Lets call the day you start selling DVDs “ID Day”, what are the steps leading to that point? Here is a road map, walking backwards, of the major steps. Each project may have its own twists and turns, and there are many little steps within each of these major steps. Here’s what you’ve been doing for the last 120 days leading up to this point:
5 to 2 days before IDD: ship DVDs and store merchandise to the fulfillment center (or back to your own office/home if you’re doing the fulfillment)
15 to 5 days before IDD: Manufacturer is making the DVDs. Ask for proofs (digital proofs) before they begin mass-manufacturing.
20 days before IDD: Send to the replicator/DVD manufacturer2 “golden” masters, disc artwork, print artwork
30 to 5 days before IDD: Clean up your email list. If you have a long list, hire an auto-responder company to do the e-blast (or a service like www.boxofficewidgets.com with no monthly fee)
40 days before IDD: Get quotes from DVD manufacturers.
45 to 20 days before IDD: If developing your own e-commerce store and shopping cart, apply for a credit card merchant account and processing gateway.
50 days before IDD: if you’re planning to outsource fulfillment, start looking for and interview vendors
50 to 10 days before IDD: Decide on product pricing, merchandising strategy (t-shirts, posters, etc.), and image branding. Start manufacutirn t-shirts and posters 2-3 weeks before store opening.
50 days before IDD: submit artwork, graphics, source material to the authoring house to create and encode the DVD
60 to 30 days before IDD: Decide on the DVD package type (plastic case, cardboard sleeve, etc.) and then create corresponsing artwork that goes on the package and disc
80 days before IDD: If outsourcing DVD authoring, start searching for vendor. Get acquainted with the artwork and files needed, as well as the steps for DVD authoring and encoding.
90 to 30 days before IDD: Start to create e-commerce store/shopping cart
(if you go with a service like Neoflix, the e-commerce store/shopping cart step can wait until 15 days before IDD)
120 to 90 days before IDD: Enhance and improve the website to make it professional, attractive, image and content rich, biographies on filmmakers, about the production company, and otherwise marketing-ready.
Greater than 120 days:
a. Reserve a domain name for website
b. Create the website and be sure to have a join-us email list
c. Cut a trailer to host on the site and put on YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, etc.
d. Start a blog on the project
e. Make sure music rights and other royalty issues are cleared-up before posting trailer
f. Define your core audience on paper and then present that to your marketing team; list your addresable market (Addressable market is a group of people or organization that have similar characteristics that you can reach using advertising or other outreach methods. For example, the local chapter and regional chapters of the American Legion)