When one of your blog posts goes viral, it’s an amazing rush. To see your regular analytics numbers double, triple, or even skyrocket out of control is an exciting feeling. You think to yourself… “how can I repeat this?”
I’ve written about how one of my posts when viral, and from that point on, it has been a fast-paced rush to keep that momentum going. After all, I went from 0-100,000 monthly pageviews in only 30 days.
The truth is, any writer, content manager, social media expert, etc, will tell you that they can’t always exactly predict what will go viral and what won’t. Sometimes, it’s all about timing and luck. However, with the kind of optimization, you can certainly help get more eyeballs on your blog.
Let’s take a look at some helpful tips that can help get your blog grow super fast. I’m going to use examples of my own posts that went viral.
How is it useful?
Look over your content once it’s finished. Does it evoke emotion? Is it going to be helpful? Is it compelling enough to garner an opinion even if it may not agree with your own? As you can see from the list of my most viral posts, emotion is a big one for me. I write for humor mostly. Please like to laugh. And when they laugh, they’re more likely to share.
Sexy Headline
A sexy headline does not mean write about sex. (Unless of course, that is your niche.) Think of it the headline as a little bit of cleavage. You want to tell the story in such a short but intriguing way that people want to pursue more. Listicles tend to be popular. Use powerful adjectives. Don’t apologize. If you’re going to use a headline, don’t teeter-totter and use words like “may happen”, “possibly,” or “might think” . Choose your stance and follow through. As seen here in these titles:
18 Things Military Wives (secretly) Want to Tell Their Husbands
9 Lies They Tell Military Spouses (and What They Really Mean!)
10 Things I Said I Would NEVER Do During Deployment
Engaging Photo
The use of stock or professional images will go a lot farther. There are plenty of free stock photo sites. (You just have to dig) Or you can invest in some stock photo or take your own. With Facebook and Pinterest, it is all about the imagery. Use two photos. One optimized for pinterest (vertical) and one optimized for Facebook (horizontal). Don’t choose stock photos that are too “stock-y”. A good tip would be to play with the filters and editing. Make the image seem real and like a friend would have posted it. As seen below.
Listicles
List forms currently rule the content world. People like to skim. So format your post to the skimmers. Use appropriate headings, fonts, boldings, and italics, to make it easier for the reader to process. The quicker they process it, the quicker they will hit “share”.
Be the Answer
You know what your niche is. So you should know what kind of questions they would ask. (if not, try a survey) Then, “be the answer” to their questions. Be a compiler. (Not a word? It is now. …compiler.)My two most viral pins on Pinterest? They were compiled together. I did plenty of research but very little original writing. But they were the answers to a very popular question. What to pack in care packages and Ideas for military welcome signs.
Test and Boost
This refers to Facebook which is still the grandaddy of all social media. Once you’ve written your article. Post it on social media. Measure the analytics and see if there’s an immediate response. Try posting it at another time. If there is a significant of response that’s more than your average number of feedback, think about throwing a few dollars and promoting it. Or submit it to facebook pages or groups in your niche that may be apt to share it.
1-2 Punch
Keep a good article in your queue for when that post does go viral. That way you can back it up and link to another awesome post. This will keep the viralness going for a little bit longer. Internal links always make for good search engine optimization.