Shoot to Sell

Make Money Producing Special Interest Videos

Rick Smith, Kim Miller

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781136071010
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Producing and Distributing Special Interest Videos is a step-by-step, do-it-yourself guide for successfully producing, selling and marketing videos without a huge financial investment for anyone who has an idea or expertise that they want to showcase in video. Learn how to successfully create and market videos for carefully researched niche markets, for long-term residual income.

Part I
Video Publishing Business

Introduction

1. Special Interest Videos and the World of Video Publishing

2. Types of Special Interest Videos

3. Choosing a Successful Topic

4. Researching Your Topic

5. Finding a Partner

6. Budgeting

7. Funding Your Project

Introduction

I used to have a “real job.” I was head of a university media production department. Like many people, I got up early, dressed for work, put in my time, came home, and did it again the next day. And the next … for 22 years. In that job I had a lot of friends, made good money, won a bunch of national awards, and supported my family. I enjoyed the work and the steady paycheck, but I longed to be my own boss. For some reason, I always felt that my life was not really mine. As it turned out, neither was that job.

My wife Kim was also good at her job, but she was unhappy. She had to get up so early to commute 45 minutes to be at work at 7:30 a.m., and then process paperwork all day. She used to get so blue on Sunday nights that just thinking about going to work the next day would make her sick. She’s a creative person and her job in human resources was stifling her spirit. She was a square peg in a round hole, a bad fit and a waste of talent.

Now we get up when we feel like it, usually by 6:00 a.m. or earlier by choice because we’re so excited to get back to our work. We set our own schedules, pursue creative projects of our choosing, are constantly learning, travel a lot, and have an incredible amount of freedom to live our lives the way we want to. Our work is stimulating, challenging, and rewarding. It feels more like play than work. I’ve never been happier.

The thing that allows us to do this now is our home business producing and marketing special interest videos (I’m generally going to refer to them in this book as “SIVs”). Our commute consists of going upstairs to make coffee and turn on the computer, often to find that we’ve made sales while we slept. Our business never closes and our “store” is worldwide.

Does this sound like something you’ve been dreaming of? If so, then this book is for you. If you yearn for the freedom I just described, if you’re an entrepreneurial person just waiting for an outlet for your creativity, or if you’re an expert on a topic and you want to share your knowledge with a wider audience, you will love what this book is going to teach you.

Did you notice that in the previous sentence I didn’t specifically say if you’re a film-maker or videographer? I did that for a reason.

Having a background in video or filmmaking is an asset in the SIV business but it is not a requirement, as you’ll see when you read further.

Here’s how I, Rick Smith, got into this business. I started working at Visual Education Productions (VEP) at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, way back in 1976, right out of college. VEP was a unique quasi-commercial operation that produced and sold classroom educational materials to agriculture teachers all around the United States.

I had just graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in photography and so started out as a photographer. I loved shooting slides to a script, editing them, recording a narrator, mixing sound and adding music, then marketing them and seeing the final product sell over and over, all around the country, for years.

This was prior to the first consumer VHS machines and the technology of the day was films and sound filmstrips. By 1980 VHS machines were beginning to show up in classrooms and so we began producing videos, which was even more fun. I was hooked.

I enjoyed several years doing every possible production role and soon became director of the program. “Director” was an administrative title and I actually spent most of my time budgeting, planning, reporting, and managing personnel. Direct mail marketing of our products became the focus of my job and I discovered that I was quite adept at it; I liked copywriting, design, list selection, analysis … pretty much all of it. I missed being involved in the creative side of production but I learned a lot of sound business and marketing principles that help me today.

In 1997 the university suddenly closed the program. Bang, gone! My entire career had been spent in VEP so my work experience was quite specific: I knew how to produce and market educational videos. There were no similar job opportunities available to me in that area and I really had to think about what to do next with my life.

One of the key lessons I took away from that job was that you can package visual information and people will pay you for it, and pay pretty good prices, too. Another lesson was that I never again wanted to work for an organization that could chop my job on a whim. I saw how vulnerable you are when you work for someone else.

I took stock of my situation and realized that I was itching to get behind the camera again. I also knew that I had the business skills to run a successful business and that’s when I started my own video production company. Because the loss of my job came on the heels of a divorce (I’ve since married Kim, my business partner and co-author of this book), I had practically no financial resources to start with but I didn’t let that stop me. In my mind, I burned the bridge behind me. There was no way but forward.

At first I did work for clients because I needed to pay the bills, and that was good experience, but I always had plans to get back into video publishing. I started slowly switching from client work to producing videos to sell and today it is rare that I do any client work, and that’s the way I like it.

Over time I saw that this business was perfect for many people but they just didn’t even know that it existed. I see opportunities everywhere; in fact there are far more today than ever before and there will be even more in the future. This is an industry just beginning a huge growth phase that will last for decades and now is the perfect time to get on board.

The more we meet and talk with authors, entrepreneurs, coaches, video and film producers, and experts on any subject, the more Kim and I feel the need to take the lead and show others how they can be successful SIV producers.

Teaching others how to create and market special interest videos has became a driving passion for us and we’ve taken steps to put that passion into action. We blog extensively on the subject at www.howtosellyourvideos.com and produced two videos on this topic, Make Money Selling Your Videos and My Secrets Of Producing Special Interest Videos, which you’ll find at that website. We have formed the Special Interest Video Organization (www.specialinterest-video.org) and the Special Interest Video Academy (www.sivacademy.com). You are invited to visit us at all of those sites, plus the free companion site to this book at www.shoot-to-sell.com.

A Word to Filmmakers

The affordability of digital cameras and editing systems has spawned a generation of independent filmmakers. Our hats are off to these creative artists. They are producing some great entertainment. Most don’t have a chance of getting picked up by big distributors, but here’s the good news. The marketing techniques we’ll cover in this book also apply to independent films. You can take the reins and market and distribute your films yourself. There are many cases of filmmakers producing good movies on budgets under $10,000 who are making profits by selling their films using the strategies and tactics we’ll cover.

Ready to get started? Let’s begin with an introduction to what SIVs are and who buys them.

Chapter 1
Special Interest Videos and the World of Video Publishing

Chapter Objectives

• Understand what special interest videos (SIVs) are.
• Learn who produces SIVs.
• Get a better idea of who buys SIVs.
• See the financial potential of producing SIVs.

What do exercise videos, documentaries, and computer tutorials have in common? They are all special interest videos!

I personally don’t care for the term “special interest videos,” but I’ve struggled to find a better way to describe them and I always come back to that. Take the phrase apart and it is actually an accurate description. They are simply videos that appeal to a special interest. In fact, that’s the name Amazon and Netflix use to describe this broad category.

SIVs are usually differentiated from the movie and pure entertainment category like the book publishing industry differentiates non-fiction books from novels. Other terms you will see used to describe these types of programs include educational, instructional, non-fiction, or how-to videos. Call them what you like, for the sake of brevity we’ll stick with SIVs.

SIV topics can include histories, documentaries, nature programs, “kidvid,” safety, health, tutorials, travel, cooking, training, biographies, and much, much more. If there is something someone wants to know about a specific topic and the best way of explaining or showing it is through a video, that’s a special interest video.

Who Produces Special Interest Videos?

I want to stress again that this is not a get rich quick business. If that’s what you’re looking for then you’re going to be disappointed. This is a real business and it’s going to take work and dedication, just like any other business.

That said, it is something that people of even quite modest means can get into. It isn’t just large production companies with big budgets making these types of videos. For every large company, there are thousands of regular people like you and me, with small budgets and simple gear, producing profitable videos on all types of topics. In fact, many people are making and selling videos they produced without a camera, using only their computer. We introduce you to a couple of them in this book.

SIVs present a huge opportunity for coaches, speakers, or experts in a subject who want to take their special skill or knowledge, turn it into a video, and sell it. Making a video is easier and faster for most people than writing a book and can have more impact. Instead of training one-on-one, you could reach thousands of people around the world! Imagine how many people’s lives you can influence and change in this manner.

There are many examples of people making fortunes in SIVs. Jane Fonda and Suzanne Somers blazed a trail in the home exercise video market, a path taken up by their contemporary counterparts like Jillian Michaels and Tracy Anderson. The late Stephen Covey, Tony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, Brian Tracy, and scores of famous trainers and coaches have produced videos that are viewed millions of times all around the world. This business model is still highly profitable today with people like Suze Orman not only making a mark on television but selling SIVs as well.

But don’t think you need to be famous or a celebrity to make a successful special interest video.

Cole Mathews is the son of my former office manager. He took an early interest in video production and extreme sports, skateboarding competitions specifically, and he now travels the world producing videos on these events. He gets to indulge in his favorite activities and make a good living while he’s doing it. There are some teenage video entrepreneurs making successful SIVs by taping skateboarding, surfing, and BMX events, activities they love. Age is no barrier. Not having millions to invest isn’t either.

We have other filmmaker and non-videographer friends and associates successfully making and selling videos on diving, ocean kayaking, horse training, internet marketing, exercise, magic, dating, poker, real estate, and more.

My point is that almost any topic is fair game and almost everyone has the potential to produce one. If you have a hobby or burning interest in a subject, chances are there are other people who share your interest and they are your potential customers.

So you see, what falls under the category of “special interest videos” is almost limitless. The ability to produce one, no matter your age, financial situation, or lack of video knowledge, is within your reach.

Of course not everyone will be as financially successful as Jane Fonda or Tony Robbins, making millions off of their videos. However, what would an additional $500, $1,000, or more per month mean in your life? That could buy you a new car, cover your mortgage payment, fund your children’s college accounts, pay for that trip of a lifetime, or build up your retirement savings.

If you turn what you know into a video that sells moderately well, it is quite possible to make that much or far more. For us, sales of our SIVs allow us to say no to client work we don’t want, get our weekends back, focus on higher paying corporate clients, and of course, produce and sell more of our own video titles!

How would that additional income change your life?

What is the Market for Special Interest Videos?

Before we talk about who buys SIVs, you need to understand the concept of a niche because determining what niche you intend to sell in plays a large part in determining how much money you’ll make. One of my favorite sayings is, “there are riches in niches.” It comes down to knowing your market and going after it with laser focus.

In the marketing world and as defined in www.thefreedictionary.com, a niche is a special area of demand for a product or service.

For example, golf is such a ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Disclaimer
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• A Few Housekeeping Notes before We Start
• Part I Video Publishing Business
• Part II Pre-Production
• Part III Production and Post-Production
• Part IV Getting It Ready for Sale
• Part V Marketing
• Appendix A Sample Work for Hire Agreement
• Appendix B Sample Letter of Agreement
• Appendix C Simple Production Budget Sample
• Appendix D A/V Script Template
• Appendix E Storyboard Templates
• Appendix F Shot List Template
• Appendix G Sample Video Appearance Release Form
• Appendix H Sample Materials Release Form
• Appendix I Sample Location Release Form
• Appendix J Press Release Template
• Resources
• Glossary
• Notes
• Index