Do not think you will upload a video and have it become one of the most viewed YouTube videos. It can happen that way but it is not common. Most videos that have large viewership also are part of a group on a channel and that channel has lots of videos uploaded consistently thereby creating a following. More about this later when I discuss promoting your video. First, let me point out the business of YouTube.
YouTube's revenue has grown from somewhere between $100 million and $250 million in 2008 to just under $1 billion in 2010 and its monthly global audience has grown from 344 million unique users to 500 million.
With numbers like that YouTube is an advertising haven for major brands. "The numbers almost did not make sense," said Adam Butler, a brand manager at Kraft Foods for Philadelphia Cream Cheese, after revenue had been raised by 5% as a result of 10 million views to their promotional video with 100,000 clicking through to the site. "It's bigger than TV", he said.
After you have uploaded videos that are hopefully funny, informative, entertaining or so intriguing the viewer can't look away there are a few things you can do to promote them. A channel is created for everyone with the account so you can customize it by changing the background, adding a theme with a color scheme, a photo of yourself and you can paste a link on your channel leading to your personal website or a blog. After you have this channel customized to your liking invite people to subscribe to it.
Sharing your video with friends and family through email with the share button is a good way to let them know you have a video and ask them to subscribe to your channel.
Video responses can increase traffic to your videos by leaving video responses to other videos in the same niche as yours. You can create a logo so that each time you leave a response you stand out more. It is like your avatar, it brands you.
Video sharing sites can boost your presence online. This works by uploading a video as you would except instead of going to just YouTube your video will be distributed to numerous other video sites as well. Two places you can do this are Tubemogul.com and Trafficgeyser.com.
Now that you have hopefully increased your amount of views you can get started on your revenue stream by becoming a YouTube Partner. The criteria are: original content, own the content, post regularly, adhere to the community guidelines and have thousands of views.
YouTube started its partner program in 2007 to encourage audience-attracting producers to create more and better content. It sells their videos and gives them more than half the revenue. It began with just a handful of partners with the intention to grow to a massive global scale.
There are now more than 10,000 partners in the program and it is estimated that the top 350 to 400 have been able to quit their day jobs and earn a living off the platform. Some of the monetization tools that help boost revenue for partners are using annotations, tagging, related videos, response videos, and playlists.
These successful creators of original content often get Hollywood agents and managers. HBO has even picked up one of the skits from "Funny or Die", a channel that makes funny videos that feature your favorite comedians and celebrities. Founded by Will Ferrell, "Funny or Die" makes 25 videos a month with the majority getting hits from millions of viewers.
How-to-videos can make you a fortune and propel you into becoming a YouTube Star. For instance, Michelle Phan has a multitude of makeup tutorial videos on YouTube demonstrating her beauty know how using her favorite makeup, Lancome. Her how-to on Lady GaGa's poker face look has garnered 24 million views. Lancome took notice and offered her a video deal.
Similarly, consistent posting of YouTube videos on their skateboard tricks has propelled California 12-year-old twins Nic and Tristan Pueshe into YouTube Stars. They started skateboarding when they were five. After years of hard work and mastering impressive jumps, kickflips, and switch-stances they have been offered a movie deal starring themselves called Nic & Tristan Go Mega Dega.
While there is no magic formula to having the most viewed YouTube Video the overall theme to becoming a YouTube Star, and leading you on your path to income, seems to start with doing something you love to do. If you start there your genuine passion and commitment come across and that is what people will resonate with. Your passion coupled with great content helps people find value in your postings and that will keep them coming back and sharing your video with others.