Diary of a Film Startup Part 15: Film Marketing Tools

50 Ways to Sell Your Movie
KinoNation now has a library of almost 100 feature films and documentaries in our Private Beta. As I spend time showing some of these films to various US and international video-on-demand outlets, I am more and more convinced of the need for a step-by-step template that helps filmmakers with the the business of selling & marketing their films. So last week I spent some time creating a “back of an envelope” plan for a section of KinoNation where filmmakers can be guided through a series of fifty steps to give their film a better chance at finding an audience. The idea is to have one page on KinoNation.com for each of these fifty steps, along with an overall Progress Bar — so a filmmaker can review what percentage of this marketing checklist has been completed. This is deliberately rough — I just want to get the discussion started.

Checklist
Imagine yourself going through this checklist, with a page on KinoNation for each one, including examples and hand-holding and discussion and comments. The objective is to come out the other side having taken action — and marketing is all about “taking action” — to make your film stand out in a crowded market. This is down and dirty, stream of consciousness stuff right now, but will coalesce over the coming weeks into a critically important part of KinoNation. It’s in our interest to help filmmakers sell their films on VoD, since we only make money when they make money!

1. Mission/Objectives – what’s the point of making this film?
2. You – tell your audience about the driving force behind this film, warts and all. Especially the warts!
3. Them – people are, fundamentally, interested in themselves. They want to learn about themselves and their world thru the medium of your film. Make your marketing personal and organic and authentic.
4. Ask for Help – marketing is a second marathon alongside the making of them film – start by inviting people to help. It’s like KickStarter, but you’re not asking for money, just time.
5. Timeline – I rarely see this, but I always want it, a timeline of the film from inception thru now.
6. Budget – be open and transparent about money issues, it’s interesting and compelling and people love it. Share your budget docs!
7. Synopsis – I see SO many bad synopses. Make yours sing, with lean, spare prose and perfect grammar and syntax. Around 200 words. Max.
8. Tagline – a short, pithy one-liner that instantly grabs attention.
9. Long Description – you need this also, should be no more than 1000 words.
10. Storyboards – great if you have them, share them online.
11. Genres – choose 1 primary genre and (maybe) one sub-genre, and stick to it.
12. Sales Pitch – 50-100 words on why this film is a smart commercial bet.
13. Script – put the script (or at least bits of it) online, it’s great SEO (search-engine optimization)
14. Memorable Quotes – we love ‘em on IMDb, and people will be similarly drawn to yours
15. Top Ten Lists – my 10 biggest rookie director screw-ups or 10 lucky breaks in the making of this movie, and so on.
16. Optimal Title – I’ve written about this before, the alphabetical advantage. Unfortunately it’s true that “20,000 Zombies” gets better placement on many VoD platforms than “Universal Zombie”
17. SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Learn a little about it and views all online marketing through this lens, it’s critically important.
18. Keywords – come up with a half-dozen keywords for your film and make sure they are on every web page you have control over (e.g. Facebook, YouTube, etc.)
19. Film Detail Page – we’re planning to give every film a “detail page” on KinoNation.com
20. Trivia – everyone loves this, it’s always compelling, so give your audience some!
21. Video – you can never have too many video clips out there, the more the merrier.
22. Trailer – cutting a trailer is hard; don’t wait for this, get other clips released.
23. First 8 mins – studios often do something like this, easy to cut, great way to get viewers hooked.
24. Clips – studios do this constantly, releasing literally dozens of 30-60 sec clips as part of the marketing campaign. You should also.
25. Outtakes – don’t save these for the DVD, get them out there if they’re truly funny or compelling.
26. Behind the Scenes – mini interviews with cast & crew, location scouting video, whatever you have.
27. Media Relations – journalists want things to write about, especially if their magazine or blog is on the same subject as your film, or if your film was shot in their town. Don’t be scared, call them!
28. Hand-Crafted Pitches (emails & calls) to film mags and blogs, tell them why your film is worth featuring.
29. Social Media – think about what this really means. It’s not just having a Facebook page — it’s about creating a compelling arc for the story of your struggle to write, finance, cast, shoot, edit, screen and market your film.
30. Web Site – or at least a single “film detail page,” which KN.com will have for all our films
31. Facebook – start it early in the process, post something every day.
32. Twitter – I’m far from expert,  all I know is that it’s worth the investment.
33. Pinterest – more popular every day, should be the pictorial hub for your movie.
34. YouTube – all your video clips should be here, plus Vimeo also.
35. Images – still images can show aspects of your film that video won’t…take lots and lots and show them off!
36. Posters – on VoD, films live or die by how compelling your poster image is as people scan a page of movies. It’s the same as a video store shelf. Don’t make a great movie with a lame poster. This deserves enormous effort to get right — make a dozen and test, test, test!
37. Talent – empower your talent, beg them if you must, but enlist them early in mobilizing their friends and family and fans if they have them.
38. Behind the Scenes – the stories behind the camera are only worthwhile if you capture them somehow.
39. Cast – create profiles of your cast members, the who/what/where/why when of them and the characters they play.
40. Crew – the crew have friends and families too, so find ways to leverage them for marketing.
41. Director, Writer, Producer, DP, Editor — get them to write some copy, snap some images, generally engage them in the on-going marketing
42. Locations – leverage your locations, make sure the good folk of the small desert town you filmed in are kept informed via their local paper, blogs, etc. They’re prime target audience.
43. Score Music – release bits of your music online, give your (hopefully) growing audience some sounds
44. Tech – don’t forget to talk tech, there are plenty of gearheads out there, they want to know about the camera, the lights, etc.
45. Stunts & Action – if you have stunts or car chases this is great footage for early release.
46. Languages – think globally from the beginning, VoD is a global medium, translate at least your synopsis and sales pitch into the major foreign languages.
47. Funny Stuff – there’s always funny stuff on film sets, documentary shoots, etc. Don’t just tell your pals, tell everyone.
48. Accidents – these happen too; as long as they’re not tragic, you should blog about them.
49. Festivals – tier A, tier B, tier C — all useful, but you must plan!
50. Test Screenings – do what the studios do, show and tell and feedback loops.

Feedback very much desired. I’m sure there are many things I’ve missed. And keep submitting movies!

Next Up: Post # 16: Top Ten Mistakes, So Far

Roger Jackson is a producer and the co-founder of film distribution start-up KinoNation. He was Vice President, Content for digital film pioneer iFilm.com and has produced short films in Los Angeles, documentaries in Darfur, Palestine and Bangladesh, a reality series for VH1 and one rather bad movie for FuelTV. You can reach him at roger@kinonation.com.