They work well to capture visitors' attention. Best of all, they don't need to be large and intrusive - they just need to be creative!

I expect rich-media ads, Flash ads in particular, to become advertising industry's hot favorite in 2002.

Prediction #4: Watch That Inbox

Permission-based email marketing will be a winner in 2002. The response rates to opt-in email campaigns are significantly higher than other online ad media.

The cost per acquisition is also significantly lower. Turnaround time is faster and results can be accurately tracked.

Expect more companies to move their offline direct mailings online. This is already happening with some companies after September 11.

Expect spam to increase. Spam filters are going to be more aggressive. Monitor your own mailings to ensure that they are not being unjustly filtered out.

To read more on email marketing, go to http://www.internetmarketingfocus.com o.cgi?l=topic-em

Prediction #5: Viral Marketing Infects More

I expect more companies to use viral marketing campaigns to promote and brand their products and services. The volume of viral marketing campaigns will rise - with greater sophistication.

These campaigns are likely to come with more sophisticated tracking of open, clickthrough and success rates with use of 1x1 GIFs and cookies.

To read more on viral marketing, go to http://www.internetmarketingfocus.com o.cgi?l=topic-vm

For pass-it-on VM to succeed, you have to create something that people will want to share with others.

Other pass-it-on VM media include PowerPoint slides, fun graphics and small utility programs. Check out some pass-it-on VM examples at http://www.madblast.com

VM #3. Service-based

The most successful service-based VM pioneer is Hotmail. They started with little promotion but grew phenomenally using a little tag line that they included at bottom of every email sent out. The tag line included a short teaser and their website URL.

Now imagine number of emails that are sent out daily and how those emails help Hotmail get more new users - which in turn result in even more emails sent out!

The next example is Blue Mountain e-greeting cards. When someone sends an e-card using Blue Mountain, recipient has to go to Blue Mountain's site to view it - bringing in another potential user who will send out more e-cards.

One more example: BraveNet Web Services. BraveNet provides webmasters with tools such as guestbooks, forums, polls and email forms.

When people use a BraveNet guestbook on a member site, they are exposed to BraveNet's advertisements - inviting them to sign up for a BraveNet service.

If you own a service-based site, you should seriously consider implementing VM to grow your site. Start brainstorming for ideas!

Which Type Of VM Should You Implement?

Choose one that complements nature of your business and website. If you sell designer handbags, try doing a fun Flash game that quiz users on different brands of designer handbags. Be bold, creative and original!

To read more about viral marketing, go to http://www.internetmarketingfocus.com o.cgi?l=a010p2

To search for marketing resources related to VM, go to http://www.internetmarketingfocus.com o.cgi?l=a010p3