There is such a crazy amount of buzz in SEO about link bait. But how do you actually market something after you create it? What are the steps after development to actually make your bait go viral? PS. Asking your well known blog friendly friends to post about your bait doesn't work for the common Joe.
(Do try and link bait to the right audience though, if you're writing tech, submit to digg, if you're doing more political stuff, try netscape. Research that a bit before you dive in, or learn while you're doing.)
Email some of the big blogs that you think might want to cover it. For example if its about tech then email engadget, gizmodo, wired etc Make each email personal and they will never know you sent it to 100 people. If the story or site is good then they will link to it. Otherwise they ignore you. No harm done.
It is getting harder and harder to use linkbait on social sites, as you're now competing with thousands of other people who are doing the same thing. Come up with something completely original or totally useful is probably the best way to go. There are many ways to create a mousetrap.
If a new app, video or content requires a ton of time and promotion to get it moving then it isn't link bait.