When Claps Don’t Pay the Bills, it starts with a ding, then two, Then twenty.
Your poem, the one you scribbled on a wrinkled notepad, inspired while sipping on a bottle of Amina’s SodiumBolooxide (a.k.a. sobolo special) by your side and half way through Davi Ewenam’s Gobe on your lap with “nkosua ne mako”.
You’re trending. Your voice is playing under lo-fi beats. A stranger just captioned their heartbreak video with your words.
Suddenly, everyone’s quoting you.
But your bank account? Still humming the chorus of “zero point zero zero.”
Welcome to the poet’s paradox:Global visibility. Local emptiness.
Viral love. Zero leverage.
As someone who’s walked this tightrope, applause in public, panic in private, let me tell you: virality doesn’t build a career. Systems do. So here’s your real guide: not to going viral, but to surviving it, scaling from it, and cashing in on it.
1. Visibility is Not Viability
Just because the world loves your work doesn’t mean it knows how to pay for it.
Virality is seductive. It makes you believe the phone will keep ringing, that offers will pour in. But unless you’ve built channels to capture, convert, and continue the momentum all that noise fades fast.
“You’re famous o! But service provider still sent you that ‘Your bundle is low, QWIKLOAN also sent you a prompt to pay your loan on time to avoid a 12.5% late payment fee’ message.”
Hard truth: A million views and no invoice system is just performance not business.
Lesson: Build your backend before your front-end blows.
2. Create Doors, Don’t Just Break Ceilings
Virality gives you attention. But where are you directing it?
Do you have:
• A linktree or central hub?
• A booking form that works?
• A product, class, or offer tied to your message?
• A clear line that says: “This is what I do. Here’s how to work with me”?
People don’t need to be convinced to support you they just need to be shown how.
“If they can’t find you, they can’t fund you.”
Lesson: Don’t be hard to bless.
3. Dress Your Talent in Strategy
You’re not just an artist. You’re a brand now.
When media comes knocking, are you ready?
Let me ask:
• Do you have a press kit? (Bio, images, social links, past features?)
• A rate card or service sheet?
• Clean portfolio or samples ready to send?
If not, you’re leaving money on the table.
The artist who’s easy to book is the artist who keeps getting booked.
“Don’t be the poet who went viral in slippers. At least wear strategy.”
Lesson: Talent opens doors. Packaging keeps them open.
4. Relationship is the Real Algorithm
Here’s the secret nobody tells you:
The algorithm will forget you. People won’t if you nurture them.
Reach out to those who reposted. Thank them. Drop a DM. Start real conversations.
Don’t just count followers count relationships.
That’s what builds longevity.
“Clout fades. Community stays.”
Lesson: Grow networks, not just numbers.
5. Don’t Freeze. Follow Up.
After the spotlight, fear creeps in:
“What if I can’t top that?”
So you ghost your audience. You wait for another wave.
But let me be honest silence after success is a creative funeral.
You don’t need another viral poem. You just need the next honest one.
Think like the Gobe seller who opens shop daily whether it’s rush hour or dry season.
“One poem opens the door. But consistency brings the chair and table.”
Lesson: Show up, again and again. That’s the work.
Final Word: From Mic to Momentum
Virality is not a finish line it’s an invitation.
But the worst time to start building structure is after the noise has started.
Structure now.
Prepare now.
Set up your:
• Booking links
• Bio kit
• Brand story
• Financial strategy
• Support channels
Because when the mic gives you a moment, you’d better have the system to turn it into momentum.
“Fame is the spark. Systems are the firewood.”
Takeaways: The Survival Kit for Poets Who Go Viral
• Visibility ≠ Sustainability. Systems make the difference.
• Make it easy to find you. Your next fan is one link away.
• Package your magic. Strategy isn’t selling out it’s showing up.
• Connect over clout. The algorithm can’t replace real people.
• Keep creating. Virality fades. Presence doesn’t.
Want to support or collaborate?
Mentor a young poet through Ehalakasa
Invite me to speak on legacy-building in African arts
Fund a platform that supports the next generation of creative changemakers