How to Quickly and Easily Write a Viral Blog Post, 12 Ways

By: | April 1, 2017 | Tags: , , , |

#Bloggers can see a viral blog post with these #BloggingTips

Have you ever had a viral blog post?

If yes, you know the thrill.

You know the adrenaline rush.

You know the feeling of disbelief that it couldn’t be happening to you.

However, it did happen to me on Saturday, March 18.

I am defining “viral” as receiving abnormally high page views.

My post 18 Facebook Groups You Should Join Today not only received abnormally high page views but received an unusually high amount of comments and social shares as well.

This post will examine the factors that caused the post to go viral so after reading this post, you can replicate my factors and also have a viral blog post.

The background of the viral blog post:

I did not know when I went to bed on the evening of March 18 that I would wake up to see my post going viral.

Saturday, the day it hit big, isn’t even my most popular day of the week.

On the contrary, I was so convinced my post offering the 18 groups I use for daily self-promotion on Facebook was not going to cause real interest that I kept it on the “shelf” for some time and did not publish it.

As it turned out, I needed to deviate from my editorial calendar and change article plans.

Within the week, my guest author had just written on basic blogging tips, which I’d planned to blog about on March 18. Variety is truly the spice of life, or at least in blogging it is. I wouldn’t want my readers to get bored with my content!

I had an unusually busy week that week and couldn’t compose another new post. That’s the beauty of the “shelf” post. It sits on “the shelf” until you need it. I needed a different article for March 18.

Although I did not predict my post about the Facebook groups would get unusually high page views, which is my definition of “virality,” in hindsight, the factors were in place that did make the outcome, a viral blog post, predictable. This post will discuss those factors.

Date: March 18, 2017

Viral Blog Post

As you can see, the Facebook groups post received 541 page views the day it was published. Look at the stats of the post one week later:

#Bloggers can see viral blog posts if they follow these #bloggingtips

In the week since the post was published, it picked up an additional 744 page views. A week and a half later, the post received a total of 1,336 page views.

Current totals:

How to easily write a viral blog post #BlogPost #BloggingTips

This screenshot came from totals for the last 30-day period. Look: the Facebook post gained an additional 969 page views more than my next best-performing post in the last month, 9 Tips for Writing Long-Form Content That Will Make You a Better Blogger. This shows that these are unusually high stats for me, my definition of “viral.”

Page views are continuing to rise on the Facebook post, and I predict this trend will continue. First, I can tell people are already finding the post on search engines. Next, the post is being featured at a multitude of linky parties since it received more clicks than any other post the week I promoted it at those parties. Furthermore, I will continue my promotion efforts.

What did I do? In hindsight, I can see the many factors that result in a viral blog post were evident in my article.

Factors that Resulted in a Viral Blog Post

  1. I promoted the post on many social media sites.

Facebook was not the only contributor to the abnormally high page views the post acquired.

Look at the March 18 screenshot. I have double-digit page views coming from Triberr, Flipboard, and Twitter.

Bloggers complain they don’t have time to promote in all these places and spread their time so thin. However, it is necessary.

According to famed blogger Lilach Bulloch, “It is dangerous to rely on only a few sources of traffic.”

Triberr

As you see from the top screenshot, Triberr contributed a portion of the page views on March 18. The following Monday, I received a notification that my Facebook groups post made Triberr’s Weekly Roundup of best blog posts.

Here are Triberr’s analytics for this post:.

#Bloggers can see a viral blog post with these #blogging tips

 

Triberr sent me a notice of congratulations when my post about the Facebook groups won their Monday Weekly Roundup.

#Bloggers can get a viral blog post with #Triberr

Triberr has the potential for more traffic for you. Triberr is in my referral traffic most days. However, the greatest value Triberr has comes from getting referral traffic from Twitter after the people in your tribe, often influencers, retweet your links.

[Read: How You Can Increase Your Blog Traffic Using Triberr]

2. I promoted the post on social media sites repeatedly. On the ninth day after the publication of the post, I was still repeatedly promoting the post on Twitter. Due to my Buffer analytics, I knew which tweets about the post received the most attention on Twitter, and I simply clicked “rebuffer” on my Buffer app– quick!

I also repeatedly promoted the post in Facebook groups as various applicable share threads become available.

According to CoSchedule’s Nathan Ellering, repeatedly posting your article on social media sites can boost your traffic as much as 483%!

3. I quoted blogging influencers and sent them my article.

I quoted blogging influencer David Leonhardt. He has more than 32,200 Twitter followers.

I sent him the article I cited him in, and he shared it on his Twitter feed, Facebook, LinkedIn, and ScoopIt. I received traffic from all those social media sites on March 18.

I sent it to other bloggers I cited as well who also shared my post on their social media. Along with David, the bloggers who retweeted my post had a total of 52,258 Twitter followers.

[Read: This is What You Should Do After Publishing a Blog Post]

4. My headline had urgency:

I used words like “need” and “today.”

[Read: 13 Foolproof Ways You Can Stop Writing Ineffective Blog Headlines]

5. I sent the post to the people interested. The Facebook audience was interested, so the post went viral on Facebook. I played to my audience.

6. The post filled a need. Readers who commented explained they were interested in the article since they needed more self-promotion groups. People called my article “a resource” and commented about how nice it is to have alternative Facebook groups to join when the groups they are in are not a good fit for them.

[Read: How to Be Memorable in a Sea of Bloggers: Sticky Blogging]

7. There was a number in the headline. Research says posts with odd numbers will outperform posts with even numbers, and posts with even numbers in the headline will outperform headlines without any numbers.

[Read: How to Write Powerful Headlines]

8. I listened to the research. The research says Facebook users are online on Saturday. I posted about them and promoted the post about Facebook on Saturday.

[Read: How You Can Know What Day to Publish Your Blog Article]

9. I wrote content that was relatable. Thanks to the popularity of Facebook and blogging, I had two built-in audiences.

10. The article evoked emotion. My post gave bloggers hope that there are places they could promote their posts every day without being labeled “a spammer.” Jon Morrow coaches bloggers to play to people’s emotions like hope, fear, and frustrations.

11. My post taught people how to do something. That’s why “how to” posts are so popular. My article taught people how to find groups that would allow them to promote their blog posts every day for free without repercussion.

12. I put my keyword “Facebook groups” near the front of the headline. If people don’t read the whole headline before deciding whether to click, they’d be sure to see it.

Conclusion

These statistics may not be high for other people. However, I have only been blogging about blogging for a little over two years.

My headline claims getting a viral blog post was “quick” and “easy.” As far as how long it took me to paste links to Facebook groups, why no time at all. Was getting a viral blog post easy? It was so easy, I figured it wouldn’t perform and I kept it on the “shelf” for months.

In closing, the Incomediary blog explained, “Sometimes, contagious content takes you by surprise. Sometimes ‘ordinary posts’ do go viral.” That is what happened to me on March 18. If you follow the tips in this post, you can feel the excitement of having a viral blog post too.

Readers, please share, so other bloggers know these characteristics of a viral blog post that worked for me.

Which tip will you incorporate into your blog posts in order to increase the probability of seeing a viral blog post?

I look forward to your answer in the comments section.

Related Posts:

4 Ways To Make Your Blog Post Go Viral

How to Easily Get 13,126 Page Views to Your Blog in a Month

  1. Ryan Biddulph

    Hi Janice.

    The 18 number may factor in too.

    Folks love big numbers in titles. Big promise. So whether 18 tips or steps of factors or groups, those big time numbers help boost those clicks in a sweet way.

    I loved the article and joined a few of those groups too, sharing my content and increasing my reach Thanks for that 😉

    My viral posts are based on big number titles, each fits a pressing need and more than anything, I genuinely love creating these bad boys. So much fun to help, to express myself and to spread the love. And naturally, that energy reflects back to me as a nice spike in blog traffic for the post.

    Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Ryan

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Ryan,
      I hadn’t thought the #18 might have come into play. Honestly, I didn’t think the #18 was a big number. Is there a cutoff for a big number vs. a small number? If yes, I’ll try to hit that minimum every time!
      Thanks for letting me know I was able to expose you to new Facebook groups. Exciting!
      Thanks for writing and sharing on Twitter.
      Janice

  2. John

    Glad that you’ve shared these tips. Since am on a learning curve in the area of blogging these tips will be very helpful to me and many other newbie bloggers.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi John,
      You’ve come to the right place. I help bloggers here. Thanks for writing. I’m glad you found the article helpful.
      Janice

  3. Donna DeGuglielmo

    Janice and other hostesses great stuff… for me it is digesting all the info is nutritious and getting my blogging fat and rolling on. he he he he ha … the only way I suppose you all like to be fat… ok now I am printing this out to study more and twitting it out my friends 🙂 blessings

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Donna,
      I’m glad you found my blogging tips helpful. Thanks for sharing with your Twitter friends and writing me today.
      Janice

  4. John Doe

    Great tips which in turn makes it a great post. After you have critiqued someone’s blog with your blog critiquing service, is this the kind of information that you provide for the person in order to make their blog more successful? How long Does your one on one blog Critiquing Service last? Can you do it on the telephone or SkypIng or how does it work?

    • Janice Wald

      Hi John,
      I will do whatever is comfortable for the client. Clients can book as many hours as they want, saving money each hour. Thanks for inquiring.
      Janice

  5. Enstine Muki

    Hey Janice,
    congrats on making this a big hit and thanks for sharing your working method with us.
    I can feel you here. I remember the first time I experience this was when I wrote an article about Facebook groups to join. That was in 2013 on my former blog. I created a post with 16 groups and it went really viral too.

    If I did promote the way you did with this, my results would even double 😉

    Thanks for making it a beautiful weekend

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Enstine!
      Great to see you here! Thanks for coming by! Coincidental both our viral posts were about the same topic. Thanks for complimenting my promotion efforts. Your praise means a lot.
      Janice

  6. Pankaj Dhawan

    Hey Janice,

    I just love your writing about analyzing your own work. Very glad to read how you are creating more value and impact in blogosphere. Congratulations and thanks for being transparent letting everyone know how it is done.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Pankaj,
      When your comment came in earlier, I was pleased to read it. My tagline says people will find “proven” tips here. I am pleased my analysis of my blog provides that credibility. Thanks for noting it. Thanks as well for commenting.
      Janice

  7. Lisa Sicard

    Hi Janice,
    So glad to hear Triberr is working well for you! I love it and have been using it for years. It’s interesting how some posts do so well and others not. I’m not on Facebook as much as I should and not involved in many groups. I’ve got to check some of those groups out 🙂
    I’m so busy on the other networks like Twitter. (Flipboard is great too.)
    Congratulations on getting so many views on that post Janice and thanks for sharing your tips with us too!

  8. Jackie Ison

    I love this! As a relatively new blogger, I have never heard of Triberr. I will definitely check it out. I also haven’t sent the post to the sources I cited. I actually have one scheduled for Monday that I can try thisout on. Thank you so much for the ideas!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Jackie,
      Thank you so much for writing me. I am glad you enjoyed my article. Tomorrow’s post will talk more about the importance of letting people know that they are in your articles. I hope you will look out for it.
      Janice

  9. Edward Thorpe

    Hi Janice,

    Excited about the response your terrific how-to post about promoting content on Facebook groups achieved. I thought it was packed with value. As is this post examining why that post went viral.

    Thanks for the insights here, and thanks for joining our little Power Affiliate Club Facebook community. I think your content will big a big hit there. (I’m sharing this post with them)
    Edward

  10. Nabeeda Bakali

    This is really interesting and I would love to try some of these tips. I am also going to check out the article mentioned in this post. Thank you 🙂

  11. Anonymous

    Thank you for this post.. I am just a month old at blogging and I would definitely try these tricks :)❤

  12. preeya

    Thank you for this post.. I am just a month old at blogging and I would definitely try these tricks 🙂 ❤

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