5 Steps to help get Your DIY Tutorial to go Viral
Editor’s Note:
We’re so excited to have our friends from Darby Smart share these 5 steps to help get your DIY tutorial to go viral. We’ve been doing DIY posts for years so we know how much work goes into coming up with an awesome idea, executing it and taking photos and/or filming a video that shows off the awesomeness of your project. You not only have to make sure every aspect of your tutorial is on-point but you have to ensure that your audience sees it.
Aside from the tips from Darby Smart below here’s one that has helped us a ton.
Make sure your post is social media-ready.
This means all of your images need to be styled in a way that reflects your brand as well as follow the basic rules of good photography i.e: well-lit, well-composed etc. It always bums me out when I see an awesome project on Pinterest but I don’t want to re-pin it because the photo isn’t great. If you’re looking for some photo tips check out this post from our friend Rachel of The Crafted Life or this one that I wrote.
On top of making sure our photos accurately show the project, reflect our brand and are well-styled, we also create Pinterest-ready images. If you’re a frequent reader here you’ve likely seen our vertical step-by-step images for tutorials (you can see one at the bottom of this post). These get so many more pins than our single-image photos. However they’re not the best for other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter which is why we make single-photo images too. I also make multiple images but you can’t see them all in the posts. I learned this coding trick from my friend Meighan O’Toole who shared this post with me which details how to hide images in a post. This is helpful if you’re creating multiple images to schedule on Pinterest over a period of time or if you’re creating really long images that you don’t want to mess up the flow of your post, but do want to pin to Pinterest. Darby Smart has some other good tips below but before I turn this post over to them here’s a bit about Darby Smart:
If you don’t know about Darby Smart yet, they’re a place for you to share, collect, and shop creative ideas and if you’re a blogger, they’re an awesome resource to help you grow your brand and blog. I’m consistently getting inspired by the projects they share. Now onto their tips.
-Nicole S.
- Get visual.
Videos are usually what best performs on online platforms. Always accompany all of your posts with exciting images and amazing editing. Use each video as an opportunity as a way to make the best impression every single time. Find out how to make videos that go viral with the help of Darby Smart here.
- Get connected.
Log onto Darby Smart and become a Darby Designer. Simply by signing up and uploading your first idea, you’ll give 7 million people direct link access to your blog for tons of traffic. It’s so easy. Head on over by clicking here.
- Get emotional.
Get honest, share your story, strike an emotional connection with your readers. There is a science behind it, but we all know that sparking happiness, inspiration, and passion can really make a message spread. From inspiring others with how you started crafting to sharing how you had the best birthday party ever, emotionally charged ideas are only an experience away.
- Add value. Freebies, giveaways, knowledge.
Find a way to provide your readers something enticing and valuable. From giveaways to How-to’s, creating content that makes their time worthwhile – content that is useful or entertaining – prompts people to share and showcase your work in their own personal online places.
- Timing is everything.
Stay up-to-date with current events and popular trends. Social media outlets make it easy with trending hashtag sections and trending topics. Joining the hashtag conversation and making your voice heard in new and unique ways can provide you with a bigger audience that goes beyond your current readership instantly.
