Landing a killer film distribution deal is all about reducing risk and increasing the potential reward for a prospective distributor. The problem is, most filmmakers never think about this stuff until it’s too late.
As a filmmaker, you are creating and selling a product. Yes, your film is your product. And like any entrepreneur you must plan for the marketing, sales and distribution of your product.
3 Factors That Could Affect Your Film Distribution Deal
Even if your plan is to land the biggest distributor you can find who has their own marketing engine, it doesn’t matter. It behooves you to create your own marketing, sales and distribution strategy. The reason for this is simple. Most filmmakers do not do this. As a result, nearly every filmmaker approaches a prospective distributor the same way:
“Well… Here’s my movie. Can you give me an awesome film distribution deal?”
This is the incorrect approach because it gives you absolutely no leverage and no room for negotiation. The better approach would be to go into each distribution meeting knowing that you have more value to offer the distributor than just the quality of the film. You achieve this by creating your own marketing plan.
While there are a lot of options to consider when sketching out an effective marketing plan, the following three factors could affect your film distribution deal.
1. Who Is Your Target Audience?
To get started, you need to ask yourself: Who is my intended target audience? If you can look at your movie concept objectively and you can’t answer this question in five seconds or less, then you need to think harder or evaluate your original concept.
2. What Is Your Hook?
In general business, every company has to figure out their USP. In the world of movies, your unique selling proposition is actually described as your hook. What makes your movie different than the gazillion other movies being made? And why should anyone care?
3. What Is Your Marketing Budget?
As a filmmaker, marketing is probably the last thing you want to consider. When you sign with a distributor, they may tell you they have their own marketing budget. But, no matter what, whatever you put into marketing can only help the film! If you tell the distributor that you have a marketing budget number, whether you fund it or they fund it, it ultimately helps the bottom line!
The time to start planning your film distribution is today. Check out my film distribution training system.
