Viral Reports? Sounds like bad news from your doctor! In a way viral reports are similar to a virus either in your body or your computer in that they spread something very rapidly.
If you have the flu and sneeze, virus germs are propelled all around you looking for someone else to infect. The bad stuff that inflicts your computer is called a virus because it spreads through cyberspace from computer to computer.
Viral reports on the other hand are actually good things– valuable information, that is intended to spread your brand or your affiliate links from person to person through the Internet.
Viral reports are typically short ( ~ 10 pages) PDF documents about a single topic usually in a tips or how to format. They should contain links to tools, resources or books relevant to the topic that will give the reader more information or the means to accomplish whatever you are teaching.
There are three ways to produce viral reports:
- Write one from scratch. You start with a word processing program like Word or Open Office. Once you are happy with the finished product, you convert the document to a PDF. Both Word and Open Office have that capability.
- Obtain PLR (private label rights) to a report. PLR reports are relatively inexpensive and will give you a head start in the writing process. It is always a good idea to put your own voice in the report by doing some editing and of course, put in your own affiliate links. Be sure that the PLR you buy allows you to give it away for free. A good source for PLR is Nicole Dean’s Easy PLR.
- Obtain a rebrandable report. This is a PDF document that has already been written and contains links. It comes with software or a rebranding service that allows you to replace the links already there with your own links in just a few minutes. How easy is that?! My own “7 Tips For Making Money With Your Blog” has a rebrandable version as does “What I Wish I Had Known Sooner”.
The next step is to start distributing your viral report across the Internet by giving it away to your subscribers, through Giveaway events or as bonuses to other products. Encourage the readers to pass a copy on to their friends but be sure to add a note that they are not allowed to alter the text in any way.
Before you know it, just like the flu, your viral report, your brand and your links will be spreading like wildfire!
How do you use viral reports? Please let me know in a comment.
Chris Cobb
