Subject: Blog Posts That Go Viral

One of the most frustrating things about blogging is spending a huge amount of time writing an article that you think is the greatest thing since the internet came along and? crickets, crickets.

You don?t see any increased traffic. You don?t get any comments. No one shares it. It?s like you just spent the last few hours of your life talking to a brick wall, only it hurts a lot more because you really put a lot of effort into it.

Sometimes it can almost feel like your first day of kindergarten all over again. You?re standing in the corner, scared to death, thinking nobody likes you.

Fortunately, it?s not really that bad. Usually, it?s a matter of not taking a few steps to ensure your article goes viral. There are a few things you can do to actually help the process along.

First, you need to write engaging content. Don?t write the same old stuffy, plainly informative content everyone else does. Liven it up by interjecting wit or excitement. Add appropriate stories whenever possible. Give people a reason to want to share your content.

Secondly, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to share your articles. Install a good social sharing plugin on your site so people can share your content at the click of a button. If people have to take extra steps to share your stuff, they probably won?t.

Make sure at least one of the images in your article is Pinterest worthy. It should be taller than it is wide, and it should have the title of your article written somewhere on it so people can easily share it on Pinterest and see, at a glance, what it is about. 

Think people won?t pin your article because it?s not a recipe or craft project? Think again! People share ALL kinds of content these days, and there are even a lot of men on the site. People seem to have this misconception that Pinterest is just a bunch of women sharing fashion and recipes, but it?s actually getting bigger with men all the time. It?s truly for both genders, and pretty much any interest you can think of is present.

Also, be sure to include strong calls-to-action directly in your content. Ask people to share and comment. Many people won?t even think of doing this unless you ask. But if you include a box at the end of your article asking, ?Did you like this article? If so, click one of the buttons below to share it! I?d really appreciate it!? People are more likely to do so.

Gamification is another great way to get people to share and comment. Gamification makes sharing and commenting into a game. People get points when they share and comment on your content, and they can appear on leaderboards and even win prizes if you choose to give them out. It makes people a lot more willing to participate.

Look for our next lesson coming soon. You?re going to learn how to choose great topics for your articles and how to create article titles that draw clicks. See you then! 
