Viral marketing is an Internet marketing trend that is being used by most webmasters online today. It is inexpensive and some Internet Marketers swear to their success because of it.

The advantages of using it are many. It requires little effort on the marketer's part to sustain it once it has been started. The reason is simple, the visitors who like the media can pass it on to others who, in turn can pass it on to still others. Hence the term "viral".

But, why would you want to use it? What would it cost to start it?

The truth is, viral marketing covers a huge area and has many methods. The starting cost can range from free to a reasonably low cost. One of the most common forms of viral marketing can be in the form of article marketing which can be free. A submissions service can also be used to get a wider audience. They are reasonably priced.

The added benefits of this form of advertising can also be in the form of page ranking in the search engines as the articles often turn up in searches before the site they represent do.

What are the advantages of using viral marketing?

Probably the first and biggest advantage is the fact that it can be sustained with little effort on the part of the marketer. What this means is that after its initial exposure, the viral portion of this will grow pretty much on its own. How? Through the visitors who have begun the process of sending it to their friends and family.

It is this viral quality that makes this kind of advertising the success it is. Of course the marketer will continue to promote his or her media product.

Another highly desirable quality is its flexibility. What does this mean? It simply means that viral marketing comes in many forms of media. It can be an e-book, free reports, video, flash games, etc. The list could go on. One thing that is a must with each of these forms is that the media must be of high quality and contain useful information.

Another advantage is cost. If you are good at producing video or writing an e-book or report, the cost can be very minimal. If not, the costs can rise. But this need not be of too much concern. If you are working with a budget, you may wish to start with something lower in cost, like a free report to give away. Paying to have a report such as this written is more cost effective than one might believe.

One form of viral marketing that deserves special mention is affiliate marketing. In this form of marketing, the owner pays his affiliates a commission for each sale made through their affiliate sales page. Obviously, the more generous the commissions, the greater the motivation will be on the part of the affiliates.

Taking a look at each of these advantages, it is easy to determine the benefits of viral marketing. The only real choice is to decide what form your viral marketing will be in. Once, you decide that, it will be only a matter of developing it and promoting it.