http://www.viraloptingenerator.com/index.php

This script is different to Optin Accelerator in a number of ways

• The script is hosted 100% on your server
• No subscription fee
• It doesn’t “send home” any date, so it is 100% your responsibility

In theory that makes it almost exactly the same as the scripts used by the big boys of Web2.0 though their servers are less likely to conk out the first time someone with 200 contacts in Gmail uses the script if you are on shared or even most reseller hosting. You would probably have problems on most virtual servers as well.
I don’t know if the service can be configured to use a 3rd party SMTP, whether it uses sendmail, phpmailer, or swiftmailer.

If you are a smart programmer, picking this up might give you a few ideas, but remember

• It is still against the published ToS of Aweber
• You are still encouraging people to do something that is unsafe if running an internet business
• Legal liability – it is you sending the emails – in some ways I would be worried about the claims on the sales letter that it doesn’t keep a record – if you are sending emails there is always a record somewhere, though you are best advised to keep a record of every email you send anywhere.
• The script needs to be maintained for updates – maybe it will be updated over time, but best to allow for programming time to keep it working.
• The Plaxo option is free, and maybe safer

I have thought a little more about the suggestion Aweber make about forwarding emails – that is actually unsafe for most email lists, because many readers will also forward unsubscription information. What happens if they forward it when you are price testing? Forwarding effectively encourages public posting.
Maybe it is better to mail the person sending when they use a standard TAF with a letter encouraging they forward that to friends and also the message that goes to their friends.

It is still TAF though, so check with your email service provider.

• It took a long time for internet marketers to copy the viral signup mechanisms used by many internet startups, including the more established Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace etc.
• It is a massive business security risk
• People are going to buy it and use it and their customers are going to face the risk
• Some of my subscribers might damage their business either by using it for one of their sites, or giving their account access away.

Now I hoped that as soon as people realised it was a bad idea despite having massive viral potential, the product would be pulled.

Currently it looks like the site has been closed – I have high regards for Reed Floren and Matt Haslem who launched it, so I am assuming it is off the market.

That being said, I have seen a few people using it still – if it is just limited circulation, some people need to be a little careful.

So where did they go wrong?

What Did Optin Accelerator Do?

Quite simply you hand over your login information to your primary email account, and it scrapes addresses so you can send an email to all your friends about a new service you have found, or product.
Yes… exactly the same process as is used by many Web2.0 sites, but you don’t have to worry about the technical details of how things work, because the script is on their servers, and calls home.

This means that your subscribers are sharing their personal login information to their email account with a 3rd party just to promote your product.
The big guys are generally using 1st party scripting, still risky but at least you know who has your data (I would never use it though)

Robert Plank has gone into that aspect of Optin Accelerator in some depth

Here is part of the comment I left on his blog post

Google has unified login, so does Yahoo and MSN.

By handing over login information, you are hading over not only your email (which could be full of important passwords for affiliate accounts) but also providing access to Adsense, Adwords, Google Analytics, Google AppEngine (if you are a geek)

It would also allow someone to reset every password you have which sends resent information to your emil, such as all your wordpress blogs, hosting etc.

Handing over this information is throwing your whole internet business into turmoil.

Would you want to encourage your own subscribers to do that?

Robert has actually gone through all the terms of service of each of the large online email services, and it seems handing over your account details is breaking their terms and conditions. How the hell do the big guys get away with such a security risk?

If that isn’t bad enough, it has been determined

• It is against Aweber’s terms of service (as are all tell-a-friend scripts) – that being said, I know people who use tell-a-friend scripts who primarily use Aweber – I have no idea how they get away with that.
  A guy in Robert’s comments (Craig) posted a response from Aweber

  Thank you very mush for bringing this to our attention. We have taken action to contact the owners of that product.

  Please understand that this was done without our consent, and will be fully addressed. We take many steps here to ensure your deliverability, including monitoring the use of customer accounts, so that even should someone use this type of program without our consent, we would remove them from the service.

  Thank you again for bringing this to light. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to let me know.

  Regards,
  Tracey Churray
  Director Of Customer Solutions

• Most hosting affiliates use would have problems handling the emails being sent, unless they are using SMTP through Gmail for instance
• If it is a really good product, shouldn’t you be promoting it as an affiliate?
• Melody from Women’s Net also mentioned the possibility of liability
• Plaxo provide fwidget for free that could be integrated to achieve effectively the same – that is slightly less risky (suggested by David L. Cross)
• Randolf Smith goes into the nature of email address books (all those friends and family) – how many are really interested in a specific product? Also as an affiliate, why would you promote something for free? At least Tell-A-Friend scripts often pass on your affiliate links, but that only works down one level – if it is really good, isn’t promoting to your list or blog readers better?

People You Know vs Sending Email

If you are going to use one of these scripts, it is much better to use the export and import contact list options often provided.
If there isn’t anything provided, you can also create a new email account just for importing contacts which has no private information.

I can see a real reason to find people you already know on a service – maybe services should be using the MyBlogLog API in a smart way.

If your service encourages every person who joins to send out 100s of emails, it becomes spam even if it technically isn’t if they are personal contacts, and you are doing it in a non-professional capacity.

Whilst Youtube and Myspace don’t seem to consider the content of the video NSFW, I have taken the opportunity to mask certain references.
No pictorial content would be looked on as NSFW in most countries I am aware of, but there is certainly some female flesh shown from below the neckline.

It should be noted that this was intended at least in part to be a viral marketing campaign for Good Magazine, but there has been an evident boost in traffic in other directions.

• Front Page on Myspace



• Massive YouTube Hit



• Who Am I? (Personal Branding)



• Vital Statistics


Note: these were from before the video

• Billboard

It is important to place advertising on prime real estate, and in the case of a URL, in a clearly visible location just begging or tempting you to visit.



Traffic Rising To The Occasion



It is important to realise that those aren’t just webmaster visits, so compared to many top seo, marketing or blogging sites, those traffic numbers from Alexa are probably a lot higher.
On a one month chart, all you see is a vertical line.

I am not going to link to the video, if you want to watch it, (for statistics and facts about this particular industry) it is very easy to find.

Tags: alexa, marketing, myspace, nsfw, porn, sex, video, viral marketing, youtube
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