There is no formula on how much your film has to cost. Be aware of your
natural tendency to undercharge! If you place your offer too cheep, it
will lose value in the eyes of a potential buyer. On the other hand, if
the price is too high, the customer might reconsider his buying decision.
Experimenting is the only way to find the right price.
Release your product
Your film is done and the DVD is ready to be sold. You could put a picture
on your website and hope that someone will recognize the unbelievable
quality of your film and click on the "Buy now" button. It is smarter
however, to design the release in form of a movie, where the tension keeps
on rising towards the end. And during the climax, you would release the DVD.
What is a Pre-Sell?
A Pre-Sell strategy may build upon a long lasting relationship with your
fans or your reputation as an expert in a certain field. It builds trust,
overcomes any potential doubts and leads the future customer into an
emotional state, where he is ready to buy at your call for action.
You can decide to sell your film indirectly, for example through a making-of,
by slowly revealing the film, from the first scribbles to the animation
to a finished excerpt of the film. You may tell the story behind the film.
Why did you make it? Or you create a series of tutorials that explain
step-by-step an exciting technique of your film. Focus on providing valuable
content. Don't let the Pre-Sell decline into a pure sales pitch or you
will lose trust very fast.
You may present the Pre-Sell option for all visitors of your website and
ask them to receive updates via your "RSS feed". Or you can, at first,
release the film only for your fan list.
The trailer page
It is important to state that your fan list is the precondition to sell
anything. At the same time, you sell your products to expand your list!
For this purpose, you may build a "trailer page" for a new product, where
interested people may enter their email address to learn more.
Create an exciting trailer or excerpt of your film and put it on the
"trailer page". Insert an Email field and describe in a precise and sweet
manner what subscribers will receive or may learn, when they enter their
Email address.
Casually mention the films successful festival career (Awards etc.) or
important media coverage. Point out that you respect the subscriber's
privacy, that you'll keep the Email address safe and that they may
unsubscribe at any time. Maybe your offer is also only available for a
limited time period.
With the Adwords Keyword-Tool search for keywords for the trailer page.
Maybe you'll find relevant word sequences containing the word "buy".
This way you can be sure that searchers are looking to buy something.
Now spread the link to the trailer page in relevant forums. Describe the
plot of your new film in one sentence. Tell people that you made a
trailer and would be content to get some feedback. This procedure will
not attract a mass of people to your website, however, a very targeted
audience.
You may additionally take out an ad with Google Adwords to get more traffic
to your trailer. Furthermore, you can send preview DVDs and maybe
exclusive material to your blogger-friends and ask them for a write-up
and a link to the trailer.
