Going Viral Kills My Productivity

Revealing how to go viral and how not to deal with viral success

I can’t be the only one who’s addicted to watching their stats? I actively check them every 20 minutes, if not more frequently.

Stats are a drug to me, I feed off them, they numb me, and I don’t end up doing a whole lot. I might as well spark up a weed doobie and inject it right into my bloodstream.

When a post starts to bubble and then take off, a dangerous battle over my attention begins. One part wants to keep checking the stats, to see that delicious member reading time go up. The other wants to double down and write more to secure another viral article and a bumper pay packet.

I’ve Got My Eye On You, Stats

I quit my job a few months ago, and now I make the majority of my income from writing online. I need to keep a close eye on my stats because I don’t earn an outrageous amount.

Any significant dips will bankrupt me so I check my stats often to make sure I won’t be homeless as the end of the month.

I wish I could go the entire month without looking and do an income reveal on my YouTube channel like Zulie Rane does. I don’t know how she does it but I admire the willpower.

It’s not just my writing stats either, it’s any of my social media’s too! I have two YouTube channels, an Instagram, and a TikTok I’m growing. Apart from YouTube, I’ve experienced a post going viral on all of them.

And the same thing happens, I stop working on them and just watch the stats go up. A lot of interesting thoughts go through my head when these things happen.

None of it is how you should deal with viral success. Don’t be me.

I’m An Imposter, I Say!

One of the loudest voices in my head is the one that claims I’m an imposter. Imposter syndrome is nothing new, and it’s something most creatives deal with — it’s also written about extensively so I won’t go into too much detail with it.

At 30 years old I’m weather-worn and battle-hardened when it comes to mental fights with myself. When my brain tells me I’m an imposter I tell it that it’s boring and I move on.

After a short mental joust, I can usually overcome these types of thoughts. I’ve waited too long to do the things I love. I won’t let a thing like repetitive and boring thoughts stop me anymore.

With that being said… One thought does out wrestle me each time.

One-And-Done

A relative of imposter syndrome is the idea that I will never be able to replicate my success. This is something that probably crosses most people’s minds when they get their first viral post.

How the heck do I do that again?

After watching my stats for a while and wasting days without any productivity, motivation becomes very hard. In fact, virality makes me feel depressed because my brain is flooded with the idea that I can’t do it again.

I can still count my viral posts (across all platforms) on my hands but I do need both of them. It’s a proven fact that I can get more viral posts and yet each time my confidence of doing it again is shaken.

Obviously, this is a good problem to have and I’m not looking for any sympathy. This is just a brain dump to try and shake these thoughts loose so I can get back to work. This article is for me, not you, although I hope it resonates with someone so I don’t feel alone!

It’s Too Comfortable

I’m not totally money-driven, so when I know I’ve made enough money for the month, there’s less motivation to work. I would rather live than work, that’s why I left my full-time okay paying job to do this.

I love writing and there is a lot of money to be made doing so. The opportunities are growing as the creator economy takes over.

If I have a viral article that can bring in $30 a day for an entire month — I don’t need to work anymore. I’m covered. So I let myself get comfortable and I don’t do as much work.

I can imagine some people reading this foaming at the mouth with rage. This is an attitude I’d like to change, as I have lofty aspirations for things I want to achieve. It won’t happen if I don’t increase the output of my work.

Somethings Gotta Give

My homework is to try and figure out how to get over this stat-induced paralysis. This isn’t something I can maintain and it won’t lead to a particularly thrilling life if all I do is check stats.

No one but me cares about the details of my story stats and if I am checking them every 20 minutes then I’m not getting much of that life I wanted so badly.

A friend of mine suggested there is something amiss with my executive functions. Which could be linked to ADHD or a traumatic brain injury. I don’t have a brain injury but if my Doctor diagnosed me with some form of ADHD I don’t think I would be that surprised.

He also suggested employing the use of Nootropics to get things working better. Nootropics are typically naturally occurring drugs (sometimes synthetic) that can boost brain performance.

I’m particularly drawn to L-theanine as it’s supposed to improve cognitive performance and alertness. It works well with caffeine and naturally occurs in tea — so that’s a cheap drug to try!

Tea has never been my drink of choice, a fact that my friend hates about me. So maybe this has all just been one giant tea-based manipulation.

Your Viral Guide

After my stream of consciousness about how I don’t handle viral success very well, it’s only fair to give you a look at how I create viral content.

The first thing you should do before anything else is just start. Just make something, anything. It doesn’t have to be good, but it does have to be made by you. Then you need to work up the courage to put it out there.

Whatever platform you are looking to grow on, you need to respect it. Social media platforms don’t owe you a damn thing, no matter how good you are. There are written and unwritten rules you have to play by.

You can find the written rules easily through the platform’s own newsroom or blog. YouTube and TikTok in particular give away the keys to viral success.

YouTube Search prioritizes three main elements to provide the best search results: relevance, engagement, and quality. To estimate relevance we look into many factors, such as how well the title, tags, description, and video content match a user’s search query.

These platforms want you to be successful because your success usually equals profit for them. However, they are professional businesses and they prefer to promote good content.

If you’d like some advice on growing an Instagram account, check out my previous post:

Once you have read and reread the written rules, seek out creators you trust who can teach you the unwritten rules. The best way to find good sources is to use the platform you’re interested in and find people whose niche is *platform* growth.

All the while keep creating new content, keep learning, fine-tuning, and getting better. Never wait for perfect because you’ll put things off forever. Create, fail, grow, and let people join you for the ride.

There is no step-by-step guide that will hand you viral content. It boils down to releasing content, getting better, learning about the platform, and releasing more content.

Oh, and not giving up. For most of us, it’s a long ride. Only the very, very, and I mean V-E-R-Y lucky can get it right on the first try.