Do You Really Want a Viral Video? YES!

If there is one kind of video everyone wants, its a viral video. On the latest Video Creator, Tim Schmoyer talked with Sam & Nia. They had a viral video earlier in the year and it had over 17 million views!

After I saw Tim's video I began to think about having a viral video of my own. At first I thought there is no downside, but soon it became apparent that for my channel and many others a viral video would be a mixed blessing. Of course we all definitely want the views, but subs and views from a viral vid are really different than ones from “real” subscribers. It is a little like a lottery, you know you didn't really earn the money, and now you have all this cash, but you know it isn't good for you, and you end up losing it all in the end.

The other point is money itself. Sam & Nia's viral video was not monetized because of the copyrighted Disney music. Of course you may be thinking that the exposure is worth it. And at first I did too.

So I thought about my latest DIY Making Groot video, you know the dancing tree from Guardians of the Galaxy. I reenacted the last scene of the movie in my own way, but I did not use the music from the movie, since it was copyrighted. That may be one factor, among others why that video did not go viral. But lets assume I did use the music from the movie, shortened the video, got rid of the building part and tried to design it to be viral. And lets say it worked. 17 million views!

But what then? Lots of new subs, maybe 100,000 or more, but what about my next video? Of course I wouldn't have made a dime on the last one because of the copyrighted music. But if my next video would have been a building video, and not a movie-related viral video then I would have quite a few disappointed subscribers. So what would be the benefit? Lots of exposure, no money and a flash in the pan video career. But you know what? I still would love to make a video that went viral!

So I decided to try an experiment. I re-cut my Groot video, shortened it, got rid of the building, but decided to keep the music I originally used. Will this go viral, 17 million views? Probably not. But is 17 million views with no money as good as 100,000 views with money? No way, I, like most of the YouTube creators out there are seriously trying to make a great channel with lots of quality content and are looking to do it full time. So 100,000 views with money is much better than 17 million views and no money.

Thanks for watching and I hope you like and subscribe to my new channel!