Are you an aspiring writer? The online world offers you the best place to readily expose your talent to a wide range of readers from different age groups and social classes. Always remember that content is the key! Readers are looking for articles and posts that are worthy of their time. Here are ten friendly tips that may help you create a blog or website with a content that will catch the attention of many online readers and influence them to share it with their friends.
1. Use an Interesting or Witty Headline
If you want to write something that will go viral, make sure that you give your article or post a headline that will immediately catch the attention and minds of netizens. A short, but concise one would do the trick. Think of a way to encapsulate the main idea of your work in a few words. Be direct and make it sound as interesting as possible.
2. Be Relevant
Acquaint yourself with what’s popular in the online world by observing the popular trends that rule social networking sites. Write about something that is just starting to take off in terms of popularity and release your post at the best time possible. Good timing always helps!
3. Give Them What They Want
Making your written work viral is in a way similar to the business of marketing and selling a product to customers. Consider the preferences of most online users. What topics do they like to read about online? Are they reading for the purpose of gaining new knowledge or simply for fun?
4. Have Some Authority
Don’t forget to do your homework first before you write. Spend some time researching and learning about the topic you are planning to write about. Beef up your content with concrete and understandable information; don’t leave your readers with an empty mind in the end. By imparting something to your readers, you become worthy of their time. It pays to be a smart writer.
5. Connect with Your Audience
Refrain from bombarding your readers with complex terms and deep words. Be conversational and as much as possible; make your work an easy read.
6. Finish Strong
End your work with a sticky statement, memorable comment, or a strong opinion. This way, you will leave your readers thinking of what you wrote about or waiting for your next post.
7. Spread It
Use relevant online forums and discussions as a way for you to reach a huge number of readers instantly. Remember the goal here is for you to catch readers who will eventually share your work to others who will hopefully do the same thing and so on. A more effective strategy would be to get the help of the influencers or the more popular and established bloggers in spreading your article. It will also be ideal for you to embed social networking site links such as Facebook within the page for easy likes, tweets, and shares.
8. Art for Art’s Sake
Present your article or post in a simple but creative manner. Use colors and fonts that are pleasing to the eyes. If possible, include some relevant and catchy or even controversial photos as well. Give your readers a compelling visual experience.
9. Try a URL Shortener
A shorter URL may help in making your article or post more viral. This is due to the fact that shorter URLs are more likely to be copy-pasted by online users since it is more convenient. It also increases the possibility of readers tweeting about your work given the social networking site’s 140-word limit.
10. Add a Disclosure Statement
Leave a disclosure statement at the end of your post. This will notify readers if you are paid to write the article or if you are simply doing it for fun. Also, you may want to authorize your readers to reprint your post but let them do so while keeping the original source links intact. This can help you get new readers.
There is no sure way to make your work go viral. Sometimes it takes a lot of patience and luck for you to have one viral post. Just keep in mind the tips mentioned above and you’ll surely be one step closer!
Author bio:
Alexis Thompson is an alumna from Martin College Australia, a former Mountain Backpacker and a 26 year old mother of 2 daughters, Sophie and Rhian. She is into almost all types of Music especially The Fray and Hillsong. She also has a passion in Singing and Scrap Booking. Follow her escapades on her Twitter.
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The secret is Doing something unexpected, this one explains itself. If you want people to notice you campaign, you have to do something different – something unexpected. Forget about trying to promote your products as just being great – everybody does that. Forget about trying to make it look cool
Google loves content that goes viral Writing articles while keeping these points in mind shall direct spiders in going viral
Brilliant post Alexis.I am loathe to use the word lucky in the context of business. I believe with all my heart that if people follow your advice consistently, they will get the results that they are looking for.
Comprehensive information here Alexis. Consistency is the key to success and I believe that if people apply your advice here, they will experience success.
I do agree that consistency is the key to success
Viral content needs to be spread very well, Not only via forums but via social media too. I can write few viral topics but they are of no use unless i am able to gather visitors to make it viral.!
Getting content to go viral is a marketer’s dream. It’s what makes a brand stand out and be remembered for months or years to come. Regardless of what your idea is, it needs to be simple, clear, credible, peak curiosity, and evoke emotion.