This is part 1 of what will become a running theme on this blog.  Incentivize Everything!

There are things as a company that you should want to happen. And in the online space, some of those things will be more attainable than others.  Product evangelists are people, specifically consumers, who are so in love with your product or service that they will take it upon themselves to create a buzz about you. Essentially, it’s free marketing.

As marketers and business owners, you want this.

You want people out amongst all of the potential customers talking about how great you are, and directing others right to you. If you look at yesterday’s post on Digital Ambassadors, you’ll note that there are going to be people talking about you whether you like it or not.  So the more evangelists you have out there, the better off you’ll be.

How do you create evangelists?

A good start is to incentivize them. An affiliate program is a great way to encourage people to send qualified traffic your way. They are easy to set up, easy to spread, and easy to track.

If you make $10 on every sale, you should have no problem kicking back $1 to your evangelist who sent you the sale.  This encourages them to do it more often, and in more places.  You’ll create an army of evangelists ready to spread the word for you.

ING Direct used an incentivized referral program when they first started gaining some notoriety, and this helped them double their customer base in a few months. (P.S. if you're interested in setting up an account with ING, I can refer you and you'll get $25 for doing nothing - email me.)

For a quick and easy way to set up, track, and share an affiliate program, try Share-a-Sale. They’re an affiliate network who have been around a long time, and are more than suited to help you meet your goals. Click here to get started.