Research by Sharpe Partners, an interactive marketing agency, has shown that 89% of adult Internet users share email information with other users. Which is great for those who use viral email techniques to sell their products.

The research also looked at the type of email content that is forwarded most often. Top of the popularity list is humour.

Next, in decreasing order of popularity, are: news; medical & healthcare; religion and spiritual matters; games; personal finance & business; and hobbies & sports. So humour is the best approach for your viral marketing campaign.

To ensure that your email message goes viral, add something like jokes, cartoons or funny video clips. If it makes them laugh, people are more likely to pass it on. They are more likely to forward your message to friends and family if it is entertaining, rather than just an advertisement.

A little while back about 35 million people received an email that included a picture taken in Disneyland. There was Donald Duck lying flat in front of the famous Cinderella Castle. The caption read “Bird Flu has hit Disneyland”. This was viral email marketing for Disneyland, using a borderline strategy of making fun out of something serious – and it works.

Lots of computer users have seen that picture and hence the Disneyland advert. The bird flu epidemic was newsworthy and had the potential to get attention for any brand that might, whatever the reasons, associate itself with it.

Since people are more likely to share a funny picture or a joke than anything else, including humour in your email campaign could be a smart move.