Do this if you want more people to read your work…
? Follow tried n’ true formulas and templates. Don’t deviate from them.
Want to launch a bestselling novel or script?
Follow classic tropes and themes.
Want to write a persuasive ad?
Follow classic direct response formulas.
Want to publish “viral” social posts?
Reverse engineer the most successful posts in your industry.
Every time you color outside the lines, your audience size shrinks.
Virality isn’t 100% luck or randomness. Success can be dissected and replicated.
So if your goal is to get as many people as possible in your target audience to read your work, stick to what’s worked before.
Improve the wheel. Don’t reinvent it.
Of course creative rebellion has its time and place, but it won’t ever be well-received by the masses. Our brains are hardwired a certain way. That’s why psychology tactics that worked in the 60s will still work today and continue to work in 2075. That’s why Shakespeare’s work still touches us today.
It’s why someone can repost their own viral LinkedIn post every few weeks and watch it go viral again.
(There are exceptions of course, but those are extremely rare. Don’t aim to be that 0.00001% of the population. There are far easier paths to success.)
Jackie