10 ways to deal with viral video: We speak with Viral Video Expert (with 156million views)

We often see viral videos getting quickly licenced by companies such as ViralHog, Jukin Media etc, but do you really need them?

We contacted David to find out the truth behind these licensing companies and if they’re really needed.

Remember this video? Well we speak with the creator on how to

10 ways to deal with viral video from David (booba1234):

Note: He is based in the US but all of the points are still valid, our notes are contained within [ ] square brackets

1. Be careful about offers from third- party vendors that want to represent your video. They aren’t doing anything wrong per se, but you don’t need it when your video is at the height of its popularity. You have done all the work and by hiring someone, you will just be helping them get more traffic. The media requests do seem to be overwhelming, but they won’t last forever. I suggest using a dedicated e-mail address just for the video for people to find you. Post it right in the video description. Who knows, it might be Ellen!
2. Make sure to turn on monetization asap. For YouTube, certain criteria must be met before monetization is allowed. Anything you don’t own such as a song/music or anything recorded, even in the background, might mean your video can’t be monetized. Once you go viral be on the look out for an email/notification explaining the process. YouTube does a great job now of how to do this. Here is a link to their monetization page. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72857?hl=en
3. Respond quickly to requests to use your video. If I can’t give them and answer right away, I always respond to acknowledge that I received email.
4. Be careful about submitting to the popular clip shows. Typically they want exclusive rights to anything you submit even if it never airs. This means you will not own it anymore and won’t be able to monetize it anywhere.
5. News media in the United States [& the UK] typically don’t pay for licensing [but some will depending on the network]. However, international news media will sometimes pay. Either case, just ask. The worst they can say is no and be polite if they do!

6. Don’t forget you will have to pay taxes on the income earned from YouTube or licensing. Consult your tax preparer [accountant] to see how this would affect you personally. It’s easy to set some aside or pay the IRS [HMRC tax] quarterly. Trust me, you want to do this!
7. In some cases merchandise related to the video might be a good idea. Just be careful and do your homework before buying a garage full of T-shirts!
8. Don’t be greedy when negotiating. It’s better to have 25 smaller deals than one big deal. This won’t last forever so just take what you can get while the video is popular. It won’t get any more popular than it is now.
9. When negotiating with potential licensees, treat it as any business deal–be professional and do your homework [also ensure you have signed agreements in place]. When you say you will get back within a certain time, do it!
10. Donate a portion of your earnings to a worthy cause. This is not a money maker, but I believe being generous is always a worthwhile investment.

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