Beyond Viral: How to Attract Customers, Promote Your Brand, and Make Money with Online Video

Foreword

I just annoyed my family. Again.

I was laughing uncontrollably, watching one of Kevin Nalty's videos. This has become a common occurrence around my house. My wife and daughter just roll their eyes and treat me like an 80-year-old deranged uncle drooling in the corner when I get this way. This time the culprit was his brilliant "Mall Pranks," which has been watched 6.5 million times on YouTube. Then I start cracking up again, because "Mall Pranks" features Kevin's wife, and all I can think of is how lucky she is to live with Kevin because he's so entertaining. But wait,.... Maybe it would suck to live with Kevin because he's kind of annoying, too. Hmm...

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

A while ago, I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for an article (and companion video) about how small businesses can leverage online video. Kevin challenged some of the observations by the WSJ reporter Raymund Flandez on his WillVideoForFood.com site.

I immediately hightailed it over to Kevin's video channels to see who he was. I was awestruck. Here was a guy who could generate more YouTube views in the time it takes to walk around the block than I had amassed in my entire life. So I knew I needed to take his points seriously. But then I realized something remarkable. Kevin was about much more than just doing silly videos like his "Farting in Public" (now seen more than 10 million times on YouTube alone). I learned Kevin is actually a career marketer who has held senior roles in some ...