One of the key take aways from this book is that target market selection (hive) and targeting the correct individuals (sneezers) within this group is of utmost importance. This is because with viral marketing you are depending on people (sneezers) to spread your idea virus. Another interesting concept is that hive selection should happen even before you consider what product or service you would offer the hive. Most businesses consider what the can make or the service they can provide and then back into who might want such a product or service.
What are the elements that make up an ideavirus? According to Seth Godin there are many variables that are essential to consider when constructing a virus. Here is Seth's list of variables that make up a virus:
Sneezers - the people that you choose to spread your idea virus
Hive - the group you target with your idea virus
Velocity - how fast the idea spreads from one party to another
Vector - pattern of hive adoption (could be geographic or demographic)
Medium - the communication mechanism surrounding the idea virus (tv, web page...)
Smoothness - how easy it is for the user to spread this idea virus
Persistence - how long the idea sticks with a person before it stop influencing them
Amplifier - tool for getting ideavirus to a larger audience
Does all this ideavirus stuff work? One of interesting things about this book is the author's choice of distribution. He followed his own advice. The original distribution of this book was as a free e-book to encourage the viral effect.
If you want to stop marketing at people and starting marketing to them this book is worth a read. If you are interested in constructing an ideavirus this book has practical advice for going viral.
I read permission marketing some years ago and really enjoyed it as it refreshed my thoughts on customer satisfaction and interaction. Then, this book came out and it really changed my paradigm about the growth aspect of businesses and how "viral marketing" could have a profound impact on an upstart Internet companies growth trajectory. I've read Gladwell's The Tipping Point and I must say, this book is better written and has examples more applicable to business.
I found myself reading the book quite quickly as I was consumed by it as it was filled with interesting ideas about how to get people interested in what you have to offer. The principles mentioned in the book could be applied to anything you do in life that you want others to notice but I found the examples on Internet businesses to be fascinating. Counter to traditional marketing wisdom,which tries to count,measure,and manipulate the spread of information, Godin argues that the information can spread most effectively from customer to customer,rather than from business to customer. Godin calls this powerful customer-to-customer dialogue the ideavirus and cheerfully egg marketers on to create and environment where their ideas can replicate.
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur this book is not a "how-to" book with a step-by-step approach to marketing but, if you read permission marketing and then this book you will have a VERY THOROUGH understanding about how to market on the Internet and grow your business.
Other useful books on marketing that I have read or been recommended include Seth Godin's Permission Marketing and Unleashing the Ideavirus (both great reads), the 22 immutable laws of marketing by Jack Trout and All Reis (excellent authors and a good read), Robert Cialdini's Influence and Ogilvy on Advertising or Wizard of Ads for help in sales copying.
My main problem with Unleashing was the organization of the book. Unleashing the Ideavirus was a bit disjointed. It does not flow as nicely as the author's Purple Cow (by way the a 5 star book!) which I would highly recommend.