a refer-a-friend or viral marketing strategy to work, it has to have some motivational incentive. In the case of successful companies using multi-level marketing, the main motivation is the potential income. The auxiliary motivations include the sense of community or belongingness and the sense of accomplishment every time a target quota is reached. Online marketing can also incorporate such motivational incentives to some degree but the main purpose of online viral marketing is to promote product awareness in the hope of greater sales. This is achieved through different online communication means such as emails, forums, blogs, and social networking sites.