Infectious Blogging Tips That Keep You Healthy
Prior to 1999, when you heard the word “viral,” you ran in the opposite direction — or donned a protective mask so that you wouldn’t catch a fast-spreading disease. The word “virus” comes from the Latin work for “poison,” and it has maintained its nefarious definition, even when it comes to computer use. A nasty computer virus can do all kinds of damage to your PC.
When a virus spreads, it is said to be viral, as in a “viral infection.” But today, “viral” has taken on an entire new identity in Internet parlance as a positive adjective (as in a “viral video”) or an attractive idiom (as in “go viral”). In other words, it’s not a disease, but something that’s become popular. Like many other words hijacked by the language of computers and the Internet, “going viral” is a good thing that requires no physician.
Videos can go viral. So can news reports, Twitter feeds and blog posts. In this article, you’ll discover blogging tips that can help make your blog post go viral. Words alone aren’t usually enough, but words provide the best starting point in anything viral-worthy.
Viral In a Broader Sense
In one sense, “viral” is the perfect word because the primary reason for even writing a blog for your business is to spread the word about yourself, garner more name recognition and establish your authority in your industry or on a certain topic. In other words, you want your business to go viral. The more eyes that see your blog and the more decision-makers who read your blog — the better your chances of earning more business.
For a blog post to go viral, it usually must accomplish at least one of the following objectives:
- Tap into a current trend, to either add relevant information to the discussion or poke fun at some part of the trend
- Hit on a newsworthy topic that reaches the level of “water cooler conversation” (an antiquated term for the first social media mechanism)
- Contain hot keywords that people are searching for
- Be easy to read, without long, complicated sentence and paragraph structures
- Be well written, with no errors — while communicating worthwhile content
- Get promoted on every possible social media outlet
- Make those who share it look smart, savvy, witty and hip
Making a Blog Go Viral
Taking the time to use all these blogging tips and do all the work required to make your blog go viral, the hit-or-miss process may seem insurmountable. And it is considered a hit-or-miss prospect. If it were formulaic, you’d see viral blog posts everywhere. But the public is fickle, and not every well-written blog post captures the attention it may deserve.
You can always invest in a blog post idea you believe in. You could hire writers at Ray Access to provide you with a “viral-worthy” blog post. You could then pass it on to another contractor to promote it to search engines and social media. With enough reach, your blog post could go viral.
Or you could settle on a few of the following blogging tips to make your blog post go viral. It won’t always work, but you might be happy with an occasional viral outbreak:
- Carry around a notebook or smart phone. When an idea hits for a trendy topic that your business can tap into, record it. Each week, before you write your blog post, pull out your notes.
- Prepare a list of keywords well in advance that have proven worthy. Weave them into your copy at a 1 percent saturation rate, which is once per every 100 words.
- Write about controversial subjects (either showing both sides or as a spoof that won’t alienate potential clients).
- Use inspiring, funny, fantastic or otherwise eye-catching titles.
- Rely on someone with a critical eye to edit your blog post before you publish it.
- Use awesome photos or graphics. Images attract the eye. The best images for your blog post may need a clever caption to tie it in.
- Set up automatic posting links on your website and on social media.
Don’t Accept Failure
If at first you don’t succeed, keep writing. That’s another reason to blog every week. You keep adding to your website and giving yourself another opportunity to catch a trend that goes viral. Never give up. If you use these blogging tips properly, you should see blogging success in the near future. Contact Ray Access for help going viral.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
