Maybe I don't want to download every film or carry it around on DVD.
What if I can pay a small amount of money and access a film collection
whenever and wherever I want?! It is always nicely sorted and new material
is automatically added.
In the last chapter, I have already addressed that the access to a weekly
episode of an online series may be provided through a subscription. In
the member area, the user may compile playlists of his favorite episodes
or scenes, share them with other users or buy them on DVD.
Sell immediacy
Many people visit expensive movie premieres, even though they could watch
the movie afterwards for less money or even for free. It is a precious
advantage to be able to see something directly after the moment of its
completion. Offer an incentive to join your fan list and let them enjoy
your products, making-ofs and tutorials a while before regular users can
see them. Special members pay to get preview material during production.
Not until a view months later, you release this material for free on your
website. Or you only implement it in the DVD of the finished film.
"Helvetica" director Gary Hustwit created a special group of friends
during the production of his next film, that people could join for 500
Dollars. Members received tickets for a sneak preview, several limited
edition products of the film and a "Thank you" in the credits.
Personalization as a business model
In 2004 the JibJab company scored a viral hit with their animated video
"This Land". By now they sell animated eCards, short Flash animations,
where users may put their own head on top of the hero's body and become
a part of the film. Maybe a fan would like to own an individually cut
version of the film, birthday greetings at the end or a special DVD-Cover.
What is an affiliate network?
In online marketing terms an affiliate is someone, who sells your product
and receives a part of the earnings. Basically every affiliate receives a
special link from you, to send visitors to your trailer page or the
online shop. This way you can trace how many sales originate from which
affiliate.
While spreading your films online, you have been contracting partnerships
with websites, which are popular in your niche or send a good deal of
traffic to your website. You know their audience and the owners. If you
really want to boost sales figures or raise your visibility, ask the
owners to be affiliates. Offer them half of the financial returns of
every product they sell! If you sell digital products, such as PDFs,
video downloads and the like, give them three-quarters of the sales price
or even the whole profit!
Furthermore, you may create special bonuses only available to people,
who purchase through an affiliate link. This way, the audience of your
affiliates has an even greater incentive to buy. Introduce your affiliate
program to your fan list and explain it on your website. The more people
you can find, who enthusiastically sell your products to their audience
- on the one hand because they like it, on the other hand because they
gain a financial profit - the sooner you can make a living and the more
visible you will be as a filmmaker.
There are a few PHP scripts to manage an affiliate program. The features
of the ones that are available for free might differ from the commercial scripts.
A research session might be worth the trouble. For your Wordpress
blog Affiliate Plugins are available. Commercial services like
CommissionJunction and Clickbank manage your program for a monthly fee.
