(I hope this is in the right place)
My latest endeavor with puppets has been strictly for posting videos on youtube.  So I came up with an idea "The Patsy Hoolahan show", kind of quirky offbeat for adults but nothing that should mess with a child's mind if they came across it. I committed myself to 10 episodes, and then waited to see what would happen.  In between I made a 12 minute children's film for my 2 year old nephew for Christmas "Where's The Kitty".  After the 10 shows I've done a few shorts to keep the site active.
It has taken a lot of promotion to get the little traffic I have had.  Here is what I have done.
Tagging each video to some related high traffic video.
Having Patsy H. comment on others vids, "especially those who get hate responses"
Patsy went on Chat roulette so she could talk about that on her show. (horrific experience) but gained a subscriber.
Continually re tagging or adding key words to titles.
So what have any of you experienced. Any thoughts, tips, or ideas.
So far "Where's The Kitty" is my highest viewed.  So does that mean puppets are for kids and that should be the focus, or is it that it has been tagged onto a very popular toddlers music video? 

You know that's a good question. Ive had a similar problem. I really don't have an answer as far as I have seen its random.Ive seen some adult videos reach huge numbers and some on for years that barely get out of the two digits. Puppets aren't just for kids but that is a stigma in America. I think with YouTube it really has to do with the overwhelming amount of stuff. If you don't get noticed soon you stay invisible.

It is quite the challenging game.  I have brought back to life videos from 2008 on other sites by retagging them if their content matches something that is trending.  What will happen is the worst uncreative thing I put up there will go viral. LOL!

I think you just have to keep at it and keep yourself out there. You can't really rest on your laurels. Use the big guys... FaceBook...etc even the small fry like us here can be advantages but if you don't keep yourself in the for front.. i.e. you don't post then you fade into the background.  Also don't just spam post. This goes for any site. Folks are more likely to check your own stuff out if they have found a connection with you. For example DrPuppet has been around here for some time and posted not only about his own stuff but about other things or joined in on other discussions. I'll always check out something he has created where as a newcomers or person who does not post much stuff I may overlook.

Keep creating fresh new content. Simply recycling the old stuff is not going to cut it.

Check out Just boB http://www.blogtv.com/people/Just_boB  This little guy started out with just a channel on BlogTV. You can now also find him on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter along with countless other social sites. Over time I know he has tried many things like chat Roulett and may even still drop in on it from time to time.

Shawn is right. In fact, I searched like a mad man on Google and YouTube, looking for puppet related stuff, and still seemed to find better stuff in links here on this site. And, I have on occasion posted those links on my Facebook page. I think that it's definitely good to post on specialized sites like this one, as well as the obvious ones.

As far as puppets being considered a kids thing, I am actually surprised that there seems to be a lot of more adult aimed projects on the web. Stuff like Glove and Boots, Transylvania TV, Potter Puppet Pals, The Beat Hotel, to name a few. Not sure I could name any that are directly geared towards kids. Although, Glove and Boots is pretty tame. I watch those with my 7yo, after I screen them.

You can't just do stuff on Youtube - this kind of gets into what Shawn was saying. You need to make yourself known through other venues too, whether it's Facebook or any of the other social networking sites. It could also be that your stuff isn't different enough compared to the other puppet videos out there. Building a regular audience means posting regularly, and keeping other people up-to-date with your new videos. This means encouraging subscriptions, rather than casual viewers or high view counts.

It could also be the nature of the site. Youtube's probably not a great place for finding people who're interested in puppets; it might be a venue seen as a place to find music videos, or post your home movies, or for when you need to google an instructional video. Maybe you need to do market research on the kinds of audiences that use Youtube: and either cater to those groups, or have a separate strategy which encourages more views via other websites that are more specific to your niche.

There's a glut of websites out there for everything, so making yourself stand out on any venue/website is going to be tough.

PS. Just Bob also worked because it included audience interactivity. People kept coming back because there were games, chat, etc. That may have influenced how many people watched regularly as compared to Potter Pals.

10 Ways to put your content in front of more people:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/12/10-ways-to-put-your-content-in-front-of-more-people/

Most common mistakes in screencasting:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/12/09/most-common-mistakes-in-screencasting/

That site probably has more interesting things to offer on Youtube, but the search page got truncated when I tried it...

 ::)You are all correct and I have to admit that I just jumped into this on a whim.  I have not really promoted it either. Outside of youtube. My goal was to make it about my main character, not me.  So there is little or no credit or reference to myself.  Very few of my friends even know about this.  I've planned on starting a facebook account under the characters name "Patsy Hoolahan", but I really don't know how far I want to go with her. I want to explore the new puppet on my profile.  No charactor has been developed yet with him.(I think he may be a Barney Fife type).  This was a Winter project and not by any means my main hobby. However it was a great venue to incorporate film making, acting and my music.  I'm actually a bit afraid of success. I know I could simplify and just have my characters do short blogs every day but I'm kind of into the whole production.  As far as spamming. Yes there is a thin line between spamming and promotion and if I have crossed it here I apologize.  This is a great site and I'm still trying to figure parts of it out. There is a lot to explore here, Thanks. 

No I don't think you have crossed the line.   I am pretty forgiving when it comes to puppeteers promoting themselves on the site here after all that is what the site is all about. I do prefer that they jump in on other topics also but they don't always.  The thing is those that do seem to get more mileage out of their self promotion.

The thing about online puppetry is a few factors that are often over looked....it seems that the more polished/ professional and serious it is the less likely it will get looked at....people like the organic feel to stuff on YouTube.  As well you have to look at the population of YouTube...majority of the views are from 13-26 years of age so your material needs to be aimed at this age target if you want views...but like most YouTubers say don't focus on the numbers but on the joy of making the video's...you need to set up a regular schedule of when you release the video's...as well it takes on average for a YouTuber to "make it" (whatever that means...lol)about two - three years of solid work to build a fan base.

I hope this gives you some in site...the problem with kids stuff there are not many 2-5 years of age that use YouTube so you are really limiting your chances of getting a fan base there and there is to much already on YouTube for people to find stuff for younger ages.

Hope this gives you a few more ideas to consider.....


StiqPuppets

Thanks. Having fun doing the craft is really most important.  Youtube has been a great tool to hone skills and realize the dream of producing and directing films and then releasing them to the public.  I am aware of the demograghic, and the stuff that gets noticed.  One of my other YT sites have gotten some healthy hits.  That one has been around since 2008.  It is like a real job if you want to succeed at it.