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6 Steps to Create Viral Content

6 Steps to Create Viral Content

The secret framework I used to grow a community of 14 million people

Matt Gray
August 06, 2022

The world’s most valuable skill:

Creating content that people will share with 5 friends.

But colleges charge you $100k and still do a terrible job teaching it.

Instead, here is a secret framework that will cost you nothing and will save you hundreds of hours:

The Contagious Framework.

I used this framework to grow Herb to 14 million people.

Today's issue takes 2 minutes to read 👇

Let's do this!

Contagious = Content that will go viral

My goal when I write is to delight the reader so much that they share my content with 5 friends.

I ask myself before writing anything:

"Why would someone share this?"

I use the STEPPS in the Contagious Framework to engineer content for maximum shareability:

Social Currency
Triggers
Emotion
Public
Practical Value
Stories

Here is how it works:

1. Social Currency

People want to be perceived as being cool, smart, and in the know.

Create content that makes your audience look good and they will share it.

Ask yourself:

How can I make people feel like insiders?

Does talking about my product or idea make people look good?

2. Triggers

Weave memorable themes into your content that cause people to think of you via association.

For example, when people think of weed, they think of Herb.

When people think of pop, they think of Coca-Cola.

When people think of tissue, they think of Kleenex.

Ask yourself:

What cues can I engineer into my content to make people think about my product in their everyday life?

3. Emotion

Try to arouse the emotions of your audience as much as possible.

Emotional content frequently goes viral.

Here is a cheat sheet you can use:

Ask yourself:

How can I create content that generates emotion in the reader?

4. Public

People want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.

Create content that gives people a sense of connection.

Ask yourself:

How can I create content that people want to share in public?

How can I partner with other large creators to share my content?

5. Practical Value

Useful things get shared.

Create informative and digestible content that is easy to pass along.

Ask yourself:

How can I highlight incredible value and pack my content with valuable insights so people want to share with their friends?

6. Stories

Stories are a vessel for transformation. (Share this on Twitter)

Everyone is a natural-born storyteller.

Bring your content to life by including stories that carry the idea for you.

Ask yourself:

How can I create a narrative in my content that people will want to share?

Is there a valuable story I can insert into my content?

That's it!

💎 Gem of the Week 💎

You are your systems.
3 systems you need in your life:
• Health System - Daily habits to be at peak performance
• Mindfulness System - To slow down and bring mental clarity
• Marketing System - Grow your brand and convert your dream customer
— MATT GRAY (@matt_gray_)
4:58 PM • Jul 27, 2022