As a filmmaker, you must realize that movie marketing is essential to your success. And while I’m sure you “know” this, you probably aren’t doing anything about it.

In an effort to provide you with bite sized steps you can take to accelerate your filmmaking success, I have listed the top ten things that all filmmakers must include in their movie marketing:

1. Definable hook.
2. Great screenplay.
3. Clearly definable target audience.
4. Cost effective way to reach the target audience.
5. Consistent branding (logos, fonts and colors) on movie marketing collateral.
6. Awesome poster.
7. Great Movie website that helps you “sell” your movie.
8. Marketing plan included in your business plan.
9. Team of people consisting of at least one internet nerd.
10. The willingness to implement your own sales and marketing strategy.

At speaking events, people always ask me questions about DIY or Self-Distribution – usually wondering if these methods are better than handing over all rights for some middle-man to get them into the many VOD outlets.

My response is always the same.

If the deal makes sense (meaning, you are happy with the deal), only you can decide if you should outsource your sales, marketing and distribution to some other middle-man.

But if the deal doesn’t make sense, wouldn’t it make sense for you to do what most traditional business owners do – add a movie marketing division to your production company! Then figure out how to create some movie marketing magic!

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If you liked this article on modern movie marketing, you might also enjoy more info on how to market and sell your movie.

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The other night, I was out at a filmmaking event focused on Horror Filmmakers. This is an arena I am interested in because I totally enjoy making zombie movies. And in my conversations, I can’t tell you how many other filmmakers talked about DIY and Self Distribution as if it was a new concept or a last resort.

Personally, I can’t stand it when I hear the terms self distribution, and DIY.

To explan why, let me use my frozen yogurt analogy. I happen to love frozen yogurt – I’m addicted. But anyway, let’s say I someday decide to realize my dream of owning my own frozen yogurt shop. Part of making my shop a success would involve marketing and sales.

Let me ask you this – In the yogurt shop context, would I hire some other company to handle my sales and marketing? In exchange, would I pay their expenses and give them more than 40% of my margins? And if I decided not to go that idiotic route, would I then describe my activity as Do It Yourself?

“Well, I opened this yogurt shop and decided to do all the sales and marketing myself…“

Why should your movie business be any different than a yogurt shop? You created your movie. Thanks to the internet, you can now access the same VOD marketplaces as the BIG distributors (iTunes and Amazon) – so why on earth would you lock up your VOD rights for 7 years or more?

I don’ t get it. If you do, please comment.

And if you like this stuff, you’ll love the Filmmaking Stuff newsletter.  To get the newsletter, click here >>

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The old model of independent filmmaking has made many traditional filmmakers into a bunch of wimps. As a result, wimpy filmmakers talk about DIY as if it’s a new concept or a bad word. But step out of the indie world for a bit, and you realize that other (more traditional) businesses do it themselves.

There are many reasons for our wimpy attitudes. As filmmakers, we have been conditioned that there is only one “correct way” to make, market and sell our  independent movies. Much of this mindset can be directly attributed to our never ending addiction for outsourcing distribution.

In other words, the old model of independent filmmaking was predicated on the idea that filmmakers served as research and development specialists, creating expensive prototypes at will – without any discernible idea of what to do if the movie product was not accepted by some (malevolent?) middle-man. The old model dictated that  filmmakers needed to ask permission to make, market and sell movies. And in those dark days, filmmakers were forced to travel the festivals and sales markets, seeking out greedy gatekeepers who held the keys to distribution and, subsequently, an audience.

But things have changed.

With access to non-discriminatory distribution, anybody can make a movie. And anybody can potentially reach a global audience.

As a result, it’s time to wise up. VOD is not the same as DVD. And filmmakers no longer need sales agents or traditional distributors unless these middle-men already have access to a receptive, sourced target audience. This is the ONLY way these folks add value. Otherwise, you’re just dealing with another bottom feeder. And Modern Moviemakers no longer need bottom-feeders.

Think I’m kidding? Facebook just started streaming movies. Now it’s even easier for filmmakers to source an audience without adding another middle man! Welcome to modern moviemaking!

1. Now, go watch a movie on facebook. Here is the link   >>
2. And while you’re at it, JOIN THE MODERN MOVIEMAKING REVOLUTION

Feel free to comment   >>

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Over the past year, I have been invited to various filmmaking workshops and panel discussions to share my internet movie distribution system. My goal in doing these events is to show indie filmmakers how to leverage the internet, build an audience and get paid for their work. My other purpose is to help you (and other filmmakers) avoid my marketing mistakes.

Let me explain. . .

A few years back, my first feature failed to garner a tradition distribution deal. Admittedly the movie was a silly zombie flick with a very controversial story and a totally rough production value (understatement!). Upon completion, (like you), we cut the movie, rented a theater, held a premiere, got the feedback, refined the movie and then entered the festival circuit.

How our marketing mistakes cost us $100K in lost profits. . .

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #1 – Our Movie Website
On our last day of production, a photographer for (the now defunct) Premier Magazine came to set and snapped a few pictures. One of the photos appeared in the magazine – And on the day of publication, we had about 10,000 unique visitors to our website. We were not ready. The traffic crashed the servers. Oops.

What we learned about movie websites:
We should have spent the money and got a Hosting Company with a solid track record. These days I prefer www.bluehost.com because for very little money, you can get a domain name and year’s worth of hosting. Since utilizing Bluehost, I have experienced very little downtime – And they have great indie film friendly customer service.

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #2 – Our Initial Trailer
Once we fixed the website, we added a trailer that we self hosted. This was a mistake. Firstly, the load time sucked. Secondly, the trailer burnt bandwidth. And third, there was no option for zombie movie enthusiasts to re-embed the trailer on their fan sites (which is very inexpensive advertising). Oops.

What we learned about hosting a movie trailer:
Don’t host your movie trailer yourself. Upload it to one of the many video sites, like YouTube. Aside from saving you the bandwidth and providing re-embedding opportunities, each video hosting site allows your fanbase to build community around your movie. This in-turn spreads word of mouth and offers you the opportunity to keep your finger on the pulse of your marketing. The more views, the more your movie gains popularity.

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #3 – Capture Visitor Information:
Despite our mistakes, the one thing we had going for us was a very controversial hook. Word of mouth spread quickly. And our website had thousands of visitors each week. This was great right? Sort of. . .

Why we should have captured visitor information:
Garnering high organic (unpaid) traffic on your movie website is euphoric. However if you allow people to visit and leave your website without attempting to build a long term relationship, then you just lost a fan. To prevent this, set up an automatic newsletter opt in on your website. For this job, I prefer www.aweber.com. For a minimal amount of money, the service provides you with a opt-in form and also manages your email list.

This goes almost without saying, but you should immediatly set up a facebook fan page. You can find ours by clicking here:

The Filmmaking Stuff Fan Page

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #4 – Marketing VS Sales:
Your initial website will allow you to spread word about your movie and provide contact information for anybody who wants it. Additionally, your initial website will probably include production photos, silly stuff and a press kit. All of this is fine if you are seeking a traditional distribution deal. BUT. . .

The difference between Movie Marketing and Movie Sales:
When you’re marketing your movie, it is OK to have all the extra web pages. But when you make the shift from movie marketer to movie seller, you will need to change a few things. Firstly, you need to remove anything that doesn’t progress the sale of your movie. For example, if your intention is to sell a DVD, and your prospective fan gets distracted by your behind the scenes photos – and leaves your site – you have accomplished nothing.

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #5 – Getting Bootlegged:
When it happens, it is both disheartening and validating at the same time. At first we went all over the internet and found a bunch of weird, cryptic streaming websites. We sent threatening, attorney drafted emails to the violators. Surprisingly, many complied and our movie was removed. . .

What we learned:
Within a week of removing the bootleggers both our web traffic and subsequent movie sales flat-lined. While I don’t have the evidence to prove correlation between bootlegs and sales – I have since come to the conclusion that people will buy your movie or not. Those that want to steal, will.

As a result, I have stopped policing the internet for bootleg providers. Let’s face it, paid advertising is expensive. Independent movie bootlegging is just another form of advertising.
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If you are already a member of my newsletter, you know how passionate I am about helping you make movies without asking permission. You also know that I’m passionate about sharing the “how to aspects” of making movies and making money. In no other area can this be achieved than the distribution of your movie.

As a result of my digital self distribution experience, I was hired to coach a rather well known indie filmmaker through his own digital self distribution campaign. Additionally, I have put all of this knowledge into a product called The Indie Producer’s Guide To Digital Self Distribution.

Comments and questions related to digital self movie distribution are welcome below:

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