We all know that viral marketing can be a very effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website, but do all viral marketing tools have to be e-books or little reports? Absolutely not...

Before we start, let's refresh our memory on exactly what viral marketing is. Viral marketing is a form of marketing where you get someone else to spread the word for you, just a virus works.

For example, if you give someone a free report, they like it, they pass it on to their friends and their friends pass it on to their friends. Basically the report has become a virus and is spreading exponentially.

You can see the power that this form of marketing has - over time it can really build up. But, if you really want yours to move fast, then you have to be unique.

Just giving away a free report has become too common - everyone is doing it!

So, here are 5 other great tools you can make viral while keeping the unique edge.

1. Freeware.

Freeware is software with that has your marketing message in it - a banner, URLs, etc. If you are not a programmer but like the idea of giving away some simple software, type "freeware +your niche" into Google, and look at the results.

If you find a program that interests you, contact the creator, and see if you can get him/her to add your marketing messages in exchange for actively promoting the software.

Simple, that way you don't even have to make your own program. Or, if you want, just go to any freelance website and hire an inexpensive programmer to build you a small little program (this is very inexpensive).

2. Surveys and polls.

Many people love to share their opinions on anything and everything. Come up with a provocative poll question or interesting survey for your niche, then use it to drive traffic to your site.

If you can find a "controversial" topic you will get the most viral effect.

3. Tell-a-friend forms.

Especially effective in niche marketing. Simply adding a tell-a-friend form to your web site can, over time, significantly increase your traffic.

Many think that these forms do not work anymore, but I know from personal experience that they still work. A neat trick to get someone to use it is to offer them something for free in return - maybe another free report!

4. Your own forum or bulletin board.

Adding a forum or bulletin board to your site can be a great way to spread the word about your product or service. In fact, if there's no forum or newsgroup for your niche, you can create one - and reap the benefits of having targeted prospects come to your site regularly.

People get their friends to come participate in forums - it's a great source of word-of-mouth advertising.

5. Blogging.

Creating a blog just for your niche is a way to get people to bookmark your site and come back over and over again. People also tend to spread the word about blogs they like rapidly. Offering your viral products on your blog gives them a reason to spread the word - plus it helps you get valuable traffic.

What will you write about? Progress reports and advice seem to be popular, as well as humorous blogs and running commentary on current events.

Blogs help build a community and communities are great word-of-mouth networks!

Well, there you have it - viral marketing can once again be a bit more exciting than just giving away free reports. Think outside the box, do something unique and viral marketing could be your next big traffic generator!