George Barnett. 19 years old. Unsigned. 120,000 YouTube views in 14 days

A strategy to consider: build your online profile first. Do it systematically. Then think about going on the road. It can work splendidly. So... how to approach it?

A giant leap of faith....

A year or so ago, Richard Shakespeare, affable photographer of this parish, and featured here, had a lot on his plate. Stepping stress levels up even further by taking on the management of an unproven but hugely talented 18 year old - George Barnett -  wasn’t on the agenda. So, of course, that's exactly what he did. Team GB was formed.

It seems to have gone well. Actually, that's an understatement. It's gone pretty explosively well, and it's happening right now. This week, YouTube views for George Barnett’s latest video - embedded further down in this post - clicked briskly past 118,000 and change. To do this in about two weeks is quite an achievement. After all, many people produce fabulous videos which then struggle to hit 10,000 views or less. And they take months to get there.

It's another part of the great online marketing myth: that anyone can put their stuff out there, sit back... and watch it explode. Know what? That almost never happens. Content is key, certainly, but selling that content is essential too. So hitting six figures from a standing start is  impressive, the result of a year’s worth of intensive effort, on-line and off. So how did Richard and Team GB do it? Answers after the jump.