The Long Tail Of Distribution

The real value and ROI is seen over the long tail of distribution PLUS how making an initial splash can help you ride the revenue wave.

If you missed my newsletter last week we talked about Cannes Take-Away’s and where I believe the opportunities are ahead.

The TLDR for now is that if you’re sitting on a completed feature or one that will be completed in the next few months, there’s some pandemic-level demand right now that you can capitalize on. My top line advice if you want to DIY it is to just email distributors and sales agents directly with a link to your trailer and then forward a screening link if they request it. If you have key art to show them, even better. Most distributors and sales agents have email addresses right on their sites or you can look them up on IMDB or Cinando.

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If you want more personalized help, we updated our Indie-Friendly Distributors List and posted it up in the FS Pro Resource Hub along with custom outreach templates to press the ‘easy’ button with. I also offer support to our FS Pro members and personalized guidance in there so if this sounds of value to you, you can apply to be in the group here.

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The Long Tail Of Distribution

One thing I want to emphasize is that the real value and ROI is seen over the long tail of distribution. In short, you probably won’t see and MG or even experience ROI/profit in the first 6-12 months of your release, unless you made your film for a very tiny budget.

For my own films and those I’m involved in with clients, we’re seeing revenue come in dribs and drabs as the different windows take hold - from PVOD to SVOD to AVOD and Fast channels, you’ll see new revenue come in your quarterly and half-yearly reports over the course of months/years.

One of the reasons I stopped doing Distribution Consulting is that really, anyone can get their own distribution these days. See my recipe above of reaching out to distributor with what you have and make a deal directly. Plenty of folks in our orbit doing that every day. However where I think the real value lies is in the strategy piece and working with a client over the course of the long tail of distribution. Also in planning how to make a splash right when the film premieres so you can ride the buzz for several months.

One example of this is with a film I produced Pinball which we invested in PR services for our release and have been able to milk the 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating for months, upping our distribution revenue in the first quarter. It also has led to foreign distributors contacting us directly to make deals, completely bypassing a sales agent commission and expenses. And since I used to be a sales agent, I am equipped to negotiate these foreign deals directly and know exactly where all the sleight of hand happens in order to bypass that lol.

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A New Way To Consult On Distribution

If you want help strategizing a long tail distribution strategy for your film as well as tapping into my network of trusted contacts, execs, and vendors and ‘fast track’ it, I’m offering a new Distribution Consulting for a limited time while demand is up and we have a nice little window leading up to AFM.

Email me directly at stacey@filmspecific.com with details of your film and I can give you more details on how I can help.

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I’d love to hear your distribution stories! Hit me up in the comments below and ask any questions you have too.

On that note, I’ll wrap things up for today. I hope you have a fabulous day ahead and I’ll speak to you again soon!

Stacey

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