Go Viral by Writing About an Underdog in Your Next Story
Inspire your readers and yourself
My short form story about Rich Strike, the horse that won the 2022 Kentucky Derby, has 2.9K views and 1.6K reads. It was published in May and is still getting traction.
May I take a second to say I’m thrilled? I am! I’m fairly new here, and I’d like to mention three reasons why I think it has performed well.
An animal story
Many of us love inspiring stories about animals. (My next most popular story is about a chipmunk.) If you’re someone who credits animals with so-called human emotions, you’re not alone.
We love underdogs like Rich Strike, one of the unlikeliest champions in horse racing history. We compare his long odds to ours, and are reminded that we’re not out of the running!
The title uses the strong emotion words, underdog and winner. The subtitle promises life lessons for humans, and the story makes good on that promise.
It begins with a bang and ends with a punch.
It’s skimmable
The three section heads use 11 of the article’s 149 words. (Short form stories are limited to 150.) Plenty of white space sets off the short paragraphs. Most sentences are short.
You might consider a short form article.
Promotion
I have much to learn about SEO, but I chose keywords that I hoped would attract Derby fans as well as nonfans. I aspired to excite and inspire both readers and writers.
Traffic has come from nine platforms, including Twitter, where I shared the story. I’m studying what I must have done right so that I can repeat it with other stories.
And now a word from our sponsor
Traffic has been overwhelmingly external. The article has made $0.26 so far on Medium. 🤷♀️ That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Better luck next time.
I’m grateful to Medium for letting me try.
Some Medium members left enthusiastic comments, which made my day. If you’re one of them, thank you.
If you’re not, please read Rich Strike’s story. It will give you a shot in the arm!
If you enjoy it, please clap and leave a comment.
See if you can do better.
👉Keep moving forward, just like Rich Strike, any time you can.
Key Message: Your underdog story could go viral if it features an animal, skimmable text, and strong SEO keywords.
Thank you for reading. Thank you, Christina, Tom Fenske, and Kristina God.
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