Anyone who has written a blog post or created any piece of content -- a video, an ebook or a Facebook post -- knows how much effort, time and passion can go into crafting your message.

The reward for that hard work is the magical moment when you publish your content and it takes that viral journey across the social web, getting passed on by your friends, people in your network and finally by perfect strangers who see value in what you’ve produced.

So what is the secret to how to make something share-able? While there is no ‘go virals on the interwebs’ formula -- that pixie dust mixture made up of emotional impact, timeliness, and value offered -- we can identify some basic tips to increase the sharing velocity of any content you create.

If you follow these basic guidelines, your network has less reason not to share it. If ignored, you’ll place barriers in front of your content and limit its potential reach.

Here they are:

0. Puppies and babies. Post extremely cute photos of babies or kittens. Watch the sharing begin. Skip steps 1-10. 

1. Make your content eye-catching. Go ahead, add a colorful title page on that 30-page SEO treatise you are about to post to SlideShare. You’ll have a better chance of seeing it spread across the web!

2. Drop the jargon. Use simple and straightforward language your mom would understand. She may share it too!

3. Get your facts right. People want facts that they can trust, put their name behind and offer real value. This means: do your research, quote your sources and offer meaningful content.

4. Spell check everything. No matter how awesome your infographic is, if it’s littered with typos, fewer people will be willing to share it.

5. Make it ‘snackable.’ Your audience has a short attention span so it’s better when topics are broken into easily digestible nuggets. Try to get one main point across per piece of content, not twenty. Your message will stick more.

6. Think mobile. Imagine 100% of your audience is standing in line at the DMV or getting lunch. How will they consume your content easily with fewest barriers? Make everything mobile-friendly and place your main message and CTA less than 1 click away.

7. Have fun with it! Try to add some humor, passion and personality to your posts, especially the title. Hint: you know it's going to be good when you feel something, or chuckle a bit, while creating it.

8. Give it away for free. Nothing stops a share like a link that leads directly to a lead gate. It’s like asking for your home address before you’ve shared a beer together. Free and ungated = shareable.

9. Be timely. Think about how your content can attach to big trends or issues being talked about on the social web. If what you have to say is relevant to the conversation and adds value to a topic of interest, it is more likely to be shared.

10.  Ask yourself: ‘Would I honestly share this with a friend?’ If your answer is an enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ you have a good chance that others will want to share it as well -- go ahead and press the “publish” button. If it's a ‘No,’ start back at #1.

Stay true to the rules above and you may see your content going faster and farther across the social web. Do you have an opinion about what makes something go viral? Share it below or reach out to me on Twitter @jennydburnham!

For more about the science of virality and sharing, check out:

What Does It Take To Go Viral? http://bit.ly/U77ugE

And for tips on optimizing your social posts, check out our Perfect Post Blueprint Series: