WRITING
How to Write a Viral Article Without Even Trying
We all want our articles to look great going out the door — and grow a long pair of legs
It finally happened.
My husband and I having been writing on Medium for 18 months. We’ve had mediocre success. But we’ve continued to build our audiences by producing more and (hopefully) better articles while learning from all the great writers and publications on the platform.
We know from our past writing experiences, that success can be elusive — and it seldom arrives in the short term. So we’ve remained positive, confident there would be better things to come.
And then it arrived.
My husband, Roger A. Reid, wrote an article he submitted to Crow’s Feet that went live on May 18th. A day later, it was curated (as most of his work is) and the momentum began to build.
Here’s the piece:
In the last 12 days, the views on his profile have skyrocketed to 12,867. And the Crow’s Feet story? So far, 9970 views. Every time we look at the stats, we both smile, grateful for the readers and distribution available on the platform.
So what was the secret?
Was it possible to identify the specific nuts and bolts of a viral article and systematically repeat the process?
I went right to the source.
Thinking it might have something to do with the process of originating the rough draft — researching the topic, analyzing the trends, and measuring the current interest — I asked my husband if there was anything different or unusual about his writing method for this particular article.
His answer surprised me.
“I just wrote it off the cuff.”
Damn! Could it be that easy?
Was it possible that an errant thought swirling around in our heads has the potential to become a blockbuster — if we just let it out and dispense with the agony of doubting ourselves with every sentence we write?
Frankly, we’re not sure. But from now on, we’re decided to loosen the reins on subjecting our stories to our typical overly-analytical process of trying to anticipate reader acceptance before kissing it goodbye and clicking on Publish.
For the record, it’s still important to edit your work and check for grammar, punctuation, and flow. And of course, remember to follow the specific guidelines and requirements of the publication you’re aiming for.
After all, we all want our articles to look great going out the door — because they just might grow a long pair of legs.
© 2021 Jill Reid. All Rights Reserved.
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Jill Reid is the founder of Pathway to Personal Growth and author of Real Life and Discover Your Personal Truth. Her books and articles explore life, happiness, relationships, health, and personal success strategies.
