10 Keys for Doing Your Own Film Distribution
What if you can’t initially find a distributor? What if you initially contacted prospective distributors at the American Film Market or did a mailing to potential distributors and sales agents but they didn’t respond or turned you down?
This problem of finding a distributor happens, because this is a very competitive field, with thousands of films looking for distribution each year, and distributors only pick up a few hundred of them. So you have about 1 in 10 or even 1 in 20 or more odds of getting a distributor.
Yet there is hope, so don’t give up. You can set up your own distribution, and besides generating awareness and sales, your success at self-distribution can result in a traditional distributor becoming interested and even offering a better deal than possible if you didn’t first successfully distribute your film yourself. Then, again, you may do so well through self-distribution that you might want to continue to market and promote your film this way.
Following are the major advantages of self-distribution and the different ways to distribute your film. In subsequent articles, I will describe how to set up distribution in different channels.
1) A big benefit of self-distribution is you gain visibility, so you show you have a film that appeals to the market. As you attract more attention, apart from any income you receive from sales, you get distributors to take you more seriously.
2) The more you gain sales in one channel, the more buyers in other channels will be interested in marketing your film, so you build awareness. As a result, eventually your film may break through and gain even wider distribution, whether you find a distributor or decide to continue distributing your film yourself.
3) You need to allocate a budget for distribution, because you have to pay for advertising, entering festivals, hiring a publicist, setting up theatrical showings, putting up a film website, or have other expenses, depending how you decide to market and promote your film.
4) You have to assess the best market for your film in order to best decide the way to reach that audience. For example, if it’s an adventure or fantasy film appealing to a younger audience, you might want to consider advertising on influencer sites, offering coupons on Instagram, or entering it in festivals that appeal to a younger demographic. If it’s a more serious drama that appeals to an older audience, you might want to set up showings at local theaters or contact organizations that cater to high-income older viewers.
5) You want to consider the different platforms where you can promote and sell your film. Some of these platforms include the following:
- Selling DVDs on Amazon, through an Amazon seller’s account;
- Setting up distribution through other major online outlets for films, such as iTunes and Vimeo;
- Creating a website for the film, and selling DVDs or access to streaming the film there;
- Contacting organizations to set up screenings at local events around the country;
- Entering the film in selected festivals to build an audience, get recognition, and win awards you can use to promote the film;
- Setting up showings in selected theaters in major cities and marketing these showings to gain publicity and attract a local audience;
- Advertising the film on selected social media appealing to your market in order to sell DVDs or access to online screenings;
- Making an agreement with a charity relevant to your film, so you can use that in promoting your film;
- Setting up a crowdfunding campaign if your film is related to an issue or charity where you might attract attention from those supporting that issue or charity;
- Creating a special event that features your film, such as a dinner or social mixer where you show your film, followed by some Q&A with the producers, actors, and directors.
- Contacting chains and local retailers, such as Walmart, to market your film;
- Arranging for special sales through businesses related to the topic of your film. For instance, if you film is about health or overcoming a physical challenge, contact health clubs and fitness centers about selling DVDs; if your film is about sports, contact retailers who sell sports equipment;
- Setting up links on the social media to your film website or to other major sellers of your film.
You can probably think of still other possibilities.
6) Once you have set up some online sources for buying your film, such as your website, Amazon, or iTunes, start promoting it through posts or ads on the social media that most appeals to your market.
7) Use various online tools to automate your posts to multiple social media accounts and schedule them ahead, so you spend less time doing these posts. For instance, use Hootsuite or Buffer.
8) Hire a publicist or PR company or do mailings through various PR services, such as PR Newswire, Cision, or Meltwater, to promote your film to the traditional media.
9) Create copy for your social media posts and press releases, or hire a virtual assistant, PR associate, or copywriter to create your material for you.
10) As you get publicity or show your film in a theater, especially for a launch showing, keep a list of the publicity you receive, indicating when and where this occurred. You might also create a booklet featuring photographs from your showings, articles about your film, your social media posts, and more.
In short, do what you can to create a buzz for your film, which will not only generate more sales but can attract interest from major distributors. Even if they once turned you down, after you show that your film can generate growing interest and sales, they may now become interested in talking to you. And you will often get a better deal, since you now have a proven track record, rather than if you initially contacted the distributors cold with just a trailer and screener to show them.
GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., J.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar leader, specializing in business and work relationships, professional and personal development, social trends, and popular culture. She has published 50 books with major publishers. She has worked with dozens of clients on memoirs, self-help, popular business books, and film scripts. Writing samples are at www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com.
She is the founder of Changemakers Publishing, featuring books on work, business, psychology, social trends, and self-help. The company has published over 150 print, e-books, and audiobooks. She has licensed several dozen books for foreign sales, including the UK, Russia, Korea, Spain, and Japan.
She has received national media exposure for her books, including appearances on Good Morning America, Oprah, and CNN. She has been the producer and host of a talk show series, Changemakers, featuring interviews on social trends.
Scott is active in a number of community and business groups, including the Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek Chambers of Commerce. She is a graduate of the prestigious Leadership Contra Costa program. She does workshops and seminars on the topics of her books.
She is also the writer and executive producer of 10 films in distribution, release, or production. Her most recent films that have been released include Driver, The New Age of Aging, and Infidelity.
She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco Law School. She has received five MAs at Cal State University, East Bay, most recently in Communication.