If you’re like most filmmakers, you have a website for your movie. And odds are good you are trying to fit too much into it. So the first thing you need to do is remove all the distracting crap. Whenever I mention this at a talk, invariably someone asks me how to determine what’s distracting? It depends on your website objective.
When building a movie website, most filmmakers have two objectives:
- Stage 1 – Raise awareness for your movie.
- Stage 2 – Sell your movie directly.
If you’re still in Stage 1, chances are good you have press kits, actor bios, reviews of your movie, anecdotes from production and about a gazillion other items, including behind the scenes photo galleries. But once you finish the festival circuit, you may choose to enter Stage 2 and start funneling web traffic towards your DVDs and VOD in various marketplaces.
To do this, I suggest you install Google analytics and monitor your traffic. Here is an example from the first feature I worked on:
If you look closely, you’ll notice that many visitors ended up visiting pages that did not lead to a sale. This is like keeping money on the table. So to counter the confusion, I suggest simply removing the pages altogether.
When promoting your movie, the goal is to remove all the extra crap and keep what matters.
The end result is a very simple website that “funnels” people to your desired destination.
When visitors click on “Buy NOW” they are redirected to the point of sale.
Marketing a movie is initially a creative art – but unlike other arts, the beauty of movie marketing is, with the right tracking tools, you can test and retest your ideas to determine effectiveness.
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About Jason Brubaker
Jason Brubaker is a Hollywood based Independent Motion Picture Producer and an expert in Video On Demand distribution. He is focused on helping YOU make, market and sell movies more easily by growing your fan base, building buzz and creating community around your title. He is also available for speaking engagements.