This post originally appeared on Larry Kless’s Weblog on July 1 , 2008.

In this recent blog post, viral video genius Nalts shares his advise on the three golden rules for online video creators. He points out that the three biggest mistakes people are:

1. Emphasizing quality over cost.

2. Believing good content will get seen.

3. Caring about what the audience thinks

He says that the common counterpoints to those mistakes…

1. Higher production value generally means the content is better

2. The social aspect of the web means good stuff rises and bad stuff dies

3. The most savvy creators listens to audiences and predicts them, thus creating content that’s more popular.

… are actually wrong and if you live by them you’ll go broke and be unsatisfied with your work.

So here’s his 3 Golden Rules:

Golden Rule #1: At all costs, manage costs

There still isn’t a safe monetization model for online video and as Nalts points out, “This is actually good news for amateurs like me, because we’ll sustain while better creators come and go..” He is able to keep his costs down being a “one man band” who can write, act, shoot, edit, publish and promote his own own work. He gets it done “on the cheap” by calling in favors, bribing people to be in his videos and keeping equipment costs to a minimum.

Golden Rule #2: Good Content is Not Popular.

For this rule, Nalts says, “Good isn’t popular, and popular isn’t good… you’re responsible for getting your videos seen if you want your videos to be seen.” Don’t hard sell yourself but make sure you target your videos to specific niche markets. Think about how your video could cross over to another genre to expand your audience beyond your current reach. Make an effort to find that relevant audience. If your video is about food, travel or any other topic you should send it to the food, travel and any other topic bloggers.
Golden Rule

#3: Screw The Audience.

I love this one because it goes against the traditional mindset that you should focus on what the audience wants to see. It’s really hard to do too, because we feed on audience interaction but as Nalts explains, “almost no online-video creator is at risk of losing touch with their audience — the medium consumes them. Rather, most popular creators lose their steam because they focus on feeding the audience instead of instinct. What began as a fun outlet becomes an obligation.“ He says that “caring less” about what the audience thinks is “the remedy for artistic sustainability” and try not to let the critics get you down. Keep your creative edge by not focusing so much on the feedback but what is fun for you and that will shine through your work.
That now concludes today’s sermon.

Three Golden Rules of Online-Video Creation was originally published by Nalts on Will Video For Food on June 27, 2008
For more on Nalts, watch his videos here:

• YouTube
• Revver
• Metacafe
• CubeBreak