What 1.5 MILLION people taught me about "Going Viral"
“Babe, you got 4,000 views on your blog today!”
That’s what my wife said to me as we were getting into bed after I posted the article, The Silent Killer of Relationships, that morning.
I thought I had reached blogging mecca.
“4,000?!? That’s insane!!” I said.
Up to that point, the most visitors I’d had were 177. And I was super thankful for that. Every time I posted a new blog, the number of visitors increased slightly. I was/am in this for the long haul, and I knew it would take time to grow a following/readership.
Slow and steady wins the race. The tortoise beats the hare every time!
But when I posted my Silent Killer article, I was not prepared for the amount of visitors I would receive.
Over the next several days following that post, the amount of people reading that article skyrocketed each day for the next six days.
So far, that article has been read by over 1.5 million people.
You read that right. MILLION SON!
And it’s still counting...
That article still sees a couple thousand readers a day. And it’s people from all over the world.
During that week, someone emailed me asking if they could write a guest post on my site. I said I’d consider it and would follow up with him when the time was right.
He responded with this: “Sounds good. Now in a sentence or two share your secret to massive traffic...”
Hmmm...my secret? I thought about it for a second and quickly realized, I had no secret! As a writer of articles who previously only had 177 people reading, I was as dumbfounded as this guy.
But I wrote him back...and this is what I said:
“Write content worth sharing :)”
*complete with the smiley face, of course*
The thing is...I seriously had no secret. I did what I always do. I write a post, email it to my subscriber list (which was 12 people at the time...now it’s over 3,000), and post it on social media 3-5 times that day.
That’s it.
I should also mention that every post has to past the “wife test.” What’s the wife test?
I’m glad you asked.
After I write a post, I take my laptop over to where she’s sitting (desk, bed, kitchen, bathtub...doesn’t matter) and I have her read the post. If she approves, it gets posted! So far, I haven’t been shot down...still waiting on that day. It’s coming though...I can feel it...
But since that article went viral six weeks ago, I’ve done more thinking about it. And I might change my answer to the “what’s my secret” question.
You see, there’s something I do every time I write a post. It’s crucial. Vital. Absolutely essential. I never write without doing this one thing.
Want to know what that one thing is? Okay, you’ve twisted my arm...I’ll tell you...
Be Transparent.
That’s it. Transparency. Because I desire to affect change and influence creatively minded people, I have to be transparent.
My hope is that by being transparent and sharing my heart online, that somebody (hopefully you!) would read it, connect with it, relate it to your own life, and decide to make changes for a greater outcome because of what you read.
I have no secret sauce. No tip or trick to help you gain a massive following. What I experienced is rare (or so I’ve been told). But what I do have is a desire to make a difference in the difference makers, so that you can change your world.
What I do have is the ability to share the little experience I have. To be transparent, honest and open. About my struggles and strenghts. My failures and victories.
Obviously, writing (or any venture) requires more than just being transparent. I know that. You know that. But hopefully you hear what I’m trying to get across...don’t be fake. Just be you. The real you.