Writers Have Super Picky Behaviors, Don’t Be Like Them
Hear me out.
It’s no secret that writers know what they’re talking about. Some of them, however, are super picky.
They nitpick content: the clickbait titles, hacks, and quick ways to make cash. But surprisingly, when you look back on their old content, it’s resoundingly clickbait.
It‘s quite bizarre. They criticize writers who want to go viral, despite writing to go viral themselves.
The motivation behind it is how we drive during traffic. We want to get to work, so we chose the shortest route to get there fast. Is that a moral flaw? No, we would all choose to do that.
Most writers lose out on this success because writers recycle the same advice over and over: “Don’t write to go viral.”
1. “Chasing numbers is bad.”
If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice a pattern – a lot of people write entire stories dedicated to how “views are down” and “stats are low.” Around this same time, the maximum amount of money a writer could earn on Medium exploded – it went from $10k per month to around $20 – $50k per month.
In fact, I wish I knew this before writing – numbers matter so much.
However, virality isn’t a number.
Most people have different views on what it is:
- You’re viral when people make memes of you.
- You’re viral when it grows out of your community.
- It’s a proportional thing.
Ding-ding. Big writers get daily views that even million-dollar corporations would celebrate as going viral. But say, you’re a small writer who averages 100 views; 10,000 views would be a lot.
It’s all a proportional thing. So don’t sweat it!
2. “Write every day — once a day.”
This was my biggest fear as a new writer: that if I didn’t cook up an article every day, I’d fall behind.
But I get more views today than I did posting every day. Because I spend more time on my audience stats and googling keywords. And, honestly I just sound happier in my articles.
Regardless, I did not fall behind. I may have made more if I posted more, but I’d lose the viewers who value quality.
3. “Originality is boring.”
Take this plot: an orphan boy is trained by a warrior to defeat the villain who murdered his father. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s the plot for Star Wars, Harry Potter, and King Arthur.
I don’t care what others say. Listen to this: no one has ever told your story. So don’t get hung up on ideas A and B. Write your story and make it your own.
A lot gets regurgitated on this platform. Accept that there’s a chance you have something good, and bloody write it.
4. “Write a mediocre headline.”
I had been trying to publish for months, to no avail. Finally, at the last minute, I changed my article’s headline to “I Tried Emailing Like A Man.”
It went super viral. And it wasn’t luck.
Based on the observation of the ten most popular articles, J.J. Pryor shares, “Many of the stories had really good titles, if not a bit clickbaity.”
Before you publish, consider this: what would your work look like on a trending page? This helps me to reflect on my story as a reader. Give people the best, crazy headline you can imagine.
5. “Let’s make normalcy a trend.”
Indie writers are becoming another species of influencers: they’re becoming less relatable.
Heaven forbid, writers are themselves!
There’s an obsession with wanting every writer to be an Indie writer. As if science-packed, action-packed, interesting people are a menace to society. Honestly? I want to know what living in a space pod for 24 hours is like. I don’t want to read about your 7th writing epiphany.
Be unapologetic about writing to go viral.
Writers are taught to stay away from the best type of content. Why? Because of greed.
The trick about writing to go viral is to write your own viral trends. Writers see what gets them insane views, and they write it again.
That’s why I experiment with viral headlines and follow viral trends.
Writers don’t want to see stories that “they could’ve written” when they spent hours of hard work writing their article (that didn’t do well). They won’t admit it. But this mindset showcases a writer’s worst behavior: jealousy.
I’ll keep it a buck. Everyone should have a taste of virality. It’s deceptive for writers to discourage others from writing “viral content.”
There isn’t a specific category for it, and most of it is acceptable, especially when everything points to it being the best type of content.
Ultimately, writers should stay humble.
Because, once upon a time —
They only wrote to go viral.
To the writers who are still writing viral content: I got you. If it works out for you, by all means, continue doing so. As long as you got a takeaway, a quirky example, and a hunger to write, anything can be deemed as “viral chasing.”
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