This "5 Brain Block" Framework Helped Me Go Viral
500 Million Tweets, 7 Million Posts & 720,000 Hours of Video
📊 This is the amount of content published each day.
Now the question is:
🤔 With so much content published online, how do we stand out?
Picture this:
You are walking in Times Square street of Manhattan.
Thousands of people are there in the street.
After a few minutes, if I will ask you how many people you remembered,
Probably the answer is none of them or maybe 1 or 2.
It’s the same nowadays with content creation—there is just a lot of crowd.
🧠 Our brain is really good at deleting things that are not important.
But there are 5 types of things that our brain does not delete and remembers.
By associating our content with one of these 5 types, we give content a chance to stand out and register in users' brains.
The 5 Brain Blocks
🧩 Understanding and leveraging these 5 blocks not only gives us chances to stand out in our content creation but also helps in engagement.
Here are the 5 Blocks:
1️⃣ Scary
2️⃣ Strange
3️⃣ Sexy
4️⃣ Useful
5️⃣ Funny
Let’s try to understand each of them:
1️⃣ Scary
The Concept
When I was a kid, unfortunately, I saw a road accident.
🚗💥 Two cars crashed into each other, and one driver was covered with blood everywhere in his body.
Till this day, as I talk about it—I could relive that moment.
I could feel and see the images even after 25 years.
🧠 This is because our brain is really good at storing information that is scary, and it makes sense from an evolutionary point of view.
In ancient times, it was important to remember anything scary to survive.
The Application
👉 This type of application is not very common, but sometimes I use it by saying:
“You will Lose XX if you do YY…”
“If you don’t want to go obsolete, Read this now…”
⚠️ However, I should also mention that it is not a good idea to make the title clickbait, which makes the reader think that they have been cheated.
💡 This type of concept is best used by news channels.
If you think about it, there are so many positive things happening in the country, but they focus on scary things, which keeps the attention of viewers.
2️⃣ Strange
The Concept
Think of someone wearing a weird hat or a weird dress in the street that caught everyone’s attention.
So, there are thousands of people in the street, but this one person caught your attention because it is strange.
🧠 Our brain craves for novelty.
That new video of Mr. Beast trying to make a huge structure.
That new video of a new AI tool that will revolutionize everything.
That new productivity tool that will transform you.
We read/watch this content because it’s new for us, and we don’t want to fall behind.
The Application
Think about all the memes created by content creators that went viral sometimes.
👉 These get noticed and shared by people because they are strange.
If I will share an image like this, chances are that it will catch your attention because it is strange.
3️⃣ Sexy
The Concept
A few days back, I was scrolling through Instagram and observed an 18-year-old kid having millions of followers.
What does she do?
💃 She posts dance videos in her shorts.
This kept me thinking—
For us as humans, food, sex, and survival are essential, and that’s why our brain gives attention to these details and memorizes them.
4️⃣ Useful
The Concept
I use it the most.
Here is the thing—Think about finding a good Notion template for organizing your notes.
📚 You really want to organize your notes and are searching for a good Notion template because you are not an expert in Notion.
You come across a few of them, but they are priced at $50+, and you don’t want to try that out without experiencing the demo of that template.
Suddenly,
💡 You come across a free Notion template that is exactly what you want.
✅ Every functionality is built-in.
✅ There’s also a video guide on how to use it.
Of course, you are going to download and use it.
What just happened?
Because you got a product that is very useful, and you were ready to pay for it but got it for free, you are more likely to return the favor by buying a coffee or subscribing to that person’s newsletter.
The Application
👉 There are a lot of applications for this type.
All these frameworks that I write about could be sold, but I just want to share them for free.
All the e-books that I wrote could be sold, but I just give them for free.
🎯 This helps to build authority and helps to connect with people.
5️⃣ Funny
The Concept
There’s a whole industry running on just this theme.
The most critical aspect for me is that by being funny, it is easy to trigger emotions with readers or viewers.
😅 Unfortunately, I do not have that great a sense of humor, so I do not use it.
But,
👉 If you have a good sense of humor, it is easy for readers to be hooked because they will be waiting for the next fun fact unconsciously.
Conclusion
In today’s crowded world of content, standing out isn’t easy—but it’s possible. 🧠 By leveraging the 5 Brain Blocks—Scary, Strange, Sexy, Useful, and Funny—you can create content that grabs attention, sticks in memory, and builds genuine connections. Focus on these blocks, and watch your content rise above the noise. 🚀