One Process That is Stopping You From Seeing Your Viral Article
What you need to do before you hit publish
Your better-performing article, you either didn’t finish it or forgot to do something before publishing it.
Why the article that you think about not publishing is likely the one that is going to do well.
When you have a strong feeling about something, that means you put yourself into your writing.
You care so much that you start to doubt and ask, “Is this really worth sharing?”
You may know that something is off; you’re right.
I would try to finish it and go back to read it again.
If there’s something to edit, great.
If there’s nothing, then you haven’t poured enough out.
It’s okay to get messy when writing.
Usually, when you have such strong feelings about what you just wrote, you should slow down a bit to polish it with depth or cut out anything that is unclear.
Finish 90% of your article before you go for the edit.
Here’s what I would normally do if I had enough time to relook what I just wrote.
The steps that I take:
Read the first half of the article, because you likely forgot what you wrote already.
Does the title still make sense? Be honest with yourself, would you click on it if it’s not your article?
The answers matter, but what is more important is that you are doing something about it.
Read the opening again and then the title again. Do they support each other?
If your article would of ended midway, what is the most important point you want to share?
Now go back and add this point or points into the opening, or arrange the title with this idea.
I believe the 2nd half of your article is solid if what you wrote is something you truly enjoy writing.
Some said focusing too much on the technical can reduce or lose something in your writing.
I would agree, of course, we are talking about the aftermath editing process and how it can shape your overall article presentation.
Not like you have to remember every point that I said; take what you think would help you and apply it one at a time.
Using a strategy in the beginning is totally necessary.
Sometimes being intentional is good, but other times it may hurt your article.
It’s always good to go with the flow.
Every viral article has a secret
The secret is how closely the topic is tied to what you are doing right now.
I used to write a lot about the platform because that was something I enjoyed doing while seeing it reach the audience.
Things have changed, and I moved on to the about writing niche, which is also a way for self-discovery of what I want to write about and how I want to say it.
In the midst of writing about other viral articles in the publication, I found of style that fit very well with how I write.
After writing the “3 Unnecessary Mistakes That I See Writers Are Making Every Day”, I feel a very strong lift in that article.
I felt a bit freer, and the audience seemed to like it.
I tell myself to do more of that when I get to time to.
I see something I can do and improve every day.
I’m sure you see it too, just that we want to have a quick fix or try all of the things we see that are good, all at once.
What I would do is add a little at a time, and if the result is what I like, I keep doing it.
If it doesn’t work, I will try again with the same degree of scale.
Thanks for Reading
This story was originally published on [Medium] and is cross-posted here for a wider audience.
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