Initial results: the 10.000 viewer challenge

Two weeks back I posted my submission to the 10.000 viewer challenge: a simple clip of dogs playing in the park. My goal was to reach 1000 viewers in a month, 10.000 in six months.

Today I'm halfway the month and I can proudly say that the current viewer number between YouTube (353) and Vimeo (139) : 492

That means I'm perfectly on track for reaching 1000 viewers in a month- if this trend continues. The problem is, I don't expect the numbers to grow at the same rate if I don't actively promote the video. Which, by the way, is an important lesson I learned from this enterprise: don't count on the video doing its own marketing. You have to work at getting your video seen in the right market. You may have made something brilliant but if you don't tell people it's out there, the chances of it being discovered are small. Now I'm not saying my video is brilliant, far from it. It's just a nice, 'feel-good' clip with a popular subject (dogs) and a catchy song.
The response has been nice, especially from dog-owners. I signed up with a dog-forum in Holland and within one day I had almost 30 written responses to the video, all of them enthousiastic.

But to be honest, I counted on a 'snowball-effect': dog-people ending it to other dog-people. But to accomplish that, the clip was simply not special enough. I may get my 1000 viewers in a month, but I will not reach 10.000 viewers in 6 months, that I know now.  It needed something extra, something that would lift it out of the crowd. It needed a very rare moment, like a blooper, a freak accident, something nasty or way out of the ordinary. THEN it would have been forwarded and created a snowball effect.

While writing this, I read about the YouTube Creator Playbook, a new tool that will help you create an audience. Should be interesting and I will defintely delve in.

I also have another idea for a clip that will definitely create a stirr. You will hear about that when I'm back in Amsterdam.

But first let's see if I can get my 1000 viewers by the end of this month. Help me out and send this clip to all the doglovers and/or doghaters you know.


The 10.000 viewer challenge! from Filmersblog on Vimeo.

The 10.000 viewer challenge

Numbers can be fascinating, but they aren't everything. Actually, they can be quite silly. The highest ratings don't necessarily represent the best quality- they usually represent average taste. It's the power of the masses. Take the News of the World: one of the best selling newspapers in England. But it's pulp (non-)fiction.

If you want to make something extraordinary, it's best not to think about money or big numbers. Many great projects would have never been made if the motive was high ratings or commercial succes. On the other hand, because something is a succes, it doesn't make it bad or tasteless. Quality and popularity can live in the same house...

Ok, so far a few thoughts on succes, numbers and quality...

I want to start an experiment: I challenge myself (and you, if you'd like to join in) to produce a video that can generate 1.000 viewers in a month, 10.000 in six months. Vimeo and YouTube views combined. I will be a total slut for numbers. The ratings are the objective- not the content. Anything goes. (except for porn and violence, that's too easy) In my case, I have limited capacity/time to produce popular video. I am nearly consumed by my work, family, documentary and blog. How can I produce something that doesn't take up heaps of time and will generate a lot of traffic? I have a few ideas. As the blogger says: I'll keep you posted!