Category: Film Marketing - The Guerrilla Rep

The IndieFilm Purchase Process

7/17/2019

If you want to understand how best to market something, you need to first understand the steps that a customer would take in buying it. This isn’t just true for film, it’s true for everything any entrepreneur might want to sell. It’s called the purchase process or purchase cycle. Here’s what it looks like for film.

One HUGE Don't When Dealing with Film Distributors

7/3/2019

As with nearly anything in life, there are dos and don’ts when you;’re dealing with your independent film distributor.. Also as with most things in life, there is (at least) one thing you can do that will irreparably harm your relationship with that distributor, and might even result in legal action taken against you. What is it? Read on to find out.

How best to COLLABORATE with your Distributor to Market your Movie

6/26/2019

The Distributor’s job is largely to make your film available for sale, and set it up in such a way that people are likely to buy it. Some will work to market your film, but most won’t. Even when they do market your film, you helping market your work will make the marketing your distributor does much more effective. However, there are some basic rules that you should follow to make sure everything goes as well.

The MOST IMPORTANT Parts of your IndieFilm Marketing Mix RIGHT NOW!

6/12/2019

Over the past few weeks I’ve been writing about and how we used to market movies, vs what works in marketing them now. So to expand on that, here are the most important things in marketing your movie in todays day and age.

How Did Film Distribution Get So Broken?

5/29/2019

Its no secret that may think film distribution is broken. While there are many reasons for it, part of it is due to the rapid change in the amount of money flowing to distributors, and what constituted effective marketing. What works for marketing films now isn't what worked in the past, and the systems distributors built themselves around have fallen apart. Here's an elaboration.

Why Film Distributors NEED to know your Social Media

5/15/2019

I try to stay active in at least a few facebook and LinkedIn groups, and one question that comes up more often than I thought it would was why distributors need to know your social media numbers. The argument that generally follows is something like “just because people follow us doesn’t mean they’re going to buy our movie.” For the most part, we get that you probably have a lot of filmmaker friends, and your filmmaker friends are often surprisingly difficult to get to buy your movie. That’s not the only, (or even the primary) reason why we need to know about your social media. Here are 6 reasons why

What Film Distributors Mean by Sub-Genre

3/20/2019

If you thought that I missed a few genres in my blog last week, it might be that they’re more classically sub-genres. The biggest difference between a genre and a sub-genre is that a genre is generally a tone or a feel of a film (and sometimes some elements related to those tones) and a sub genre is more related to Themes, Settings, Style or niche audiences that targeted largely by those themes settings, or style. Some sub-genres pair better with certain genres than others, and it’s common to have more than one in a film. More as we go through them.

What Film Distributors Mean by Genre

3/13/2019

So most filmmakers are at least passingly aware of the importance of genre in independent film distribution. (If you’re not, read this.) But even while most filmmakers have a cursory understanding of what defines a genre, the lines are often less bendable than many filmmakers think they are. So with that in mind, here’s what distributors mean when they say a certain genre.

5 Ideas For Email List Giveaways for Indie Filmmakers

2/6/2019

Traditional marketing wisdom states that you should offer something of value to your potential customer prior to trying to sell to them. However, this value proposition is different when you’re talking about making a film versus selling a software application. It has to be something of value to your customers, and since most of your customers are not going to be other filmmakers you’re going to need to think outside the box and offer something that people who only consume content are going to be interested in. Here’s a list of some ideas to get you started.

Everything you need in an Electronic Press Kit (EPK)

1/23/2019

Last week I shared a few different types of printed materials to use at film festivals. This week, I thought I’d follow up with a post on the essential components of Indiefilm Electronic Press Kit. I will say that this is one thing where reasonable people can disagree, so if you think there’s something I missed, comment it below and I might change the post to include it.