If you have ever made a TikTok and thought, “This is the one. This is going to blow up,” only for it to flop harder than a fish out of water, you are not alone. I have been there more times than I care to admit. But the funny part? The first time one of my videos did go viral, I did not see it coming at all.
It was not the video I had spent days perfecting. It was not the one with the clever edits, the layered jokes, or the painfully re-shot punchline. No, the video that caught fire was something I threw together in 20 minutes. No fancy lighting or special editing. It did not even happen overnight. It was a video I posted a few weeks in the past, and for some reason, it started gaining traction on the for you page. Honestly, I almost didn’t post it. But I hit “upload” anyway because I figured, eh, why not?
The likes kept climbing. Comments rolled in nonstop. People were tagging friends and saving the video in their favorites. I just sat there watching this thing take off like a rocket, half thrilled and half confused. Why this one?
That question stuck with me, so I went back and watched it, repeatedly, trying to reverse engineer what worked. And what I realized was this: the video wasn’t technically perfect, but it had a good, layered joke. I was not trying too hard. The idea was simple, the delivery was loose, and it leaned into something relatable. It felt like a friend goofing off, not a performer begging for attention.
That was my first big lesson: people don’t care about polish as much as they care about connection. TikTok, especially, is built on authenticity. You can have perfect lighting and a killer script, but if it feels robotic or overly staged, it doesn’t hit the same. But if you drop a funny take on something people deal with every day, a bad date, a weird coworker, a terrible haircut, they feel that. They recognize themselves in it. And they stay.
The second thing I learned is that timing is everything, but not in the way I thought. I didn’t post that video during some “optimal engagement window.” I didn’t research hashtags or trends. It just happened to hit at the right time when people were in the mood to laugh about that exact thing. Sometimes, it is pure luck. But sometimes, it is that subconscious instinct we all have as creators. We are tuned into what is happening around us, even if we do not fully realize it.
Another big takeaway: the comment section is gold. I have written about this before, but it is still true. I got more ideas from the replies on that one viral video than I had in weeks. People were asking for more, throwing out alternative scenarios, suggesting spin-offs. Some comments were jokes in themselves. And all of it made me realize this was not just about one sketch. It was a jumping-off point. A whole new corner of my comedy universe opened because I listened to what the audience wanted next.
But maybe the most important thing I learned was this: Do not overthink it. That viral video taught me to loosen up. Sometimes your best work is the stuff that comes naturally, the ideas you do not strangle with perfectionism. I still put care into what I make, but I have stopped treating every post like it needs to be a masterpiece. Some of the most viral comedies on the internet come from a place of impulse and just having fun.
Going viral did not change everything, but it did shift my perspective. It gave me confidence, yes, but more than that, it reminded me why I started doing this in the first place: to make people laugh, to share something dumb and funny, and to not take it all so seriously.
So now, whenever I am stuck or second-guessing a sketch, I think back to that one video. The one I almost did not post, and I remind myself: just hit upload. You never know what is going to hit.