Reaching the Masses?....Helllooooooooo!!!!

Reaching the Masses

Writing is therapeutic for some...maybe it is for me. It's like me thinking out loud and plus, this allows me to keep some in the know of what's going on. Recently I've been wondering how I can break that glass ceiling that allows a bigger circle of people know what I'm doing....this is no easy task.

The old saying about how hard work pays off...and nothing in life is easy...the person who said those things was probably an independent filmmaker. 

Btw...Independent Filmmaker is a term I kind of hate. Sure, I write, act and make movies...I don't do it Independently...it's all done with people's support. Their is nothing Independent about it. Sure, I know the real meaning but it just seems when I say that, I'm leaving a lot of people out. I'm not sure what to call myself...I'm working on it.

back to the therapy...

So my most recent struggle is how to tell more people. I consider myself pretty smart when it comes to promotion and marketing...but I'm puzzled.

Here is where I'm at:

Obvious Movie Maker

Money - I have none...haha...truth. the money I have went to filming and yes, marketing at conventions and film festivals. As anyone can tell you that vends at conventions..this is NOT CHEAP. I was planning on attending a few cons out in the middle states and with driving, hotel and food...it's about a $1,000 weekend. Sure, I'd make some back but no where near what I would like. At this stage of our growth, we can't absorb a $500 loss. Instead, we are focusing on better flyers to hand out, better representation for ourselves, better merchandise and trying the make the best impact we can with what we have. 

Advertising - this is a doozy...seriously. Let's say we have $200 to spend in the month of July to promote our newest film "baggage". Well, let's face facts...It's a short film and most of the "bigger" news sites are going to ignore it based on it not being a feature...sure we've been fortunate to have some very positive press (and those sites have been generous and I'm extremely grateful) but, you always want more people to notice. I'm making short films because I need to learn to crawl before I can run...jumping into a project and losing thousands of dollars is simply immature and being naive to think I was ready.

I turned to the people and asked questions like " What about promoting my posts on Facebook?", "When you visit the news sites...do you click on the ads?"....sadly...I found no solution. As silly as it is...I tend to look in the Horror magazines and read the ads there. They have a better chance for me to look up a site from them, than anywhere. We all know that $200 ain't gonna get much :)

Where does that leave me? Well....scraping with the rest of the bunch. Working hard and trying my best...that's all I can do. Trust me when I say this...We are working hard to bring the best we can. With each project, we will get better and after "baggage" we will be moving forward on a feature film. The time is now and I feel we have the absolute best team I could ask for.

Until them...it's Guerrilla Marketing and hanging in the trenches to battle everyday. Thanks to those who are always positive and believing in us. 

Getting lost in the shuffle - Promoting

Getting lost in the shuffle - Promoting

I'm writing about promoting today, so please, promote this. "If you build it..they will come" no longer works. A buddy of mine had an event this past weekend and attendance was poor. Hey, I have a movie coming out...I want to get a good response too, but am I doing it wrong? This question got me too thinking about how are we promoting? With the easy way out being Facebook and Twitter, are we getting lazy with advertising? 

Let's backtrack a bit, more than 10 years ago, I was part owner of a Wrestling company. This was when the Internet was in the early stages of growing popularity. We resorted to hanging up posters and handing out flyer's in the towns we ran in. We even bought vendor space at a local baseball card show in a mall. To me, this was guerrilla promoting or marketing, whichever, at its best. There is nothing better than speaking to people, one on one, telling them about our product, plus, they can see our excitement. Then, the Internet hits, everyone scrambles to start promoting from their desk and maybe that's where the magic was lost.

I'm not sure about you, but on my Facebook page, daily, I receive 30 invites to events or requests to "Like" someones page. It's to the point now, I don't even look...I'm sure I'm not alone. Flooding your "feeds" is also not going to work because people just tune you out.

While I claim to be the "King of social media", I'm also smart enough to know that most people use social media for themselves. We are all lurkers but mostly, we are all selfish, just hoping that others will feel sorry for us, give us attention or even hear what we have too say. Trust me, I don't know everything; I'm lost like everyone else, but I'm trying to make it. I can honestly say, a majority of my supporters are people I have met in person, the people who get to really know me and my passion.

Let's get serious!

So, what works? Social media is a good start, but seriously, you can't rely on it. For me, maybe stickers or buttons will work; I mean I plan to have them for my next event I attend. Flyer's are also another amazing way to draw attention, even if it only gets a little attention, if you can talk to the person, they can hear your message. I've looked into magazine advertising, do people still read magazines? Posters, t-shirts and so many more avenues are out there...but more importantly, YOU need to tell people the message. If you plan on sitting behind a computer to promote, you can't do it alone. 

On the Connected Comedy podcast; it's a podcast I listen too often, they give plenty of tips that work well for comedians (look for them on iTunes). How to promote themselves, their events or ways to increase site traffic. I've really figured out that these are universal tips to help promote. Look at me, I've started writing about things almost daily, I worked hard to build a following for my film, even realizing that it's a loss leader for me, my career and my future. These tips aren't new, they were just forgotten. Email subscribers, podcasts, flyer's, attending events, stickers, business cards...a million resources out there to help get the message out, Social Media is ONLY 1!!!

I know, typically, I'm full of witty banter, clever and insightful antic dotes, but today I wanted to pass along the message that I learned. It's a message that hit home with me - 

My Biggest Fan

"Worry about the fans you have, instead of those you don't. If those that believe in you tell others, more will follow you." 

To me, this makes sense. Look, we are tweeting to deaf ears...we are "liking" things probably more out of pity and we are all fooling ourselves. Work hard for those that care...you will be rewarded. I am thankful to those who believe in me, those who put faith in my projects. It's up to you to decide where your heart is. We spend countless hours to create something, even investing money to get it done...why do we NOT invest the same to make sure it succeeds?

Thanks - Rob