Welcome back to The Anatomy of Viral Business Content.  This is Part IV in the series…  If you’re just joining us, read Part I, Part II, and Part III first — and subscribe to get the whole series!

Okay, so at this point I’m assuming you’ve written a piece of compelling content that answers the nagging questions or fulfills the burning desires of your target audience (potential customers)…

And in writing your piece, you’ve slipped into your Self-Actualized Self, and presented what you know with a BOLD VOICE…

And you weren’t afraid to stir up a little controversy…

So…  What next?

Well, I’m going to skip the whole technical part of putting it online…  And go straight to what you do AFTER you hit “publish.”

It’s time to find your starving crowd!

The late Gary Halbert was, perhaps, one of the top 10 copywriters in modern marketing.  He was known as “The Prince of Print.”  And the amount of lessons today’s gurus teach that can be traced back to him is outstanding.

Well, here’s one of his lessons…

At seminars, he used to ask…

“Let’s say you and I were both opening hamburger stands.  And you could have any competitive advantage you wanted.  What would it be?”

And he’d go around the room getting answers…

“A better location.”

“Better ingredients.”

“My grandma’s secret recipe.”

“A million-dollar ad budget.”

And so on…

He’d let them go around the room until they’d put all their answers out there…

And then he’d say…

“I need just one advantage, and I can guarantee you I’ll beat you every time…”

“Just give me a starving crowd!”

He’d illustrate…

Go to nearly any factory in your city at lunch time.  Look at the roach coach with an order window parked outside (you know why they get their name).

Their food was what 7-Eleven threw out because it was too old…

It’s not good.

It may not even be hot enough to stave off bacteria.

But when that lunch bell rings, droves of factory workers line up at the roach coach and buy everything they’ve got.

Often at 2X to 3X what they could have gotten the same food for at 7-Eleven on the way to work (and it still would have been fresher!).

That’s the power of a starving crowd…

So what does this have to do with creating viral content online (or getting a standing ovation)?

Content may not be food…  But it’s still being CONSUMED…

The challenge you have is in finding the starving crowd who already wants content exactly like what it is that you’re creating.

In fact, some content creators reverse-engineer already popular, viral content in an attempt to get some of that juice for themselves!

Whether or not you’re going to reverse-engineer content that’s already out there…

You need to look at who is already interested in content like what you’ve just published… 

And put it in front of them!

No doubt my post on “My response to a copywriter looking for career advice” was juiced because I shared it on a bunch of LinkedIn groups for copywriters…

Fancy that!

When you share your content with the right audience, they’re more likely to…

… Consume it…

… Engage with it…

… And share it with more people just like them!

This applies across the board in marketing…  And is at the core of Halbert’s lesson.

If you want to experience enormous success as a marketer…

The best place to start is with an audience who is already predisposed to respond!

And let’s take that further…

If you want more sales…  Call on those prospects who are most likely to want to buy from you…

"We don't care what you say, we love you!!!"

“We don’t care what you say, we love you!!!”

If you want a standing ovation…  Give a speech to an audience that already adores you…

If you want ANYTHING in life…  Ask the people who are already ready, willing, and able to give it to you!

The work spent finding those people and cultivating that audience will be far more valuable and rewarding than the other path…  Of banging your head against the wall over and over again in trying to get a response out of someone who is not hungry for what you’re cookin’.

Tomorrow, Part V of the series on The Anatomy of Viral Business Content…

Where I show you how to take a success and leverage it…

And then a bonus, where I share some scientific research into viral content that will give you even more ammo as you set out to create your own viral content!

Are you having fun yet?

Yours for bigger breakthroughs,

Roy Furr

Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets

PS — Part V is live! Keep reading…