Movie Making Manual/Selling Online

This Module is part of the Movie Making Manual

Marketing your movie on-line is very much like marketing any product anywhere. It will always be easier and less expensive to market a product that meets the needs of a specific group. If you feel that everyone will want or need your product, you will show a profit sooner if you market to specific segments individually rather than attempt to capture the entire market at one time. By addressing a specific segment of the purchasing group you will be able to tailor your web site to the needs of that buyer more effectively. Single men and women may both need your product but express their concerns or needs in a different manner. Attempting to meet the needs of both will dilute the essential message necessary to show the buyer you understand their problem (escape boredom, need to know) and this product will solve it for them.

Fill a Need

Perhaps the most essential step to moving your movies online is to establish a target audience for your product. For this to come across effectively, you first must establish what you intend your product to do. For example, you may wish your product to:

Tell a story
Entertain the consumer
Inform the consumer

Once you have the purpose in mind, you must next select the target audience you wish to embrace.

Identify the Target Audience

Now you must design your site to fulfill the expectations of the target audience for your product. Some of these audiences include, but are not solely limited to:

Adults
Children
Men
Women
Professionals
Particular age groups
Particular ethnic groups

Understanding your audience's expectations is one key to creating a friendly and effective sales environment for your site.

Product Form, Delivery, and Price

Today's distribution media and channels are ultimately limited only by your own imagination. You may choose to distribute your film by using:

DVD
VHS (or other format cassettes, though VHS is the standard)
Video CD
Direct Download
Online (streaming) Media

You may distribute your film through:

Your own web site (though this is known to meet with limited success)
Distributors (Amazon [1], Barnes & Noble [2], and similar resellers)
Other storefronts, as a "special deal" with other products (a romantic movie could be sold at an online or bricks-and-mortar flower shop)

Be sure to set a price appropriate to both the distribution medium and channel.

Manufacture and Delivery

Now that you have a target audience and distribution channels in place, you must decide how to handle the manufacture and delivery of your final product. Some options include:

Buy and warehouse stock (though this can be costly)
Keep a small inventory on hand with rapid re-order ability
Burn or reproduce as needed

Collecting Payments

There are several methods of accepting payment via the Internet, but perhaps the best is to choose a "shopping cart" service that accepts as many forms of payment as possible. Among these should be:

Credit card orders (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover)
PayPal [3]
Check and/or money orders
Cash and/or wire transfers

Advertising

Once your site is fully operational, you will want to make your product as visible to as many different entities as possible. To achieve this, you should:

Exchange links with as many acceptable sites as possible
Hand out promotional flyers with your site's address in a prominent position (top-center works best)
Watch for news stories that allow you to offer information and earn referrals where you may mention your site
Get T-shirts printed to advertise your site - have your friends wear them in public when acceptable
Attend and speak at events of interest to your target audience

Wrapping It All Up

Now that your site is functional and your advertising machine is in full-gear, all you need to do now is to establish and maintain a valid accounting system and prepare for your next movie!