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Epic Content | An Introduction

As a webmaster, writer, or content producer, you would naturally love to create "epic" content. Whether your endeavors are a hobby or commercial in scope, it's natural to want people to enjoy your content so much they share it with others.

When your content is written about and shared on websites and blogs, and also shared on social media, the free publicity can snowball into massive traffic to your site and unexpected opportunities for you, for example:

• Selling ad space on your site
• Guest author spots (great for SEO and direct traffic)
• Paid author gigs
• Partnership opportunities . . . and more!

Unfortunately, if you're like most folks, all efforts at creating epic content have resulted in . . . disappointment.

It does happen, though. All of the above items happened for me. Not to brag, but just so you know it's real—for several years I was paid $75 an issue for writing a newsletter that took about 45-60 minutes to write. I was also asked to write a book for an educational publisher. I wrote three of them. I sold ad space in my own newsletter when I used to write it, and on this site when I earned my living from it. I've also partnered with many individuals and companies for mutual benefit.

If you tried to write viral (epic) content and not had much luck, you may wonder why it hasn't work out. Are you doing something wrong? Is there some formula you can follow to make sure your posts go viral?

The honest answer is that there is no simple formula anyone can follow that will guarantee their content will go viral. However, there are some things you can do to improve your chances, perhaps drastically, depending on where you are in your content production efforts.

There are plenty of synonyms for "epic," such as:

Celebrated | Impressive | Momentous | Substantial | Riveting | Outsized

To sum it up in one word, you want your content to be memorable. You want it to reach your audience on such a level they feel compelled to share it. This can be accomplished in many different ways, for example:

Teach people something they want to know:

When content offers valuable information or knowledge that meets a specific demand or curiosity, it can attract a large audience. Informative or educational content that provides practical tips, tutorials, or insights in a clear and understandable manner tends to be widely shared.

Save people money:

Content that helps individuals save money or find deals, discounts, or cost-saving strategies is highly appealing. This can include content related to budgeting, personal finance, shopping tips, or DIY solutions that help people stretch their resources.

Entertain them:

Content that brings joy, amusement, or entertainment value has a strong potential to go viral. This can involve humorous videos, funny memes, entertaining stories, or engaging performances that capture people's attention and evoke positive emotions.

Triggering strong emotions:

Content that elicits intense emotions such as joy, surprise, awe, anger, or sadness often gets shared widely. When people feel deeply moved or passionate about something, they are more likely to share it with others to evoke a similar emotional response or to spark discussions. This can include heartwarming stories, powerful speeches, thought-provoking artwork, or content related to social causes.

Uniqueness:

Content that offers a fresh perspective or presents a unique concept tends to grab people's attention. It could involve a new take on a popular topic or an innovative approach to solving a problem.

Humor:

Funny content has a higher chance of being shared and going viral. Humor can help engage audiences and make them more likely to pass it along to their friends or social networks.

Relevance

Creating content that is timely and relevant to current events or popular trends can increase its viral potential. Tapping into ongoing conversations or addressing a trending topic can attract a larger audience.

Relatability:

Content that resonates with a wide range of people by addressing common experiences, challenges, or emotions tends to have a higher chance of going viral. When individuals feel connected to the content, they are more likely to share it with others.

Visual appeal:

Including eye-catching visuals such as images, videos, or infographics can make content more engaging and shareable. Visual elements can capture attention and convey information in a more compelling way.

Storytelling:

Crafting a compelling narrative or storytelling element can make your content more memorable and shareable. People are often drawn to stories that evoke curiosity, suspense, or empathy.

Controversy:

While this approach should be used with caution, controversial or provocative content can attract attention and spark discussions. However, it's essential to handle controversial topics responsibly and be mindful of potential negative consequences.

User-generated content:

Encouraging user participation, such as contests, challenges, or user-submitted content, can increase the likelihood of content going viral. When people feel involved and have a sense of ownership, they are more likely to share and promote the content.

Remember that going viral is not entirely predictable or guaranteed. It depends on various factors, including audience preferences, timing, platform algorithms, and a fair bit of luck. I will add that even if content doesn't go viral, good content does get shared, and it will build your audience over time, often substantially.

While epic content takes more work to create, the rewards can be far greater. The epic content you create can:

• Produce a high-volume traffic stream
• Start or increase a revenue stream
• Become an email list builder, which also has revenue potential
• Foster new relationships that are rewarding personally and/or financially
• Bring you opportunities that could rival anything you have done in the past

That, and more, is what can come from epic content, but you don’t have to be the next Shakespeare to create it. In fact, you don’t even have to be a particularly good writer. You just need to understand…

The Dark Cloud . . . and the Silver Lining!

You'll find plenty of places online that say we see from 5,000 to 10,000 ads per day. Hogwash! That's as many as 417 ads per hour, every hour, with no time off for sleep or anything else. The source usually cited for those numbers says it's not true. But, we do see lot of ads per day. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a few hundred.

The reality will vary by individual, but the point is, there are thousands of direct marketing efforts each day vying for the same eyeballs we are. And unfortunately, many of these marketing campaigns are backed by serious piles of money that most of us could never compete with.

There’s more bad news…

Let's look at content creators. According to Internet Live Stats, there are 200 million active websites today (over a billion inactive). I don't know how reliable Internet Live Stats is, but the W3C has cited them (the ruling authority over code rules) and physicist Tim Berners-Lee has cited them (he is credited with inventing the world wide web). Those are some heavyweight authorities using their stats. Point being, there's a lot of fresh content every day, all fighting the same eyeballs the advertisers and you and I are fighting for.

This brings us to the first reason why you should try to write epic content:

There is already a super-massive amount of competition, with a steady deluge of new content appearing every single day.

That may sound discouraging, so let me offer a golden ray of hope . . . most people do not know how to create epic content, and even if they did, most wouldn't put forth the effort to do it. So, while there is a lot of average and below average competition, it doesn't stand up well to epic content.

One more ray of hope, and the second reason you should write epic content . . . one engaging content piece can put your site on the map, so to speak, and substantially increase your traffic, your income, and your list building results.

You probably understand all of this. You may have been trying to create epic content for a while now. If your previous efforts have not delivered the results you're looking for, or you're just now thinking about making your first piece of epic content, you'll want to continue reading the rest of this series.

Next: The characteristics that viral content has are revealed in The Pillars of Epic Content.