Film Publicity and Digital Marketing Globally
I’ve seen what works with crowdfunding, and what doesn’t.
I’ve also seen crowdfunding myths pop up time and again; things that don’t seem to go away. They’re things which seem reasonable enough, but are counter-intuitive to successful crowdfunding. Today, I’m going to let you in on those myths, AND give you alternatives that will help you reach your target.
This week on the blog and on our social media we’ll be looking at various aspects of crowdfunding; from planning to some of the unusual things that may crop up in your campaign. If you’re not following Sprites on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, make sure you follow so you don’t miss a second. PLUS- there’s going to be some great FREEBIES headed your way too!
It’s hard to believe that we’re nearly at the end of another year; the fourth year of operation for Film Sprites PR. It’s been a fun and inspiring year, and we’ve had the great pleasure of working with some truly fabulous filmmakers to provide publicity and digital marketing. Here’s a look back at some of the projects we’ve assisted this year!
After assisting on the pre-production crowdfunding campaign for Us Among the Stones (which was then titled This Family), Sprites is back working with writer/director D.R. Hood and the Likely Story team for their post-production crowdfunding campaign, which launches at the end of this week. Returning to the project feels like coming home. Rather fitting, considering the film is centred around a dutiful son (played by Laurence Fox) in thrall of his dying mother (played by Anna Calder-Marshall) who visits his childhood home during one weekend. Recently separated from his partner, he ends up in the middle of his colourful extended family as they descend on the family home. You may also be familiar with D.R. Hood’s first film, Wreckers, starring recent Emmy® Award-winner Claire Foy, Emmy® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shaun Evans. Wreckers won Best Film of the Perspectives Competition at the 2012 Moscow International Film Festival. D.R. Hood was also a nominee for Best British Newcomer at the 2012 London Film Festival and New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize nominee at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Us Among The Stones also reunites Hood with Wreckers creative collaborators Annemarie Lean-Vercoe (as DoP), Claire Pringle (as editor) and Wreckers actress Sinead Matthews starring as ‘Anna’.
Pre-production is the best time to start to grow your audience. Mainstream releases and tentpole films generally have the benefit of being able to secure coverage and have a built-in audience due to things like the cast, a known director, being part of a franchise, and more. It can be a lot harder for indie films and filmmakers to receive that sort of coverage…but it’s not impossible. It just takes a bit of strategic planning early on in production.
In the work that I do, I get to talk to a lot of filmmakers about their work, and I often hear them express the difficulty they have in self-promoting their work. Sometimes there is a reluctance in reaching out to people for donations to their crowdfunding campaigns, promoting on social media or reaching out to media outlets to secure coverage or a review. It’s something I understand- sometimes it’s not easy! But your work deserves to be seen and appreciated.
I can say with complete sincerity that it’s been a complete blast bringing you our Crowdfunding for Filmmakers month! There’s been lots of great feedback and it’s been thoroughly enjoyable to bring to you hints, tips and advice on crowdfunding of your indie film or webseries. There have been people who have said: “well, what about my (insert non-film project here)?” No problem! All of the hints and tips we’ve provided here are easily adaptable to any campaign for any project- the reason for a filmmaking focus is, well, we work with filmmakers!
This post is going to be a little different from the previous crowdfunding posts, because I wanted to bring you a really useful toolbox of resources that can assist you with your crowdfunding, regardless of budget or size of project. Some of these resources are ones I personally use for the work we do at Film Sprites PR, some are really handy resources that will inspire and add to your crowdfunding resource and knowledge base. Plus, we’ve got a little freebie we’ve been hinting about via our social media as well! So, here’s some resources I hope you’ll find genuinely useful.
99% of the time, crowdfunding campaigns run relatively smoothly. You plan, prepare and launch your campaign, the contributions start to roll in, and things go according to plan. But there are times when things go “off script”. It doesn’t happen very often, and for the most part they’re things you may not have to worry about, but I think they’re worth mentioning in case they do arise in your campaign.
All of these examples are things which I have seen happen in campaigns over the past 4 years of assisting with crowdfunding through Film Sprites PR’s publicity and social media marketing services. They’re atypical, but knowledge is power- if things like this happen, at least you’ll know what to do about them.
This month on the blog, we’ve focused on crowdfunding for filmmakers, covering subjects like aspects you need to consider prior to running a crowdfunding campaign for your webseries or film, common mistakes to avoid in your crowdfunding campaign, and the benefits of crowdfunding beyond the financial. In this post, I want to discuss a subject that is very close to my heart, which is publicity. Specifically, I want to discuss the role that publicity tends to play in crowdfunding campaigns.
Our month focusing on crowdfunding for filmmakers is in full swing, so now it’s time to talk about some common mistakes people make with crowdfunding campaigns.
Back in 2013 when I started getting to know the world of crowdfunding for independent film, I saw a lot of things that looked like best practice. But as I began to learn more, and as crowdfunding and social media began to evolve, I saw that these things were not only a misuse of energy, but could also be costing filmmakers opportunities to have people contributing to their crowdfunding campaigns.
The mistakes outlined below come from my observation and experience, as well as from assisting filmmakers with their crowdfunding campaigns. Avoid these mistakes at your peril!
