So you’ve done all the work of making a movie. First of all, congrats; it’s a big deal and something not many people accomplish. But what’s next? You worked really hard, and now you need to get it in front of an audience. How do you go about doing that? You need to learn how to market your film. Here are a few steps you can take to go about marketing your masterpiece. Some of this may feel overwhelming, but it’s certainly less complicated than making an entire movie, which you’ve already accomplished. So let’s dive right in.
Set up a website
This is going to be your first step. Don’t sweat it if you’re not an accomplished web designer or you don’t know how to code. You can use a service like WordPress or Wix, find a template you like, and create an attractive site that will help funnel viewers to your movie. The site doesn’t need to be elaborate; just have a landing page with information about you and your movie. If you want to draw more people to your site, see tip number two, but remember it’s optional.
Start a blog
As an indie filmmaker, you have a unique set of skills that other people often pay good money to learn. Think about how much you learned from blogs or youtube videos. Starting a blog isn’t just an opportunity to attract views to your website; it’s also a chance to pay it forward and help out the next generation of indie filmmakers. Starting a blog may feel like a huge undertaking, so skip this step if you don’t have the time or resources, but it’s certainly a good way to get more eyes on your website!
Get on social media
There are so many social media sites out there… Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok… you need to be on at least one of these platforms if you’re going to market your film. Think about what you’re good at and then see if you can build a following on one or more sites. Are you good at quippy one-liners? Twitter will be your friend. Are you great at photography? Try Instagram. There’s tons of articles out there about how to maximize your social media presence, so we won’t get into all of the tips and tricks for building a following.
Create a teaser or trailer
This step may seem obvious, but it’s key. Create and distribute a teaser or trailer so your friends, family, and fans can get a sense of what your film is going to be. Getting folks to watch your trailer is an opportunity to create excitement around your movie, and if you can couple it with your social media presence you can get a lot of eyes on the teaser.
Make an eye-catching poster
Think about some of your favorite movie posters you’ve ever seen. What did you like so much about them? Either design or pay someone to design a really cool, professional-looking poster for your movie, emphasis on professional-looking. Like it or not, lots of people are eager to judge a book by its cover, and the poster is the equivalent of your movie’s book cover. What is going to communicate what’s so awesome about your film?
Submit to film festivals
Even if you’re not able to get into a huge film festival like Sundance, there’s still a lot of value in submitting to other reputable film festivals. Look through the options on Film Freeway; there are tons of great festivals out there. Some are genre-specific, others highlight certain types of filmmakers (think women in film or queer filmmakers), others still are specific to certain locations. Find a few film festivals that make sense for you and your movie, and submit to those. If you win you’ll be able to use those laurels in promoting your movie, and it gets your movie in front of eager audiences.
Reach out to other news sources
Regardless of if you work with a PR firm or reach out yourself, you need to get your movie covered by blogs and other online outlets. Getting your movie written about will help pique your audience’s interest, and it will also help create Google results relevant to your film.
Conclusion
Learning how to market your film is one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself as a filmmaker. You worked so hard on your movie, and now it deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as you can get it in front of. Put these tips into action, work hard, and with a little bit of luck you’ll find success promoting your movie! Do you have other tips for how to market your indie movie?
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