Singles and Doubles (Not Grand Slams)
Stop swinging for viral on every post; make consistently valuable content and let virality happen.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 82%
Vaynerchuk uses a baseball analogy: going viral is hitting a grand slam, but most posts are strikeouts, and he is in the business of singles, doubles, and triples with the occasional home run. He says he never thinks about going viral, only about making good content valuable to the audience, which means most of his output does solidly, some does better, and once in a while something goes viral. He argues most people fail at social media because they swing for virality on every post and are crushed when it doesn't happen. The discipline is high-volume, value-first posting gated by honest self-awareness about whether you actually have something worth saying.
Origin
Vaynerchuk articulates this from years of high-volume posting, contrasting his own consistent-value approach with creators who 'cry to Mommy' whenever a post fails to go viral.
Core principles
- 01Most posts are strikeouts, they don't do what you hoped, and that's normal.
- 02Aim for consistent singles, doubles, and triples with the occasional home run, not a grand slam every time.
- 03Never think about going viral; think about making content valuable to the person on the other side.
- 04Post as much as you can, gated by the self-aware question: do I have something of value to say?
How to run it
- 1
Reframe the scoreboard
Accept that most posts are strikeouts and aim for singles, doubles, and triples rather than a grand slam every time.
Pro tip Consistency of value beats occasional swings for the fences.
- 2
Optimize for value, not virality
Only think about making content valuable to the person on the other side; let virality be an occasional byproduct.
Pro tip Value comes in all shapes, a laugh, a good look, or a useful insight all count.
- 3
Post at volume with self-awareness
Publish as much as you can, but gate each post on the question of whether you actually have something valuable to say.
Watch out Swinging for viral on every post and collapsing when it fails is why most people quit social media.
In the wild
Gary asks whether the listener knows what a strikeout is, then notes most posts are strikeouts and that he plays for singles and doubles rather than grand slams.
→ By not needing every post to go viral, he sustains consistent output that occasionally produces a genuine hit.
Common mistakes
Swinging for the fences every time
Trying to go viral on every post sets an impossible bar and leads creators to give up when posts inevitably underperform.
Posting without a value check
High volume without asking whether you have something worth saying produces noise rather than singles and doubles.
Is it for you?
Best for
Creators building a sustainable long-term posting habit and healthy relationship with performance.
Not ideal for
One-off campaign launches that genuinely need a single massive spike on a fixed date.
From the transcript
“I'm in the business of singles and doubles and triples with the occasional home run”
“I believe that most people suck at social media because they try to go viral on every post”
From the episode
Hook Your Audience in 8 Seconds and Stand Out Online