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These tactics have worked great for us over the years and continue to deliver results!

It’s tough to make a blog post go viral. There’s no secret sauce to make every post a hit. However, there are plenty of things you can do to increase your chances.

A great blog can be a huge asset to you – it feels great to make and can bring attention to what you’re doing. The problem is that if nobody sees your post it’s not useful to anybody besides you. There are tons of suggestions around the internet to drive traffic to your blog and most of them work to some extent. Most aren’t so effective. There’s really only one way to create a popular blog: creating great content that can change people’s lives for the better. It’s about putting yourself out there and making a connection. Corbett Barr says it best, “Write Epic Shit.” Content is indeed king but without a spark even the best content will lie dormant forever without anybody seeing it.

universe bros
You live in an Epic Universe – make more Epic Stuff!

Before you post:

  1. Keyword optimize your post. Put your main topics into Google Keyword Tool and title the post based on the most popular search terms.
  2. Add pictures next to key items, it makes them carry more weight. Derek Halpbern of SocialTriggers has a GREAT post about using pictures in your posts.
  3. Re-read your post to check for errors. 

After you post use these to get in as many brains as possible:

  1. Submit to Digg
  2. Submit to Reddit
  3. Submit to StumbleUpon
  4. Post on Forums in niche
  5. Submit to Yahoo Buzz
  6. Submit to Delicious
  7. Post to Twitter
  8. Post to Facebook
  9. Post to Myspace. Myspace is dead, long live Myspace.
  10. Post to Google +
  11. Post to YouTube (if applicable)
  12. Submit to Technorati
  13. Post to Pinterest (if applicable)
  14. Post to LinkedIn
  15. Provide SEO keywords for images
  16. Directory submissions
  17. RSS directory submits
  18. Forum comments
  19. Relevant blog comments
  20. Social bookmarking
  21. Refer to posts on Yahoo! Answers
  22. Refer to posts on LinkedIn
  23. Refer to posts on Quora
  24. Press releases
  25. Link to our own past AND future blog posts
  26. Add to your email signature
  27. Add to your signature in forums
  28. Add to your next newsletter
  29. Request other bloggers to mention your post
Submit Your Post
Put it everywhere! … and make it good enough for them to care.

You don’t need to do all of these things every time but the more places your post goes the more eyes you’ll find. You will quickly see what is really working

Play with these ideas and let us know what you think. Do you have any other ways you like to get your content out into the world? Post below and let us know what works for you!

Check out our Complete Formula to Get your First 10,000 Website Visitors

Additional resources you might be interested in:
How to Write Your First Blog Post
How to Blast Out of Obscurity
20 of The Most Effective Ways to Promote Your Products
Expert Blog Launch: Start Your Blog The Right Way
12 Lean Startup Tools to Launch and Run Your Business

Author

Avatar for Kyle Eschenroeder
Kyle Eschenroeder

Thanks for taking the time to read this! Let me know what you think - the good, the bad, the ugly - in the comments below.

I'm an entrepreneur (more in the StartupBros About Page) in St. Petersburg, FL

141 comments add your comment

  2. I am searching for a good article about how to make my blog post viral on the internet…At last, I found your post, really the post is very helpful for me. I am going to apply these good tips on my blog. Hope it will work perfectly.

  3. How can I get my mom story go viral. Our dad cheated her of her Inheritance and wiped her out completely. My mom is disabled now but prior employed as an license nurse . We are trying to raise funds for A Attorney?

  6. Hi sir.
    That’s really very impressive and very helpful for me
    Thank You appreciate your post.

  8. thank you for this great idea suggestion. I will apply them on my new blog and see how they work

  9. thank you fro the help i tried reddit for my site it was very helpful for me. i have blog on tech and on motivation stories of others

  10. My blog is about stalking with a pack mentality in the public service sectors. It is the hardest form of stalking to prove. The fire chief of Cleveland County Fire Brigade Ian Hayton supports my stalkers and condemns me as a nut-case and lunatic when I complain about my predators. Trivialising the actions of the Firemen and nurses that inflict harassment upon me. I do not understand why a Police Chief in Cleveland can be sacked when investigated for corruption. As in the case of Police Chief Shaun Price and his deputy Derek Bonnard, but the government will not investigate a Fire chief. Why?

  11. Thank you for sharing this informations. I mostly write about relationships, travel, self help encouragement, wisdom , foods and pets.. which one is the best one for me. Thank you.

  12. This has really helped me as I was only using Twitter Facebook and Instagram etc.

    Which platforms have you guys found helped you the most?

  13. Thank you for sharing this! I want to try Reddit but I do not know what subreddits allow you to share links. I mostly write about relationships, travel and shopping. I don’t know which subreddit or social platform works for me. Thank you very much!

  14. I tried this on my blog post and I was surprised to have received a lot of comments about my topic. I really believe this still works and I am happy I tried it. Its much more difficult to get on Reddit though

  16. Nice info.. thank you very much,. actually I want to start a blog I don’t know know, I am a educator in mathematics and science, if possible can you give me some idea to start a blog at least..

  18. Thanks for sharing such amazing tips…..I will definitely try them in my blog….I hope it will work.

  21. I don’t have any of these Facebooks or Snapchats or Instagrams. Now what, huh?

  25. I have started Songs review site that also features singers. Your article is very good and your list makes me coming again and again to your site. Please add some more sites . Its very useful.

    Sunny Jasrotia

  26. I’m looking for some techniques how to share my blog and I came across to this blog, it gives me idea how to reach to intended audience. Nice one!

    -Peps
    author of pepsncoks.com

  33. I’m new to blogging and by reading your article, I’ve realized I’m doing it all wrong!lol I only try to reach people through facebook… Now I understand why I’m not getting the engagement I want.Thanks for the useful advice, I’ll be working on those techniques and let you know how it worked out for me! 🙂

  36. Thanks for these really great tips! So far I only used my newsletter, Stumble Upon, Reddit and Facebook. Now I tried to post on the other websites as well. Let’s hope it’s working!

  40. Thank you for the suggestions. i have started my own blog on high school physics topics and trying to put the theory and data as lucidly as possible. I have implemented SEO tool in it and religiously following the tips along with creating good contents. thank you again.

    My blog is here: http://physicsteacher.in

    • I’m glad that you found everything useful 🙂 Please don’t be a stranger!

  42. Hey, my website is wheelsandsouls.club and I have just started blogging. Im not good with content but I gather information from other news and magazines (8 – 10%) and put their reference for the crawlers……. is that any good for the website? Please suggest.

  50. Thanks for writing up this list which is really helpful. I’m trying to start viral blogging, and these tips will definitely help! Thanks bro!

  51. Whew, thanks for sharing these tips. This is perhaps the best for Adsense earnings. Traffic is the key, so thanks mate!

  52. Thanks for your insight. I am aware of all of those things you said. I am working towards beginning some of those Ideas you suggested. I think you covered it well and I think they are all an absolute must. Ideas are wonderful, but unless we put them into action, nothing happens. Thanks for re-confirming what I have learnt so far

  54. Thanks for sharing it. I was looking for these motivational tips for my finance related blog. Great Post!!!

  57. Does doing a blog comment and posting on forum makes a post go viral? No. It’s the depth and quality of your content. The title is so misleading. It should be 32 ways to promote your blog post. These 32 ways will hardly make your post go viral.

  59. I have viral blog i am new i that. How to find good keyword for posting viral blog post, Where to find updated content to gather information

  60. nice article kyle ..i have got a lot of insights from it ..thank you …i can go viral now ..thanks again

  63. Thanks for sharing an informative article with us. Once few of my content gone viral for weeks and I am sure that the quality of the content takes the first place. You clearly mentioned the methods to get the viral traffic to the site that will certainly work.

  64. I started my own Movie Reviews Web site a couple months ago. I was wondering if you can give me some good advice on where to Start making my site more popular. Check it out,
    Flipspicks.com

    • The best way to is to start submitting reviews to sites that are already popular, have your site as a secondary, and begin collecting email addresses 🙂

  65. Hey Kyle,

    Excellent post and tips! However, I have a questions I am sure you have answered before. Should I spin my article before submitting the platforms mentioned above or?
    Also, how do you post a link in a forums? Most of them do not allow links back to your site.

    Thank in advance for the answer, definitely saving this article and checking out some more 🙂

  66. Hey Kyle,
    Thanks for such a great post. Reddit and forums are definitely a place to make your content go viral.. I really liked the post and bookmarked your site.. 🙂

    Thanks,
    Preetam

  67. I got intrigued with Yahoo buzz, but Google says it stopped operating in 2011?

  69. Well, Bering an intermediate Blogger now, I can easily call these points as Bingo ways to promote quality content. I repeat “Quality Content” , that is the only way to go viral. i have seen many writing short low class post and then, start submitting to Reddit, StumbleUpon, Pinterest , etc. and then they expect the their post go viral, but it will not happen, unless the quality is of high quality. BTW, a Superb Post Kyle.

    • I agreed with @atinder because sometimes we have done lot of efforts but not getting huge traffic. Its all depends on unique and fresh content with catchy headline.(emotionally attached with user).

  70. Indeed, content is king while the little spark can make all the different. There are sure a lot of sites listed here that can help to create the possible sparks.

  74. That’s a nice post. I agree having a great content is the foremost thing to make a blog popular, followed by appropriate SEO. I’d like to remind you though that some of the sharing options you mentioned are now in place now, like yahoo buzz & technorati.

  75. Another you might want post is sharesomethingnew.com and have linked back to your site.

  77. What can i say in this life again,how will i thank high priest dr.zolu for the good job which he just did for me.i have been searching for long a real spell caster now for me to get who to help me get back my husband back but i have been scammed with a lot of people who claim they are spell casters,so i was tired of searching then one morning just have to go to the net and just look for once again and i found this man high priest dr zolu and i contacted him and he make a prayer to me through phone in the night and after the prayer he tells me what to do and i did it and immediately the thing was done he gave me assurance that my husband will start looking for me and pleading for me to accept him back and i was kind of not sure and what make me amaze he said just 3days after this that is when he will come and as i am talking to you people now my husband came back to me just yesterday which make it complete 3days as he said and now i am very happy. you can contact high priest dr zolu through this email:dr.zolu@yahoo.com

  78. Your list, while good, is not much different from a million similar lists posted all over the Internet. I would have liked to have seen some alternative ways of promoting blog posts, not the same ol’ same ol’.

    • It’s more of a checklist–sometimes you need to just remember to apply the basics instead of finding something that’s different just to be different.

  80. I have been using most of the websites you have mentioned,
    Stumble, Pinterest and Reddit seem to have worked for me very well.

  83. Great advise! A good pal and I just started our blog, White Sand Gypsy, in hopes of inspiring people to travel around the worlds amazing beaches! 71% of this big huge amazing world be live in is water, meaning there are SO MANY possibilities when it comes to beaches to explore! Check us out if this is something that might interest you!
    http://white-sand-gypsys.blogspot.com/

  85. Great social sites Kyle ! In fact if we continuously posting out site’s link to these sites and our blog content is impressive enough to catch the attraction of the people than there is every chance that our content will have so many shares through these social sites and ultimately it can become viral.. Thanks Kyle for your valuable tips..

    Regards,
    Ovais Mirza

  86. Tried Reddit. Posted a story/blog piece and got tons of looks. So posted another, and another. After about 5 I got banned for spamming, Apparently they frown on posting content from your own domain. Any suggestions to get around this or should I just post once in a while and hope it slips through?

    • Yeah, you get in trouble if you post too much. You can post from your domain and it’s fine, it’s best to SAY that it’s from your domain though. We used team work for a while… can’t get into the specific of that though 😉

    • Same thing happened to me!
      I wasn’t aware that you aren’t supposed to submit links. There is a section that says insert your link and the tittle so I went with it right? Well, I got these nasty moderators on Reddit writing sarcastic messages on how they don’t care on why you post your links etc.. weird!

      I think I am done trying reddit . There are a million other sites out there– who needs the negativity and nasty “welcome”.
      Oh kyle no wonder it was team work. Yeah good like if you are solo and just learning the system.
      Are there other warnings we should be aware of? LOL

  88. Thankyou sooo much!! Was so limited on places to post and now I have a whole list!!! 🙂 Wonderful and soo helpful!

  89. This is cool and wonderful!
    About 6 points up there are still missing in what I gave done so far for my blog
    at least I will start with one immediately now
    Thanks

  90. There is also a super handy popup plugin for Wordpress that can seriously help some of your post to go viral.. it is called “Go Viral” I think is what it was called “Go Viral Popup Plugin” I think it is by Riviton or something like that, but I have seen this on ViralDoza, SFTimes.co, and many others. If you use Wordpress and want your stuff to go viral, that plugin will work wonders…

  91. Hi Kyle,

    First time here…nice blog. In regards to this post, I agree with you that only really good content can honestly have a chance of going viral, so I’d add more on how that can be done. Other than that, those are all useful places to share and help terrific content to viral.

  92. Hey there. I came to this site because I want to learn how to make a post go viral. I am looking to find someone. This is probably a lost cause and stupid in most peoples eyes but I need to find this person. I have never met or seen anyone like them. I didn’t get their name and I believe the power of the internet can and will work. I just need helping starting the search.

      • I’m from Ohio. And on Fourth of July a few years ago I went to Cedar Point, an amusement park on Sandusky, Ohio. I’m waiting in line for the millennium force (a roller coaster) and there she is. A blonde standing in line in front of me. She was with a group of girls. She had a duke university shirt on, I think the sleeves were cut off. I spoke a few words to her but then after the ride lost her in the crowd. I went home that night searching the internet for woman athletics at duke university lol. I know it was probably just a shirt but I was hoping maybe I could find her there. I apologize if this is a waste of your time but I’ve seen crazier things happen on Facebook lol I wish I could see her again. I don’t know where to start.

          • Yes I tried that but I don’t think she would even remember me lol. I made a post almost like a wanted poster a friend helped me with and I’m just gunna share and share and ask others to share. Fingers crossed lol 🙂

  94. This is a great list of things to do to make your blog go viral. I never thought about linking to future posts. This is something I will definitely try out.

  98. StumbleUpon is a surprisingly great lead generator, I concur. I have had a lot of success with LinkedIn, primarily because I have a business blog (www.pickadirection.com), and it has been getting tons of attention. Great comprehensive list Kyle!

    • I agree Cody. Great post Kyle. I’m hoping to recreate my blog for 2014, making it the best ever.

  102. This is the best blog post ever written hands down. no contest.

  103. MMmm. ONE more platform to maybe add to the above list, round it out to thirty:

    AMAZON.

    Amazon is searchy, searchy gettin lots of traffic. If we are creating absolutely awesome content, time to turn those blog posts into books and sell ’em. With links to our other stuff. Just sayin.

    Keep Stepping,

    Kurt

    • Kurt! Thanks a ton! For helping push me and for making epically helpful stuff! Totally agree on the Amazon front – check this out 🙂 http://www.amazon.com/Hate-Networking-Definitive-Non-Networking-ebook/dp/B00CP6H1HW/

      We’ve been working with Zach Price who just launched http://blogintobook.com/ to get some of that ebook goodness going on. Got lots more plans to get out there. It’s important to be where people already are and, like you said, AMAZON’s got that kind of all-caps gathering of people!

      Have you been putting anything up there?

      • Yessir, wrote a Kindle book called, “Get Paid TODAY!” and learning to hack the search to get more visible.

        Because my book offers useful, useable content it’s a great lead generator. Instead of payING for leads (which is sooooo last decade 😉 … partnering with Amazon has made it so that I get PAID per lead.

        Amazon finds the folks that want what my book teaches… Structuring a small biz to be profitable quickly instead of the traditional two years or more… and by acting in their own self-interest to show them my book, gets ’em into MY funnel.

        I’ve done okay with book sales, sure. But the consulting and speaking gigs that have come from the book way outshine the revenues that the book itself generates.

        Getting back into promoting my blog Kyle, will be back to this page again fer sher to get all the best avenues for posting.

        Keep Stepping,

        Kurt

  104. Whoa. I had NO idea how many sites I maybe oughtta post to. Going to look up/start accounts right friggin NOW.

    I have to agree about the bolded text in your 2nd para: “There’s really only one way to create a popular blog: creating great content that can change people’s lives for the better. ”

    I flipped my first blog for $87.5K plus residual commish… built it from the ground up with posts, email, and YouTube. Only THREE platforms, but I was genuinely creating great (read: HELPFUL) content…

    …and it got SHARED. That’s how I got tens of thousands of views on YouTube for a relatively boring subject, stock and options investing.

    SO here’s what makes me tremble with excitement, Kyle. Imagine what will happen if everyone reading this blog follows directions, creates “epic sh!t”, repurposes their truly useful posts and strews them about all 29 avenues you listed above?

    You are truly a writer of epic sh!t my friend, keep it up.

    Keep Stepping,

    Kurt

  105. Great tips. I truly agree with them. First step would always be focusing on the content and making sure its the best piece f writing it can be both for search engines and people. Then sharing your content via social media sites. But the thing is getting others to share it. If the content is good it should share on its own. But there’s nothing wrong with giving it a boost via social share exchange sites. 😉 Great tips none the less. Keep up the good work.

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