On Going Viral

I cared a lot more about going viral when I was in my 20s. I wanted to post that perfect photo, the perfect poem, the perfect Tweet. Even here on WordPress I was so invested in trying to get shared on Freshly Pressed that I had multiple blogs and would post to each of them every single day. Honestly, I don’t know how I did it. These days I can hardly post two blogs a month.

When I got into my 30s, life became less about “being a famous author” and more about being a decent human being. An authentic, decent human being. I think raising a daughter as strong-willed and stubborn as I am has knocked me down a few pegs. Motherhood has taught me that there are more important things than making it big.

All that being said, however, it finally happened. I went viral a few months ago with this Instagram reel, and then again last week with this Instagram reel. I went from 800 followers to 90k followers in a short amount of time and it still hasn’t fully sank in yet. My Patreon subscribers went up. My sales went up. I was asked to do interviews and was shipped fun new art materials to use. The outpouring of amazing comments has me feeling warm and fuzzy a lot of the time. People are so nice!

I’m not writing this post to brag. In fact, I was on the fence about even writing a post on the subject, but in the end I decided to write it out. Not for me, but for 20-something Lina (and those like her) who think that going viral is the great boon. It isn’t. It’s just another rung of the ladder, and one that isn’t accomplished through skill, effort, or talent.

Photo by Miguel u00c1. Padriu00f1u00e1n on Pexels.com

It’s all about luck.

I got lucky one day. All it took was being seen by the right person. That person (whoever they are) then shared my reel, and tons of people saw it at one time. This led to those tons of people sharing it with their following and before I knew it I was at 5 million views. That’s it! All I had to do was post a reel, which took me about an hour to create. I’ve been posting those for over a year now and none of them went viral, and lots of people have been posting reels daily and still haven’t gone viral.

It’s not their fault. It’s just the luck of the draw.

Think about why you want to become viral.

This was the question I needed to be asking myself back when it was super important for me to be seen. Why? Why do you want to be viral? Do you merely want fame? Do you want to make more money? Do you feel like you have something to offer the world? Are you trying to spread awareness? All are legit reasons, but you need to know why you want this.

For me, it was also important to note that my reasons may have had something to do with an unhealthy need to be affirmed. If you realize that your need to have a million followers, views, likes, etc. is due to something like this, then therapy is a great tool to help you break all that down and determine what is really important to you. You, your loved ones, and your career, will greatly benefit from that.

So ask yourself, why do you want to become viral? Because when it happens, there is no going back, and a lot of things will change for you.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Change #1: You will question everything.

Going viral has been a bit overwhelming for me. It feels like 90,000 eyes are on me at all times. You’re suddenly too scared to post that photo, or that reel, or that quote. Because your followers want something specific. They want what they thought they were getting when they saw that popular reel. Now if you could just figure out what that was. Was it the artwork? Was it the teaching methods? Was it the song choice? What if you post the wrong thing? Will you lose all of your followers? Will it all be over, causing your now-successful career to implode? What if you say the wrong thing? Will you become infamous for being ignorant? Will the entire world hate you?

All of this will inevitably go back to the previous question. Why? Why do you do what you do? What can your craft do for the awesome people who have decided to click that follow button? How can you repay them?

Change #2: You will suddenly have more interaction than you could ever keep up with.

From comments, to DMs, to emails, to shoutouts, there are a ton of ways people will come forward to talk to you, ask you questions, share their own inspired works. Sometimes I can keep up with the flow. Other times there are just so so many that I don’t get a chance to see them all. Let alone reply. At first I thought it was necessary for me to reply to everyone who commented, even if it was with a simple emoji to show me they liked what I did. After a while, however, this was taking up way too much of my time. And while I am so so grateful for all of the awesome interaction, a mere “like” to your comment is often the best I can do, and know that will never be enough to show you how happy I am that you stopped by.

Again, this all stems back to the “why.” Why do I do what I do? Because I want everyone in the world to be scribbling! So the comments I am most likely to reply to will be questions about the process and/or the materials used so that those who want to can get started with their own intuitive art practice.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Change #3: You will realize something horrifying (and also a bit freeing).

20-something Lina probably never thought about this. In fact, I didn’t make this revelation until after I gained so much traction. That revelation is this: I am still nobody in the real world. I say “nobody” in reference to the illusion of fame and success we gain on the internet. I’m not viral in my city, or in my state. Nobody would recognize me if I were walking down the street. And that’s okay with me! Because with this revelation comes the solidified notion of what’s really important in life. Like family time, offline experiences, and face-to-face conversations. I know what’s real, and I know what could be taken away with something as simple as a bad connection.

It’s important to apply this know-how to my online presence. What can I give to my following that is real on their end? How can I enrich their lives and bring them closer to themselves, to others, and/or their external world? For me, it’s teaching others how to get started with intuitive art so they can take that away from the screen and apply it to their own reality.

It’s actually…pretty cool.

I read a lot of blogs back in my need-to-be-viral days that talked about what it was like. Most of them said it was “not all it’s cracked up to be.” I’m not going to come on here and tell you it isn’t pretty neat. Because it is. It’s actually really, really cool.

Never before have I posted an image or reel knowing it was going to have a lot of interaction. Never before have I posted something and felt like more than two people were going to see it. Now that I’ve gotten a good, decent following, from a lot of awesome people, I feel less like an impostor and more like the real deal.

The best part about it all is the amazing comments and DMs I’ve received, telling me that I’ve given people the inspiration to start their own scribbly journey. Everyone has been so nice and supportive. It has made me love humans a little bit more each day.

Moral of the story is this: don’t make “going viral” your big goal. Just like “more followers” and “more sales” you can’t control going viral any more than you can control the direction the wind blows. So try to focus less on your popularity and focus more on your authenticity. Be your very best you. Both on and offline. The rest will take care of itself.

I hope you have an awesome holiday season and I will be back with more blogging next year!