I've been getting alot of questions about my recent post, "10 Steps to Viral Video Monetization." That post assumes you have an unreleased video that is sure to go viral. Of course, predicting a video's viral success is tricky. What if you have already released a video and it suddenly - and surprisingly - becomes the latest Internet sensation? The short answer is, "You've missed your window of opportunity and you should try to anticipate things better next time." But there are still some steps you can take to make some money and set yourself up for your next video:
- Get a Blip TV account. Blip.TV is geared more towards episodic web series, so it helps if you plan on regularly releasing videos. Most importantly, Blip makes it easy to monetize videos through Pre/Post-roll and overlay ads.
- Upload your video to Blip.tv. In the future, always upload your potentially viral videos to Blip BEFORE you upload to YouTube. The reason here is simple - Blip allows ads to all new accounts, while YouTube makes you jump through a few hoops before you can monetize with ads.
- Announce your video to relevant blogs. Find a handful of blogs that are relevant to the topic of your video and send them a personalized email with a link to your video on Blip TV. Of course, you should not spam dozens of blogs - it's a waste of time and it's bad karma.
- Get a Google Adsense account. This is the first step to monetizing videos on Google.
- Upload some videos to your YouTube channel. These videos won't have ads (yet), but you will need to demonstrate to YouTube that you have a channel with viable content. It's a good idea to upload any videos that have been on Blip for a few days (or more) and you should also put a link to your YouTube account on each Blip video description.
- Apply for YouTube Partner account. A Partner account is required to monetize YouTube videos. The application process can take weeks or months and you may get rejected and have to reapply. The key with a Partner application is that you need to be an active member of the YouTube community. Here are some quick tips to increase your chances of being approved:
- Have a couple of dozen videos already uploaded
- Upload new videos regularly (one or two per week should be fine)
- Subscribe to channels that interest you.
- Leave comments on other people's videos. Make sure the comments are relevant (DON'T SPAM!).
- If you have a website, Facebook Page or Twitter account, make sure your followers, fans and readers know about your YouTube channel.
If this sounds like alot of work, you're right. Viral videos are hit or miss, but you can grow your online viewership by following a few easy steps and staying focused. So the next time you find yourself with a viral hit, you will be well-positioned to take advantage of it. Good luck!
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