---
title: "32 Principles of a Viral Product | Viraloop"
description: "Marc Lou's 32 principles of a viral product, in full: pricing, copy, headlines, hero sections and distribution rules distilled from five years of building 35 startups in public."
source: https://viraloop.io/viral-content-principles
---
The playbook

# 32 principles of a viral product

Indie hacker [Marc Lou](https://x.com/marclou) distilled five years of building 35 startups in public into 32 rules for making a product spread on its own. Here is the full list, plus a free tool that grades your site against every one of them.

Free tool

## How viral is your site?

Paste your URL. We scan your homepage, grade it against all 32 principles, and rewrite your copy the Marc Lou way. Free, no signup.

01

## A viral product does not have a free plan

Free users raise support and server costs, and under 3% ever convert.

02

## A viral product has three colors

Black text, white background, one color for the buy button. Every extra color dilutes what matters.

03

## A viral product uses numbers instead of adjectives

“Fast” is forgettable. “Save 4 hours every week” is not.

04

## A viral product ends with a footer people want to share

97% of visitors will not buy, but they might share. People remember what they see last.

05

## A viral product treats the OG image as a YouTube thumbnail

The link preview gets seen more than the website itself. Design it like a thumbnail.

06

## A viral product reveals one idea per screen

One screen, one message, just like a feed.

07

## A viral product has a headline a fifth grader can understand

Complexity kills curiosity. Your mum should get it.

08

## A viral product has a hard paywall

Signups do not pay the bills. Ask for payment before asking for data.

09

## A viral product has copy only you could write

If a competitor could paste your landing page onto theirs, it is too generic.

10

## A viral product shows the product before it explains it

A demo communicates more than paragraphs of text. Show, do not tell.

11

## A viral product does one thing

Nobody remembers Swiss Army knives. Be known for the tool that solved the problem.

12

## A viral product uses popcorn pricing

Three choices, no spreadsheet: good, better, best.

13

## A viral product rides a wave

Build around what people already discuss. The wave does half the marketing.

14

## A viral product steals its best copy from customers

Customers already describe the product better than you do. Write like they talk.

15

## A viral product has a founder people can see and hear

People buy from people. A founder screen recording beats a corporate promo.

16

## A viral product makes pricing impossible to miss

Visitors read pricing to understand the product, not just the price. Put it in the header.

17

## A viral product has a headline people remember the next day

Write five, show friends, wait 24 hours, keep the one that sticks.

18

## A viral product has an emotional headline

People remember feelings, not features. Make them laugh, say wow, or lean in.

19

## A viral product does something people have never seen before

Nobody shares another clone. Surprise people.

20

## A viral product can be sold from the hero section alone

80% of visitors never scroll past the hero. Win them in seconds or not at all.

21

## A viral product shows empathy before it sells

Describe the problem better than the visitor can, and they will trust the solution.

22

## A viral product has one call to action

Multiple paths means many choose none. Give people one next step.

23

## A viral product has a name people remember

Use words people already know. No wordplay that needs explaining.

24

## A viral product sells a human desire, not a feature

More money, more time, better health, more status, less pain. Features are just the vehicle.

25

## A viral product lets people try the product before buying it

Put the best features on the landing page. Let people play before they pay.

26

## A viral product does not use weak words

“Most” and “many” mean nothing. Make claims people can picture and challenge.

27

## A viral product does not have a subscription

One-time payments are 10x easier to sell. Only charge monthly if you cannot ship without it.

28

## A viral product has a call to action that says what happens next

“Analyze my website” beats “Get started”. Remove uncertainty.

29

## A viral product does not launch without testimonials

A page without proof asks strangers for blind trust. Collect it before traffic.

30

## A viral product can be described in under 10 words

If you cannot explain it in one sentence, your users will not either.

31

## A viral product compares itself to competitors

People care why they should switch. A simple comparison table makes the decision obvious.

32

## A viral product is more expensive than its competitors

Nobody talks about the second cheapest option. Charge more.

Summarized from [32 Principles of a Viral Product](https://x.com/marclou/status/2065385672991752210) by Marc Lou. Read the original on X for the full write-up behind each one.

Leaderboard

## The most viral sites

Best score per domain, top 10. Fix your site and re-scan to climb.

## Knowing the rules is optional.  
Running them daily is not.

Viraloop turns viral principles into a system: on-brand posts, generated and published to every platform, every day.

[Start your content engine](/register)[See how it works](/#how-it-works)