What Happens After You Go Viral

Going viral is definitely a thrill.

I’ve had my share of viral posts over the last four years

I’ll always remember my first, back in 2020. I wrote a little piece about attending my daughter’s prize-giving ceremony. It exploded instantly.

That means I'm famous, right? Actually, no.

People think your life changes after you go viral. It doesn’t.

They think a viral post will turn their business into a runaway success. That doesn’t happen either.

Here’s what I learned from going viral.

1. It’s super exciting, until it isn’t

It’s a thrill seeing your post blasting through the internet. I was reaching millions of people every day, for weeks.

Then, it stopped. It didn’t slow down. It stopped. It was like a racecar hitting a solid concrete wall. One minute you’re going 300 km/hr down the straight, the next, you’re not moving, your airbag’s in your face and you’re wondering “What just happened?”

The internet moves fast. Virality is fleeting. Today’s headlines are tomorrow’s footnotes.

If you build your happiness into a moment of virality, you’re in for a deep crash.

Enjoy it while it lasts but prepare for the inevitable low that follows.

2. You get scared to post again

Over seven months before going viral, I never worried about growing an audience. I focused on growing a library of content that I’d be proud to call mine. I published nearly every day with total freedom to post anything without worrying about people’s reactions.

But that changed after my post went viral. It was a lot to live up to. Look at the stats. 👇🏼

I started over-thinking my next post. Would people like it? What if it bombed? Would I lose my new followers? 

This anxiety stopped me posting for a few days. I was nervous. I created pressure in my own head.

In the end I posted something I knew wouldn’t be popular. It was the only way I could get myself out of my locked mental state. I had to get back in the headspace of publishing without the goal of going viral. 

Focus on the process of writing and publishing regularly.

3. Your audience grows including your haters

When you put content out into the world, you’ll eventually attract attention and not all of it will be positive. 

Criticism is the cost of publishing. 

I don’t focus on the comments, good or bad. I don’t let the positive comments go to my head. Equally, and more importantly, I don’t dwell on the negative remarks of a few in the minority. 

Most negative comments, I’ll just ignore. However, when people get nasty, I don’t hesitate to delete their comment and block them from seeing all my content.

Some could argue I’m creating an echo chamber of my own design. That I’m filtering out negativity and building an artificial reality. They may be right about that. But I don’t care. I own my online profile and I'll curate my audience in a way that supports my mental health. I make no apologies for choosing to filter out negativity from my life. 

4. Nothing really changes

Going viral is built up into a life-changing moment. People think it will attract hundreds of thousands of followers. Their inbox will be filled with opportunities. Inbounds will skyrocket. Your business will explode. 

The truth is far less dramatic.

You don’t become an overnight authority from one viral post. You simply created something that resonated with people. It doesn’t mean you’ve cracked the social media code or unlocked the mysteries inside people’s heads.

At most, you get the opportunity to share your ideas with a larger audience. (My audience grew from 2,000 followers to over 10,000 from that one post.) 

You need to keep sharing. Fall in love with the process of sharing your thoughts with the world. Stay patient and consistent. Growth is a steady journey.

Virality is an outcome. Don’t make it your destination.

Wrapping Up

Going viral is fun but it doesn't change your life. Don’t chase it.

Instead, commit to publishing consistently to build a library of content that’s worth following. Consistency beats virality.

I’ve learned:

1. Virality is fleeting. The internet moves fast and today’s viral hits are tomorrow’s footnotes.
2. When you find success, keep publishing. It’s impossible that every post will be a winner so don’t put pressure on yourself to create them.
3. Be prepared for criticism, good and bad. Develop a process to deal with the critics to protect your mental health at all costs.
4. Find happiness in where you are now. Publishing a viral hit means you wrote something that people liked. That's great, but it doesn’t change anything, especially you.