Movie Marketing Makeover

A free mini-course by Jeff MacIntyre & Rob Hardy

Core Takeaways from Lesson 1

First, "Movie Market Fit" is the state where you've found a segment of the market that actually gives a damn about your film, and is happy to pay for it.

In order to get to Movie Market Fit, you need to answer two questions.

1. Who is my film for? The more specific you can get, the better. What group(s) of people would love this film more than any other?
2. Why should they care? In a world with abundant free entertainment options, what makes your film worth the time and money for this specific group of people?

Once you have answers to these, and you've validated those answers in the marketplace, you've got a solid foundation for marketing your film effectively.

Speaking of which, effective marketing accomplishes two critical tasks.

1. It earns the attention of a specific group of people.
2. It aligns your film/product with that group's existing desires.

Without both pieces in place, you might make a few sales, but not enough to really move the needle.

This is what derailed Jeff in his marketing misadventures.

• First, he didn't quite have movie market fit yet (though he was pretty close). Regardless, he did a big marketing blitz anyway.
• Next, his content and ads, while attention-grabbing and entertaining, didn't hit the second piece of the puzzle.
• His marketing wasn't specific or targeted enough, nor did it tap into any kind of pre-existing desire in his audience. And thus, nobody bought.

The rest of this mini-course is about fixing those problems from the ground up.

In the coming lessons, Jeff is going to get to movie market fit with this project. He's going to specifically define his audience, re-position the film to satisfy them, and run small/cheap tests to make sure it's a good fit.

These topics may not be as sexy as FB ads, chatbots, or influencers, but they're the foundation of effective marketing.

So if you're the kind of filmmaker who cares about doing it right, stay tuned.

-Rob & Jeff

Homework for Lesson 1

Your homework for this first lesson is very, very simple.

Think about what it would take for you to happily purchase (not stream on Netflix) a film from an unknown filmmaker.

What would they have to be offering or saying to make it a no-brainer purchase for you?

Now think about this question from the perspective of your family, friends, and the strangers you're trying to build your business around.

The more you can get to the bottom of this question from the perspective of your ideal niche/market, the more your marketing and sales will flourish.

Hit reply on the email that brought you to this lesson and share your thoughts. What would it take?