> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.annabyang.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The First Time I Went Viral, I Wasn’t Prepared. The Second Time, I Was. - URL: https://blog.annabyang.com/prepare-to-go-viral/ - Published: 2022-09-07T16:59:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-03-13T07:39:41.000Z - Description: Luck can strike at any time. Will you be ready? - Author: Anna Burgess Yang - Tags: Creator Economy, Freelancing 101, Work and Career It was an ordinary Thursday morning in August of 2021\. I sat down at my computer and wrote my weekly LinkedIn post. My husband had quit his job over his company’s return-to-office plans. Fully remote work is better for our family, I explained in the post. What happened next was *wild*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fe/e9/fee9a30d-4c70-4bd2-af95-fe6abc8afd29/content/images/2024/06/1-xdob2qjes1oumjhmi89d7q-jpeg-2.jpg) Sreenshot of my viral LinkedIn post. The post reached almost 4 million views. It was shared over and over, finally getting featured in LinkedIn’s [Talent Blog](https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-engagement/viral-post-highlights-why-professionals-quit-to-find-flexible-work?ref=blog.annabyang.com). I couldn’t keep up with the comments, DMs, and connection requests. Honestly, it was overwhelming. And almost all-consuming for a few weeks due to the sheer volume. Writers, freelancers, solopreneurs… we all dream of a viral post. One that gains us recognition and a bunch of new followers. Or maybe even drives new business. Are you ready if that happens? Because I wasn’t. In hindsight, if I had a *few* things set up, I would have been better equipped to capitalize on my moment in the sun. ## Make sure your profile is in tip-top shape What’s the next logical step after someone sees your viral post? They head over to your profile. My [LinkedIn profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabyang/?ref=blog.annabyang.com) was fine. But not great. It took about 300 connection requests for me to realize that I should have been in **Creator Mode** so that people could Follow me without connecting with me. I’d also been putting off a website redesign. Because my website at the time was embarrassing, I didn’t include a link to it in my LinkedIn profile. Big mistake, since it was a missed opportunity when thousands of people were looking at my profile. (Shortly thereafter, I got my act together and [moved my website](https://webflow.com/blog/transfer-website?ref=blog.annabyang.com) from Wordpress to Webflow). Fortunately, I *was* prepared with a [Calendly](https://calendly.com/?ref=blog.annabyang.com) link. I ended up meeting with several people about freelancing work and speaking on podcasts. The link made it easy to schedule a time. Your profile should always be ready to let people know who you are, what you do, and how they can contact you. Keep it up-to-date, since you never know when people will be looking. ## Be ready to send invoices and accept payments At the time I went viral, I had a single freelance client. I was sending invoices via a Google Sheet and receiving checks as payments. Suddenly, I had an influx of people wanting to hire me as a writer. My homegrown system wasn’t going to cut it anymore. I quickly signed up for [Quickbooks Self-Employed](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/self-employed/?ref=blog.annabyang.com). It handled my accounting needs (like syncing bank and credit card transactions), sending invoices, and collecting payments. It wasn’t overly time-consuming to set up Quickbooks, but it was **one more thing** during those days when I was frantically trying to keep up with the attention I was receiving. I wish I had taken the steps to [establish the “business” side](https://blog.annabyang.com/create-a-roadmap-for-your-freelance-business/) of my writing with my very first prospect months before — even though it wasn’t a necessity at the time. ## Build a pipeline and keep in touch The volume of writing requests was *so* high that I knew I could never deliver. For that, I was smart: I didn’t take on more work than I could handle. Instead, I referred the business to other freelancers I know. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken the time to meet with the people who were interested in my work before passing them along. Yes, it would have been a lot of meetings. But it also would have built a pipeline for potential future work. For example, I started ghostwriting LinkedIn posts for a founder/CEO. After a few months, she didn’t want to continue the agreement. And the feeling was mutual: she wasn’t engaging with people enough on LinkedIn to make the posts worth the investment. But when we parted ways, it left a gap in my monthly freelance income. I should have continued to interact with the interested people on LinkedIn or reached back out. Instead, I felt weird about going back and saying “Well, I said no at the time, but now it’s a ‘maybe’ — can we chat?” And perhaps some people are comfortable with that approach, but it’s not my style. I should have kept the lead warmed up. ## Collect email addresses My post had over 1,800 comments. And I interacted with a *lot* of people, replying back as much as I could. I also gained a ton of followers. I quickly realized that I wanted people to follow me *on other platforms*. Within a few weeks, I [launched a Substack](https://www.workbetter.media/p/the-great-resignation?utm%5Fsource=publication-search) and posted a link in the comments on the original post. But by then it was too late: the interest had died down. This was the culmination of being unprepared. If I already had a newsletter (or digital product), I could have posted a link in the comments right away. If I had a better website, it would have been another chance to promote the newsletter/product. I had a captive audience and missed the chance to collect email addresses and keep in touch. Even if you’re not ready or have no plans to launch a newsletter, you could create a short digital product with [Canva](https://www.canva.com/?ref=blog.annabyang.com) and list it for free on [Gumroad](https://products.annabyang.com/?ref=blog.annabyang.com). At least you’ll have the email addresses so you can contact people in the future. ## You never know what will happen A few weeks ago, I had another post go semi-viral on LinkedIn. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fe/e9/fee9a30d-4c70-4bd2-af95-fe6abc8afd29/content/images/2024/06/1-9350ruyz2_tu7mtmk1ouhq-jpeg-2.jpg) Screenshot of my second viral LinkedIn post Of course, this post was nothing like the first: 26,000 impressions is a far cry from 3.9 million. Still, this time I was ready. I had a link in the comments to my Substack, which garnered some new signups. Someone reached out about contributing to a panel, and I was ready with a website that highlighted my past speaking appearances. Anyone who provides advice on “writing viral posts” is blowing smoke. Virality is often based on **resonance** — and it’s nearly impossible to predict what will resonate with people. Maybe it’s a storytelling post. Maybe it’s an increasingly popular [carousel format](https://blog.annabyang.com/steps-to-create-linkedin-carousels/). Who knows what the mysterious algorithm will favor that day. But you *can* prepare for that stroke of luck when your content suddenly has an audience of thousands or millions. Engage, connect, and make sure they have a reason to continue following your work. --- *For tips on planning your time and content across multiple platforms, check out my*[ *free eBook*](https://annabyang.gumroad.com/l/ebook-manage-time-content?ref=blog.annabyang.com)*.*