A few months ago I ghost wrote an article for a doctor that was published in a national online health website. The article focused on 14 things that patients should be aware before and after surgery.

That article went viral in a huge way.

Within the first month the article was shared over 1000 times on Facebook and close to the same amount on Twitter and shared on other sites such as Pinterest and Stumble Upon.

It broke all records for any article that this particular health website had shared up until that time. And the article kept getting shared and shared and shared.

Three months later and that same article has been shared over 2500 times on Facebook, thousands of times on Twitter, mentioned on LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and a bunch of other social sites.

Why?

Why did this article go viral when most of the other health articles didn’t?

The simple answer…

It was written in a natural, conversational, down-to-earth style that gave people a sense they could trust the doctor without question.

And, it made the doctor more human, more relatable, more reachable, more believable and more trusting.

Most of all, it gave the readers a sense of what to expect if and when they decided to have this particular type of surgery.

The article became such a hit that the health website decided to make printed fliers to help educate those that might not have access to the internet. Yes, printed fliers! And, yes there are still people that are not on the internet nor wish to participate in social networks. I know, hard to believe, right?

Here’s the kicker…

Over a million people have now read the article giving the doctor a huge boost in social followers, potential patients and an army of fans sharing his information.

Now you’re probably wondering…

How do you make an article go viral?

It’s rather quite simple.

Don’t write an article for the sole purpose of making it go viral…write an article because you genuinely want to help people understand what it is you do.

Yep, that’s the secret!

Don’t force it.

Let it flow naturally.

Yes, I know it sounds counterproductive…but, it works.

When you write an article for the sake of forcing it to go viral, you are essentially telling your audience that you really don’t care about them, you only care about the notoriety of “going viral”.

Write from your heart…from your soul…write from the pit of your stomach…write because you want to ease someones pain, or bring them joy, excitement or give them a sense of purpose. Put your little nuances into it, your phrases, your cutesy sayings, share things that people know about you to be true…that’s where the magic occurs.

Yep, that’s the power of making an article “go viral”.

It’s all about the humanness of the person writing.

And about connecting to your audience and giving them a reason to believe in you.