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Great piece, I love how your using this article to show the tips you are suggesting.
And yes I will be using these tips to make my next article a hit!
Hey Dan,
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
You’re spot on, interesting titles are the way to go. If I hit it with a good title I always see my numbers go up. I’m blogging for a specific, niche audience, so it’s quite easy to create witty titles they’ll appreciate.
Great article, as always.
Hey Brit, good to see you over here.
Thanks for the comment and kind words!
Not only does a good title help people get interested, but if you can mix in some SEO/keyword research AND still make the title interesting, it seems like you could really have a powerful combination of natural interest and search engine traffic.
Indeed.
Good point 🙂
First!
Third 😉
Hi Glen,
What I loved about this post is the detail that you gave to make any article/post an excellent piece.
I also loved how you implemented the points that you mention in this very post and how you mentioned the headline first, then the introduction, then the middle then the summary. It made it really easy to understand your point!
Thanks for sharing!
Kindest,
Nabeel
Thanks Nabeel
Awesome long depth post.. You’ve made some awesome points. I think headline and content plays a major role.
Thanks for sharing this great Post Glen. Keep up the good work man.
~Dev
Hey Devesh,
Definitely, the headline is huge when it comes to getting people to read and share your post.
I hope all is well…
Some really great stuff here! Writing doesn’t come naturally to me and this has definitely given me some great ideas!
Thanks Glen!
Hey Felicity,
It certainly didn’t come naturally to me either. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Hi Glen,
I think it’s great that you reply to everyone that has commented!
I have only recently discovered ViperChill and it’s definately one of the best blogs i have come across and soooo helpful too!
Thanks
I read the whole article even though I already knew the answer to the Saturn question. 🙂
This is very good advice. I especially liked the point you raised about including a personal twist to your articles. I’ve said this in an article I wrote once. My point was that most articles have been done several times before (even this one). However, the way you’ve made this different is by giving your personal experience on the matter. You can rest assured that no matter how many others write this article, they can never say it in exactly the same way because they can never have your experience.
Exactly Anne, great point.
I hope things are going well your side? 🙂
Thanks so much for such useful information!!
I’ll be sure to implement some of these in my next post.
Especially the title. Its always the most challenging part for me and now I have some guidelines 🙂
T
You’re very welcome Tanya,
Thanks a lot for the comment!
Thanks for the great content. It has been bookmarked.
I know I will be using these tips to help start and grow my blog.
Hey Rizzy,
You’re welcome. Let me know how things go
I wish I’d read this sucker yesterday morning when I was struggling like hell to come up with a post title. I went with Creativity Guaranteed and on reflection it sucks a tad. “A Way To Creativity You Have Never Heard Of” would have rocked!
I like the twist thing too because that creates an anchor and people are more likely to remember the information. Even an average film can leave you being blown away with an incredible last 5 minutes.
Hey Tim,
It has been a while!
Great to see you over here. Liking the redesign of the site 🙂
Well, 2,897 words worth reading, definately! Great post as always, Glen. Bookmarked this post and will re read it when starting a blog.
I totally agree that people are more likely to read your posts if they feel similarity with you and your experiences. So it’s a great tip to be personal and write about your failures and successes.
Waiting for the next post, Martin.
Thank you very much Martin,
Hopefully the next post will be up on Monday / Tuesday 😉
Hi Glen,
As always you did great job and provide solid knowledge to your readers.
But putting sweet talk aside 🙂 I have a question regarding my current project. Couple of weeks ago I started to develop my own CMS system. I know, I know, there are gazzillions of them already. But I was inspired by one of polish bloggers who wrote that on polish web is hard to find solid and trash free website which could serve for article marketing purpose. So I started to code and progress is nice and probably in few weeks more I will be ready to launch it. What I see as foundation of this project is quality of articles that will be approve to publication (probably I will be reviewing them at the begining) and usability for visitors. Why I code it from scratch? For fun, for knowledge, for having exactly what I need and for relatively easy fixing of errors.
So, my question is: does that project have a chance to survive and hopefully gather some recognition and some profit (I intend to place two AdSense banners per one article page, at top and at bottom of article content)? Or it’s just a waste of time and I will gain only new programmer’s skill? What do you think? I have my moments of doubts so encouragement will be appreciated 🙂
Hi AM,
Building one of those sites is really not my area of expertise. I believe they can be great for getting search engine traffic (and making more money from Adsense) but only for now. Traffic to sites like ezinearticles is declining, and I think higher quality information and sources will eventually take its place on an individual, rather than sitewide, level.
Thank you very much for your answer. In fact I noticed some info around the net indicating that article hubs are no more so effective way for promotion as they used to be. My biggest concern is that I know very little about SEO so getting high ranking in search result probably won’t be easy. Hopefully I will manage to get it high enough before google will ban that type of sites 🙂
But on the other hand I know that if I can pull this off and finish this project and at least couple of people will sign in and write some good content I will have motivation to create another site (or sites), probably on subject familiar to me like software development with very narrow specialization of topics. Maybe whole site about how I managed to write my own CMS for marketing purposes and earned $1 from it 🙂
Once again, thank you for your comment and the job you are doing here for all of us 🙂
What happens when everyone starts using killer headlines?! That will be confusing. I rate you for writing and teaching by the way:) Did you mention that you have to get the most important part of the headline in first? And that numbered posts like this one are recommended for a reason – people do love it. I like the way you got a number in here.
I’m having fun with my headlines. It’s one of the most enjoyable part of writing the post and wraps it all up nicely. I try to make it fun too. For example I wrote about SG’s books and called it In Bed With Seth Godin – got a few people interested and at least made people smile:) Then I went to a blogging conference with Darren Rowse and made the headline Would You Travel 1,846 Miles to Meet This Man? Oh well, it keeps me happy:)
Nice Glen !
That’s what I call an essence article. Personality and readability are everything to me, and I try to make my articles as informative and entertaining as possible. It’s a pure challenge, because English is my second language, and I suck at writing and grammar in general. But with enough passion to melt the sun, I will master this sooner or later.
This is the kind of magic that one can read over…and over…and over again !
Do you have a tip on writing faster ? I sometimes take hours to create a post, and it’s like one third of your size 😉
I write articles like this in about an hour and a half (before re-reading, editing, adding links etc) Luckily, I don’t have to do much research…I just write.
Cut out distractions, create a structured outline, and don’t stop. Also, learn to touch-type if you haven’t already 🙂
I just came to the page and read the whole awesome article because of only reason, The headline. If you had not included the word 2897 words, i wouldnt have come. because I can see lot of articles on web writing abt creating a viral content. But this post is worth reading 🙂 You simply rock !
I actually thought that would have put most people off, rather than attract them.
Interesting.
I think people read posts differently to books or newspapers or ads.
The best way I’ve heard this described is that people scan newspapers but mine blog posts. The headline probably matters but after that people may skip around looking at the bold and bullet points and so on – and maybe go back and read the whole thing or one whole paragraph that has the bit they are interested in.
It would be interesting to know how people read this post.
Hi Evan,
That’s the exact point I made towards the end of the post. A lot of people will skim an article then and then read it in full if they like what they saw.
Thanks for the comment 🙂
Wow this was certainly an eye-opener.
I never knew newspaper journalists worked like that, which is worrying because I wanted to be one years ago!
I’m glad you took something from the post, Dean 🙂
From my experiences it seems that when you use statistics or numbers in your Title, it can double your CTR! For example, “How to Increase Your RSS Subscribers by 200% in 7 Days”. This is very similar to what you were talking about at the beginning of your post and I think your blog does a great job with that. Using stats can also be a great way to get people to download or provide their contact information for a whitepaper.
Great Post Glen.
Mark
Hey Mark,
Thanks for the comment and tweet. For anything other than word count, I would definitely agree with you.
Good to see you here.
Love this post, Glen. It’s amazing how you take a topic that’s been written about a million times (basically, how to create good content), and still turn it into a compelling, useful article. Thanks man.
Hi Glen,
I used to neglect this area when writing my articles. Now I understand why are other articles faring better than the one on my site. Writing is a skill that we need to polish consistently. Anyone can create content but only a few can create great content that are worth sharing. One example would be this article here.
Regards,
Vincent
I attempted basically this same post today and you really out-did me. I love how you break this down and I am taking many, many of your lessons to heart for my next post. I espeically like the headline examples as headlines are really as important as they say. Thanks for such great information.
Hey Rebecca,
Sorry about that 😉 — I’m sure yours will be great too.
You’re welcome!
I have a humor blog with videos and pictures, the posts do not usually have text, but the headline on twitter and content aggregators much influence, that is visible!
Glen Thanks for the post! Hug
Hey Caion,
In a way then you’re lucky. Just make sure those headlines are powerful 🙂
In fact, after watching Viperchill tried to optimize the titles, and studied about it. So they create powerful 😀
Glen,
Thank you once again for sharing your insights with us! I love the way you keep producing quality content that delivers so much content to your readers. Bookmarked this one, along with many other ViperChill posts and hope to produce such valuable content myself.
Thanks again, Glen.
Hey Alessio,
Your domain name made me laugh 😀
Glad you liked the post!
Haha!
Glad you liked my domain name! 🙂
Great article! I am always inspired, but have a hard time focusing, this gives me the template I need to get my thoughts together and publish. Thanks!
That’s awesome Jeremy,
Thanks for the comment!
Quite the piece you put together.
I’ve recently realized that I don’t do subheadings in my posts as often as I should. Reason being because I wasn’t really a fan of them. But I’ve realized that they’re essential for blogs.
I guess I was never that drawn to them because when I read a post I almost always read it in its entirety. I’m not a skimmer, though many people are. So you have to cater to them.
Hey Bamboo,
Long time no comment ;).
Couldn’t agree with your last sentence more. Don’t forget that not everyone takes in posts like you do.
I honestly think this is the best article I’ve ever read about writing. Good job as always.
Wow. Big statement Oscar.
Thank you!
Hi Glen, Thanks for this great refresher… this article really was a great reminder to remember who you’re writing for. I also wanted to stop by and say thanks for the great content on the SPI podcast… You and Pat are just as fun to listen to as you are informative… high five 🙂
Haha, thank you Dawn,
Glad you enjoyed both!
I’m impressed that you wrote a headline like “2897 Words on How to …” and then managed to write an article of exactly 2897 words (yes I counted). my site is more photo based, so some of the advice isn’t applicable but the headline stuff certainly is. but i think my problem is that i’m not getting “viral spreaders” to spread it around. how do you attract those type of people?
You attract them by either hanging out where they are, or building an audience of them.
P.S. I wrote the headline after I counted the words 😉
Glen,
Awesome post as usual. Very good advice on writing an appealing title. This has been something I feel I struggle with at times. Sometimes I want to get fancy and creative, but also want people to know what they’re going to get. It’s a balance between the two I guess. Thanks!
Glen,
You can’t do that! I think it should be illegal to write misleading headlines. My dad often times only read headlines, he will tell me the ‘news’ all the time and he is often wrong! He thinks it is bad for him to stretch now! All because of misleading headlines. I feel writers, especially those affiliated with the news have an obligation to be as straightforward as possible. Otherwise you will misinform people.
Hi David,
I think you’re missing the point. For example, in my post about Smoking is Good for You, the headline was misleading. Yes. However, the core message was not to take what other people around you say as fact, and be sure to test things on your own in life. Having a message like the smoking one, caused far more people to get the message, and helped them relate to it a lot more.
The point isn’t to be deceptive. It’s to cause a reaction in the mind of your reader so they can grasp the lesson.
I guess I am included on the 1% of readers who have read this long post till the end.
Thanks for sharing this great information my friend. It really benefited me. I really love reading your contents on this blog.
– Blogging Access.com
Hey Glen
Could you be more specific braking the paragraphs so that they continue the readers attraction?
Thanks
Paras
Wow, this was great!
I love that you mention to be personal- people buy from people, not companies. If you have personally experienced what you are talking about, it will have more clout than just a bunch of words.
I am a skimmer, then a reader!
Thanks, Glen, for this really helpful post. As someone just getting started in this area, I’m glad I ran across your article now, rather than after spending months posting ineffectively. I’ve actually bookmarked this post so I can come back to it for pointers as I go. Thanks!
As usual another beautiful article. Thank you Glen for sharing these wonderful tips
I have to say Glen, this article is complete garbage! You completely missed several points!
I am completely kidding of course. Even though most of this isn’t new to many of us, you have compiled an amazing resource that includes almost every tip out there. No more reading 100s of blogs and articles. Whenever someone asks me a question about SEO, backlinking etc. I refer them to this blog.
I see that you are not shy about covering a topic in full with just one post. Kuddos to you for being thorough. In the beginning of the article you mentioned how journalists are taught to start with the most important information first. I had never realized this or thought about this protocol before. Yet, now that you mention it, I often recall reading only first half of an article and then getting bored with the way the article was heading. I think this might be the reason why. Very interesting indeed. You learn something new every day.
Just reading your posts I’ve learned so much from the way you format. Every time I read your post I remember the stuff I read unlike other blogs. The best thing I like s the heading and the pictures, I think that kind of gives the reader a little break or room to take the information in and then go on.
Thanks man I am glad to see you posting more often.
ViperChill is quickly becoming a bible of sorts for blogging. If I were a poet, I’d write an ode to it, but instead I wrote a quick blog post to spread the word to my five readers (have to start somewhere).
Love the information, keep it up for all of us.
Hi Glen,
I think you have list several important points in writing a viral content. That certainly helps in my planning of the next posts and i will be bookmarking this article for my reference. There is a lot examples in your posts that i can learn from, this is indeed useful. Thanks.
Hi Glen
I agree with everything you say here and enjoyed how eloquently you say it.
Hi Glen.
Thank you for sharing all this.
I am still new in blogging and will try some of your tips in my blog.
Keep on giving ideas on how to be a great blogger like you.
Hi Glenn,
I just found your blog through Pat Flynn’s Podcast and I have a strong feeling that visiting this site will become part of my weekly routine.
Keep up the great work.
Hi Glen,
The title of the post had a “reverse psychology” effect on me.
2,897 words? Oh, so you think I wouldn’t read a post that long? We’ll see about that! 😛
Great tips. It’s definitely crucial to write attention-grabbing headlines, and an engaging introduction. A couple of things I may not be doing much justice to.
This is a great post full of information on how to do quality blog posts the attract readers. I have been scouring the internet for information on blogging in preparation of starting my own blog and came upon ViperChill. This is a easy to understand and straight forward blog on blogging that provides valuable information compared to most out there. Thanks for the good info.
Good information about the titles. This help me to think outside of the box. Thanks
Hi Glen,
Just heard your interview on Pat Flynn’s podcast – really excellent to listen to and congratulations on all the achievements you have made so far in your life.
Subscribed to your blog now so I can keep up with all your excellent posts!
Kevin
This is a hit! These are great tips I’m going to implement. I like how you mentioned write simple, and the way you write is so simple but its better than writing complicated. Its only important if you learn something out of it.
Good post Glen! Its interesting to read about what makes a good post from someone who writes so many of them. I am not sure how you come up with such long insightful posts but I will definitely take advantage of it and keep reading. Thanks.
yeah Glen.. i agree with most of the points mentioned in this post. I have to stat making the most of some of your recommendations. most blogger writer and not to note that they are not just writing for themselves alone.
Its a best Advice who looking for viral marketing , but sometimes its need knowledge into some other tools which needs many attention that make blogger to unable to get the desired affect
Thanks for this great post. so much valuable insights you’ve shared and I’ll use to get my posts worthy of being shared in a big way 🙂
I certainly will use the tips Glen, thanks for sharing your in-depth insight.
Readability seems to be a chief factor. Even when you get the content down the delivery determines if people stick around to read it. Think short and punchy when designing.
I like your advice on titles. I will give more thought to titles in the future.
Ryan Biddulph
[…] 2,897 Words on How to Create Viral Content (The Key Element Behind Every Successful Blog) […]
Just found about you today. I’m going to read all your posts these days.Thank you for all the info you share!
I decided few days ago to start again some websites and try to make a living from them so all your blogs are helping me a lot.
I have a question: I see you use many great images in your posts, where are the pictures from?
Awesome work! This is about the 4th post I’ve read from you and all of them seem pivotal to my progress as a blog owner. Such great timing too, I’ve seen a plateau in much of what I could do with my blog earlier this week, so viewing a blog with such essential work that also links to even more incredible sources is quite valuable.
Thanks!
– Jonathan Manor
I certainly will use the tips Glen, thanks for sharing your in-depth insight.
thanks!!
Good Headline Title to a blog Posts attract Users towards reading the Post
Glen,
any lean startup can make this article part of the tool kit for preparation or execution but especially during launch, thank you !
Very nice and usefull post. Thanks fronte Italy
Hey Glen,
I do appreciate all this guidance you are providing through these emails. I have come to expect them to educate myself more. And to say the least, emailing blogging makes sense to me. For quite sometime I have been trying to make sense of it all and what pertain to internet marketing and how it works to no avail.
I have taken a new turn and focus. Hopefully, I should attain some success.
Thanks, Glen.
I loved this article. My favorite part was the end because you applied what you suggested.
A buster indeed! The part about headlines is just mind-blowing. I’m so guilty of poor headlines. I’ll be watching out for those tips in my subsequent articles. Thanks Glen!