Some content sites add a Tell A Friend or 'Email this to a Friend' link at the end of each article or passage of content.
Ecommerce sites may add the Tell A Friend link on a product purchase page. "This product isn't for you? Then maybe you know someone who would like it."
And from time to time you'll see that Tell A Friend link in an email or newsletter.
What is surprising is that companies don't use the power of Tell A Friend more often - and that they don't do a better job of it.
Why It's Such a Great Idea
The concept of Tell A Friend is valuable because it taps into the spirit of the Web so exactly. The Web, whatever ecommerce companies may wish, is principally about individuals sharing their thoughts, passions and views online. Billions of messages are sent by individuals online - through emails, instant messages and posts to discussion list. Not to mention weblogs and one-person newsletter publications.
The noise online that you hear is not the sound of virtual cash registers, it's the roar of individuals talking with one another. That's what the Web is about. Transactions come in a poor second. Transactions are driven by the roar, not the other way around.
That's why Tell A Friend is such a powerful means to spread the word. Telling friends is what people are doing online anyway. So when you add that link at key points on your site and in your emails and newsletters, you are tapping into an existing and powerful passion.
So why don't you have those Tell A Friend links on more pages on your site? Why don't you have them in every newsletter - or even at the end of every article or feature in that newsletter?
For one client I am working with right now, we place a Tell A Friend link next to every product that is featured in their outbound promotional emails. We also add links at the end of every article in their newsletters.
The result? Hundreds of readers 'Tell A Friend' every single week. That's a powerful form of promotion for the company involved. Recommendations through friends and colleagues carry a lot more weight than recommendations through your marketing department.
