The Universal Laws of Virality (Pt. 2)
The playbook behind 10m+ views in 30 days (part two).
đ Hey, itâs Andrew.
Two weeks ago, I wrote an article called The Universal Laws of Virality. I asked if anyone wanted to see part two, and over 40 of you replied, so here it is.
Beyond that, Iâm really excited for Austin. I rented a private mansion with a pool and a barbecue pit. Weâll be hosting folks over a few nights. If you are a founder or CEO and want to meet others in a curated setting, please apply below. We do this every year, and itâs one of my favorite event series. There is no cost to attend.
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How to Engineer Virality (Pt. 2)
Iâve doubled my follower count (now at 47k) since publishing part one of The Universal Laws of Virality two weeks ago.
That covered the foundation: hooks, structure, platform incentives, but these are the principles I used to break through the first ceiling.
1. Invoke strong emotions
You are competing for the attention of over a billion people
If your content doesnât feel urgent or emotionally charged, it wonât matter how clever it is. Unfortunately, algorithms do not reward intelligence - it rewards emotional reaction.
Before you post, ask yourself: What emotion do I want my audience to feel? Inspired? Scared? Entertained? Angry? Hopeful? If you donât know the answer before you hit publish, go back and rewrite it.
Anger, awe, fear, inspiration, and belonging are the most highly arousing, emotionally charged reactions. The most viral content makes people feel something so strongly that they have to share it.
2. Optimize for memorability (not views)
A mistake most new creators make is optimizing for âvirality.â
Unfortunately, the gurus who tell you to optimize for virality are not helpful. Virality is a byproduct, driven by memorability. When your content is memorable, people share it. And the more people share it, the more viral it gets
Ask yourself: How do I say this in a way they will never forget? Whatâs the line theyâll repeat to a friend tomorrow?
A clear leading indicator to look for is the number of saves and bookmarks. The only reason someone would bookmark something is that they find it valuable.
3. Create a system for high-frequency publishing
The truth of playing the internet lottery is that you need to maximize the number of rolls you get.
Across all platforms, you need to post at a minimum once a day. I post once to twice daily on LinkedIn. Three to four times on TikTok. Four to six times on X. Total time: one to two hours a day.
The good news: this should take six hours, but it doesnât. I built a system that takes me less than ten minutes per video: ideation, scripting, shooting, and post-production. When I started TikTok, I knew instantly I didnât have the capacity to produce highly edited videos, so I created a system that worked for me.
I use AI heavily in my process, but mostly in the administrative parts of content creation. If you want me to share more about my AI workflow, hit reply
4. Borrow distribution by collaborating up
You should be well-networked with the creator community. Not just because you learn from others, but because you can collaborate with other creators who are 1-2 tiers above you. This allows you to reach new audiences who already trust the person vouching for you.
Borrowed distribution allows you to grow faster than organic growth alone.
5. Speak each platform's native language
Each platform has its own subculture, its own language, its own expectations.
LinkedIn favors achievement and status signaling. TikTok rewards raw energy and fast pacing. Reels prefers high-production videos. X rewards banter and hot takes. What works on LinkedIn will flop on TikTok if you donât adapt it.
One could argue that the packaging of the content is almost more important than the content alone. You can package the same idea across multiple channels by speaking to the platformâs native language
Study the top creators on each platform and notice how they speak. What do you notice?
6. Study outliers obsessively
When you see content that does exceptionally well (1m+ views), stop scrolling and try to identify the root causes of that virality.
Study it obsessively and break down the formula behind it. Why did this work? What was the hook? What emotion did it trigger? Why did people share it?
A helpful framework is the principles from Jonah Bergerâs Contagious to understand why: social currency, triggers, emotion, public visibility, practical value, stories.
Outliers are your curriculum. The algorithm already told you what works. Your job is to understand why.
7. Earn the right to reach your audience
My contrarian opinion on social media: your follower count doesnât matter anymore.
I have over 300,000 followers across my platforms. Yet every time I post, I believe I need to earn the right to reach my audience. Every single time. Because the truth is, since our platforms moved from a follower-first to a discovery-first mechanic, the algorithm doesnât care how many followers you have. It cares whether this specific piece of content is good enough to show to more people.
Treat every post like you have zero followers. Would this piece of content stand on its own? Would it get engagement even if nobody knew who you were? If not, make it better before you post.
The other side of this is true as well. Even with just a single follower, you can reach a million people. The capacity to create viral content has been democratized
8. Pick a game you can win (be the top 1%)
People consume content for two reasons: education or entertainment. Pick one.
I avoided entertainment. Why: I knew I could never compete with the charisma of comedians or the post-production skills of filmmakers. Thatâs not my game. So I optimized for knowledge. My goal is to give people information in the clearest, most concise way possible.
Ask yourself: What am I genuinely better at than most people? What could I talk about for hours without getting bored? Thatâs your game - double down on it.
Donât straddle both. If you try to be a bit educational and a bit entertaining, youâll likely do both poorly.
9. Stay plugged into the cultural zeitgeist
A big part of playing the social media game is staying on top of trending narratives.
Whatâs trending? Whatâs hot? Whatâs discussable right now? This ties into understanding cultural memes and sharing things that are timely. The same content posted during a trending moment will outperform content posted a week later by a wide margin.
I use Claude Code to send me trending headlines every morning. It takes five minutes and keeps me plugged in.
Iâve mentioned AI a few times as part of my workflow. Itâs a big part of it, so if you want to learn more, hit reply.
(Sponsored) This issue is brought to you by The Human Liberation.
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đ Andrewâs Bookmarks
My favorite links to help you be wiser and more creative.
Time by Maximilian Kiener â A stunning website that visualizes how fast time flies.
THE 2028 GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CRISIS by Citrini Research â This popular article has been floating around the internet and has been read by millions. Itâs a framework for you to think about where opportunity might land next in the AI era.
You are no longer the smartest type of thing on Earth by Noah Smith â The people who built the world we live in arenât the same people whoâll build the world coming next. Applied adaptability matters more in a world where tools can execute exponentially faster than humans. A great read on our future.
Claude Code Clearly Explained (and how to use it) by Greg Isenberg â If you havenât tried Claude Code yet, youâre missing out on an entirely new way of working. Iâve gone down a rabbit hole over the past few weeks, completely automating most of my work.
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