Contagious

MOST E-MAILED LISTS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARING

THE POWER OF OBSERVABILITY

Further, as the stories of Ken’s corn and the vacuum-discussing hikers illustrate, people don’t just value practical information, they share it. Offering practical value helps make things contagious.

Give people a way to make themselves look good while promoting their products and ideas along the way. There are three ways to do that: (1) find inner remarkability; (2) leverage game mechanics; and (3) make people feel like insiders.

Virality is most valuable when the brand or product benefit is integral to the story.