A good idea, like a virus spreads rapidly, person to person. Your idea in the form of a unique business proposition, product or service can create a viral buzz that’s contagious. A great Idea passes from one person, who shares it with another, then another.  Soon the Idea is out of control and takes on a life of it’s own.

It’s difficult to stop a virus once it begins to spread. Once it reaches the masses, it becomes a super bug – it’s unstoppable. I’ll be happy to spread the Seth Godin virus.  Just Google this:”Unleashing The Idea Virus” Download it free, it is a necessary textbook for any aspiring marketer.

If your objective is to make money with your product or service,  writing a blog post or uploading a video on YouTube will not produce results without a compelling idea, relevant message and an offer to take action. Prior to producing your project, ask yourself: What’s my objective? What would you like a person to do after they watch or read it?

Here’s a viral phenomenon: “Where the Hell is Matt?” This guy is so popular, all you have to do is Google “Matt” and he dominates the first page.  Matt’s videos became so popular that Stride Gum paid for his second trip around the world to do his dance. The first time, Matt wasn’t even trying to create a viral video, it just happened organically on the internet.

You can have the best distribution methods, the most professional production skills, the best sales tactics, and incredible sales copy – but if your content is boring and predictable, no one will buy your product or share your video. It’s just that simple. Stride Gum has associated its brand with the celebrity status of Matt for the same reason Nike associates with Tiger Woods.

Videos get watched and passed around for a variety of reasons. Someone laughs, cries, gets angry, gets disgusted or gets inspired. But attracting a person to watch is only the first step, especially if your purpose is to monetize.

Matt’s silly dance has attracted millions of fans world-wide. A few months into his trip, a friend had an idea and suggested; “Hey, why don’t you stand over there and do that dance. I’ll record it.” It turned out to be pretty good idea. There was no monetary motive until Stride Gum caught on to the frenzy and banking on massive exposure, sponsored his next trip.

It’s interesting to notice a person’s response during and after watching Matt’s video. Want to watch it?  Google “Matt.” People draw their own deep philosophical conclusions as to what it means for them.

Matt’s impact on people reminds me of Forrest Gump’s famous “Why are you Running Scene?”. Here are some excerpts from the movie:

From Reporters: Why are you running? Are you doing this for world peace? Are you doing this for women’s rights? For the environment? Or for animals? Or, for nuclear arms?

FORREST (V.O.) They just couldn’t believe that somebody would do all that running for no particular reason. I just felt like running. Now, for some reason what I was doing seemed to make sense to people.

Man jogs behind Forrest> I mean, it was like an alarm went off in my head, you know. I said, here’s a guy that’s got his act together. Here’s somebody who’s got it, all figured out. Here’s somebody who has the answer. I’ll follow you anywhere, Mr. Gump.

Running> The group stops behind him. Forrest stands and looks as the group waits expectantly. Forrest turns and looks.

the crowd> Quiet. Quiet, he’s gonna say something. I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now. Forrest walks toward the group. The group parts for Forrest as he walks down the middle of the road.

Now what are we supposed to do?  That’s a good question.