razbakov/viral-threads

Output multiple posts separated by --- in threads/yyyy-mm-dd-title.md

Viral Threads

Transform any content into engaging social media threads that people actually want to repost.

Golden Rule

Write like a person with an opinion, not a newsletter summarizing bullet points.

Every tweet should have one emotional beat — not a list of facts. If it reads like a press release or a LinkedIn post, rewrite it.

Thread Structure

1. Hook (Tweet 1) — Stop the scroll, create information gap
2. Body (Tweets 2-6) — One emotional beat per tweet, conversational
3. Twist/Stakes (Tweet 6-7) — The "but here's the scary part" or "here's the real signal"
4. CTA (Final tweet) — Give readers a reason to repost (status, identity, urgency)

The 3-Sentence Hook Formula

[Concrete scene or specific detail — not "I've been doing X for Y years"]

[Twist that makes the scene ironic, tragic, or absurd]

[Promise: why the reader should care]

Good:

Someone mass-produced a $200 "Prompt Engineering" course last week.

Today OpenAI and Anthropic both shipped models that work better when you DON'T tell them what to do.

That course aged like milk in 7 days. Here's why:

Bad (boring, generic):

I've been tracking AI model releases obsessively for 3 years.

Today, both OpenAI and Anthropic released models that make prompt engineering obsolete.

Here's what just happened (and what it means for every developer):

The difference: the good hook tells a story with a victim. The bad hook announces a topic.

Tone Rules

• Conversational, not informational. Write like you're texting a smart friend, not presenting at a conference.
• Opinionated. Take a side. "Brutal." "We are not talking about this enough." "Useless."
• Short sentences hit harder. One-word sentences are fine. Fragment sentences too.
• Use "you" to make it personal. "Your 47-step system prompt? Useless." beats "System prompts are becoming less relevant."
• Schadenfreude works. People love watching old paradigms die. Let them enjoy it.
• No corporate filler. Kill phrases like "key takeaways", "in this thread", "let's dive in", "here are 5 things".

Body Tweet Rules

• One emotional beat per tweet, not a bullet-point summary
• Lead with the most visceral detail, then explain
• Use → bullets sparingly, only for hard data
• Include specific numbers but embed them in story ($285B, -18%, 7 days)
• If a tweet could appear in a newsletter, it's too flat — add voice

What Makes People Repost

People repost when sharing makes them look:

• Smart — "I knew about this before everyone else"
• Ahead — "I see where things are going"
• Contrarian — "I don't follow the herd"

Your CTA should activate one of these. Not "if this was useful, repost" but "Most of your timeline is still debating X. They need to see this."

7 Psychological Triggers

Use at least 2-3 in your hook:

| Trigger | How to Apply | |---------|--------------| | Pattern interrupt | Counterintuitive claim | | Curiosity gap | Promise reveal later | | FOMO | "Most people don't know..." | | Social proof | Numbers, results, credentials | | Emotional arousal | Strong feeling words | | Surprise | Unexpected twist | | Personal relevance | "You" language, specific audience |

Content Formats That Work

1. Contrarian take — Challenge conventional wisdom (strongest for virality)
2. "Someone just lost" — Show who/what became obsolete and why
3. Curated knowledge — Summarize research, books, experts
4. Personal journey — "How I went from X to Y"
5. Tutorial — Step-by-step breakdown with quick wins

Anti-Patterns (things that make threads boring)

• Starting with "I've been doing X for Y years" (generic authority claim)
• Bullet-point listicles disguised as tweets ("5 shifts you need to know")
• Summary tweets that just restate what was already said
• "Here's what I learned" without emotional stakes
• Neutral, balanced tone with no opinion
• Generic CTAs ("follow for more", "if this was useful")

Workflow

1. Read the source content — Identify 3-5 key insights
2. Find the victim — Who/what just became obsolete, wrong, or irrelevant?
3. Write the hook — Concrete scene + twist + promise (NOT a topic announcement)
4. Draft body tweets — One emotional beat per tweet, conversational voice
5. Add the stakes tweet — "But here's the scary part" / the real-world consequence
6. Write CTA — Give a status-based reason to repost
7. Kill check — Read each tweet and ask: "Would I scroll past this?" If yes, rewrite it.