Let’s face it; we’d all love to have one of our videos reach hundreds of thousands of viewers daily. The fact is most of us won’t get that opportunity for a long time. Why’s that? It’s simply because we aren’t following the several basic principles that make YouTube videos worth watching. Hopefully, through the use of this article, you will get new ideas on how to make your videos viral!  We’ll cover the basic principles of video creation as well as several unique ideas that will help bring new and returning traffic to your video.

Get Creative
Instead of reinventing the wheel, why not create your own original content. There’s almost no way a viewer is going to want to see the same exact thing they saw two weeks ago (especially if it’s not as good). And besides, if you create something that’s never been done before, you can be the one that’s remembered for it.

Here are some tips that might help you think of new and creative ideas.

• What do you find funny? Would other people find it funny too?
• What’s something YOU would find viral? If it hasn’t been done already, try doing it yourself!
• Think science! People are dying to see things glow, explode and react!

Shoot it Quick
Once you’ve chosen your idea, you’re going to have to start filming your video. Make sure you keep it short. Viral videos tend to be anywhere from twenty seconds to two minutes. Anything longer than that will cause the viewer to lose interest quickly. Do your best to try and cut down the length of your video to fit within this time frame.

Here are a few tips to keep your videos short and sweet:

• Don’t include a long introduction (short ones are okay!)
• Don’t include a long credits reel (again, short ones are fine)
• Get to the good stuff with as little explanation as possible

Upload Your Video
After you’ve shot your video, you’re ready to upload it to YouTube! However, there are a few things you should consider before promoting your video. These can either make or break your video, so get your pencil and paper ready!

Title: If your video does not contain a catchy title, there’s a good chance it won’t attract an audience. For example, let’s talk about Jud Laipply’s “The Evolution of Dance” video. Imagine the outcome had this video been titled “Man dances at club 12/15/99”. Investigate which title will work best for you as it can make a large difference in the long run.

Tags: Tags are a short group of keywords that relate to the content of your video. These are used to help people locate your movie when using the search feature. Using 5-10 content-rich tags will help increase your video’s visibility, and dramatically improve the number of hits you receive.

Thumbnail: Along with your title, a video’s thumbnail is the second key ingredient in attracting new visitors. Many people began abusing YouTube’s automatic thumbnail generator by placing their desired image exactly in the middle of the video. However, YouTube has recently changed the way thumbnails are generated, and as a result, placing an image in the center of your video will not always work. Be sure to choose a thumbnail that reflects the content of your video, as this will attract a large number of viewers.

Tip: Don’t resort to misleading your audience by using sexually-related titles, keywords or thumbnails. Generally, when people come across these videos only to find it’s not what they expect, they rate the video poorly and leave nasty comments.

Promote Your Video
After you’ve uploaded your video, it’s time to begin what many people think is the hardest part of the viral video process. It involves promoting and marketing your video. There are several ways to accomplish this, but the most common ways are listed below.

Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and Del.icio.us are great ways to increase the amount of traffic to your video. Simply create an account, and click the appropriate buttons below your video. You will then be prompted to fill out various pieces of information related to your video. After submitting your website, it will generally appear in a “Recent Submissions” section. If you want your submission to start heading in the right direction, refer it to a few friends to either Digg or Stumble. Doing so will increase your link’s potential for success!

Word of mouth: This is by far one of the easiest and most conventional ways of promoting your video. Besides that, it’s free! Mention your latest video to your friends, and have them tell their friends. Before long, your video will be receiving numerous amounts of hits. Similarly, you can post your video link to popular social profile websites such as Facebook and MySpace and have your friends spread the word.

Email: Do you run or operate an email newsletter? Sending out your link using this method is sure to drive in extra traffic. If you don’t have a newsletter system, why not send an email to your closest friends and family. Ask to have them forward it to their own friends. Soon your video will be sent to hundreds of new fans!

Join a Forum: Forums are a great way to share your video. You can either create new topics or posts related to your video, or include it in your signature to have it automatically displayed after each post you make. Just like the other methods listed, it’s free and you can make many new friends in the process!

Comment: Leaving comments on other user’s videos and blogs will increase the likelihood that someone will stumble upon (no pun intended) your video. Many blogs give you the opportunity to enter a website along with your name. If another user clicks your name on the comment you left, they will be directed to the link you provide them. Commenting is a simple, yet effective way of driving in a little extra traffic.

YouTube’s Lists: One of the best ways to promote your video is to get on either YouTube’s most viewed or most discussed list. By effectively using the methods listing above, this should not be too difficult a task. However, don’t resort to automatically refreshing your videos in an attempt to get additional views. Other viewers frown upon this practice and consider it “cheating”. Besides, it’s very obvious when a video has 20,000 hits with no additional comments or ratings.

Have Fun!

Most importantly, you should have fun! Your videos should reflect who you are, and what you love to do! Don’t be afraid to be yourself, and show it to the world! Before you know it, you’ll have people cramming your inbox hoping to become friends with you.

Also, be prepared to receive criticisms and complains. No matter how great your video may be, there will always be people who dislike it, whether it is from jealousy or pure dislike. Be prepared to learn from the constructive criticism and ignore the hatred. Be yourself and don’t let “haters” get the best of you!

Good luck and we hope to see your viral videos shortly! We hope this guide will be of some assistance!

Further Reading
For more great articles on how to create a viral YouTube video, be sure to check out the following articles:

“The Secret Strategies Behind Many ‘Viral’ Videos” - TechCrunch
“How To Make a Video Go Viral” - Technobabble
“8 Tips to Make Your YouTube Video Go Viral” - WebInkNow