As a blogger, I'm always trying out different writing methods, headlines and tactics to see what works and what doesn't.
I read blogs voraciously and even books on blogging to continue to learn from the best. I aim to emulate the top bloggers and put their tried and true methods into action.
At the end of the day there's nothing like learning through experience. Overtime you really start to see some patterns and I can pretty much tell when a message will go viral for me now.
In this article I'd like to let you in on my secrets I've learned the hard way. But I'd like to point out one caveat — viral is not the be all and end all.
Providing consistent value to others is the true way to build a tribe, a movement and ensure your message is heard around the world — not in a viral one hit wonder.
Know your platforms
Personally I am a true evangelist of Social Media and coach entrepreneurs on how to use it effectively for their business so that they don't miss out on these hugely powerful tools.
My business success is built almost entirely on using Social Media and online tools, and of course from being my true authentic self.
In my Social Media Bootcamp I get people to focus on the top 5 tools used by businesses today — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blogs.
I recommend that you set goals for what you actually want to achieve with our social media efforts so that you can set up a social media strategy that gets you results.
Choose two or three of these platforms initially and spend you're your time and energy on mastering them to spread your message effectively.
For example just stick to a Facebook Page linked to your Twitter account and blog feed and you already have a fantastic marketing and promotion vehicle, and a voice for your story.
Create mouthwatering content
I've definitely learned that quality over quantity reigns supreme when it comes to writing content of any kind, but in this case on your blog.
I've experimented with writing a series of 5 posts in one week and I got my least amount of traffic during that time.
It overwhelmed people who were used to my regular 3-4 posts and I think the quality suffered and it felt forced.
Chris Brogan is a living legend who manages to write daily, but he's also set that standard for his readership and built his business on it.
So how do you create killer content and kick ass blog posts every single week? Well you have to view yourself as a writer and commit to writing at least one blog — even a draft, every day.
Hone your craft and learn to edit your work with a critical eye. Your readers' feedback is also a great indicator of when you're writing is on point.
A top tip is to build up around 1-2 months worth of blog content before starting out because one you're blog gains popularity and builds momentum; writing can be overtaken by all the other things you now need to manage.
The technical aspects and maintenance of your blog platform, editing, tweaking and synchronizing across your chosen social media platforms all starts to become a key part of your day (unless of course you outsource).
I would suggest you set up an editorial calendar pronto. Aim to plan out 2-3 months of blog post topics that cater to your niche and audience, and then set aside time to write those up each week in advance.
If you know you're in the flow late at night then work on several even if you don't fully complete them. Or if you're a morning person do it first thing when you wake up and your mind is active with all sorts of great thoughts.
The key is to write every day. You will see improvements in your style and quality of work and the results will be evident in your blog popularity and exposure.
Use the magic numbers
I have to admit that lists have more likelihood of going viral than do other styles of posts you write. Why? Well people love things to be actionable and separated out into manageable chunks.
So '7 ways to become highly productive' will almost always beat out 'How you can become highly productive.'
What's more it goes viral on Twitter. It's easy to RT and often you'll find people RT without even reading — which is clearly not what you want but it does drive traffic which you have the chance to then capture and convert.
A prime example of this is my 'Top 20 Business Women to Follow on Twitter' series that I started 5 months ago.
I did so because I felt I had received so much from Twitter in terms of connections, information and sharing that I wanted to honor some of the women I interacted with and admired.
It took some time to compile the post and write my summaries and do them justice. But it sure was worth it. The post went viral and the women were thrilled to be featured and all got in touch.
It then went viral on Forbes who I contribute to and was one of their top posts of the week. People have a fascination with and obvious love for Twitter, which also helps.
On top of that it's a hugely effective real-time search engine and information platform that has the ability to really go viral at will.
I posted another just two days ago and within seconds of hitting publish it had 7 tweets already, clearly people hadn't even read it but they figured it was worth sharing!
I even took the 20 out of the title soon after publishing to see if this had an effect (and because I was only profiling 18 women in truth) and it still proceeded to be shared like crazy.
Become a celebrity
My final words of advice are that you need to create fame — for yourself and your message. People love drama, intrigue and status, so if you can incorporate examples in your message that relate to celebrities you'll often find success.
For example one of my popular posts was around the time of the Australian Tennis Open and being a huge fan I decided that I could tailor this to the business world.
3 Lessons You Can Learn From Tennis Champion Serena Williams still gets retweeted and shared on Facebook to this day.
Thinking about current trends and popular topics of conversation and incorporating these into your content is one more way to ensure that you message has the ability to go viral.
Natalie Sisson is the founder of WomanzWorld — a site devoted to women entrepreneurs wanting to create freedom in business and adventure in life. Read more about Natalie here.
