The Power of Viral Marketing

Want to be talked about? An element of surprise is a sure fire way to do it. Oh, and made sure you have the cameras ready! Please take a look at the following video below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw You may not have realized it at first, but this was in fact a recent advertisement for the launch of TNT in Belgium. Although their audience wasn’t huge at the scene, it became much bigger after the video was uploaded on Youtube. It is definitely something people all over the world are talking about. Along those lines, here is another one put on by Body By Vi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXSb9BDenjk It is amazing how an audience of possibly twenty people can turn to millions in a matter of hours by the power of the Internet. Although the audience of the event is obviously important, the larger virtual audience is much more of a difference. According to an article from VA4Business, “These contents evoke a chain reaction between the users of the social networking services and because of their interesting content gets the users to share it on and on which actually makes them go viral and bring a lot of visitors.” The thing that is great about this form of advertising is that it is one of the most inexpensive ways of getting positive attention. In order to be successful all you really need is a rehearsed plan of action, a location, and someone recording it. I believe the only con of this type of marketing is the risk of something going wrong and the potential for any sort of intellectual property infringement. If your company decides to take this route, it will be important to do your research and fully prepare in order to avoid these risks. Otherwise, the benefits can be better than ever expected, as it is a hugely growing trend. Even if you aren’t necessarily trying to sell something, it is important to create awareness. If your business is talked about, it is almost guaranteed that in turn, your sales and web traffic will go up. The goal is simple: shock and awe.

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New Funding Options For Your Business

One ever-evolving area of the entertainment industry that I believe deserves a
further look – is the often overlooked area of finance. As artists and entertainers are
more concerned with ‘creating’ the end result, they can often run into a number of
hurdles when the time comes to finance the final production or product.

Finance and accounting has historically had a number of negative stigmas attached
to it - it is often considered to be boring, lacking creativity and more hassle then it is
worth. This has changed dramatically since the utilization of the Internet for sharing
ideas, videos, products and collaborations.

Not only is the birth of Social Funding creating a new avenue for artists to gain
support and much needed funding, but it is also helping to keep alive many lost
arts. One of my personal favorite examples of this is a phenomenal website
www.kickstarter.com. One of the pioneers of collective social funding, it’s a site
where you create a pitch for a product/design/art/production etc and you decide
how much you need to complete the project. Then you wait and see if people
gravitate to your idea and want to help support your idea. If you get 100% funding
then you get it all, if you don’t get 100% of it – then you don’t get any of it, but you
get a chance to try again. Even if you fail to get financing – you still get access to
much needed feedback and of course publicity.

Kickstarter Project

Check this page out! It is a perfect example of how over 2,000 ordinary people got
together to support a mixed media project that may not have seen the light of day
if it wasn’t for social funding. Not only are they creating a piece of art, they are also
keeping vinyl alive. The project needed $6,500 to be successful, and ended up with a
staggering $61,218!

This new avenue that is available for artists and entertainers alike has the potential
to bring so much more undervalued and under appreciated work to the masses. This
can only be a good thing! Personally speaking, I love the idea that I can have an idea
for a show and I can get it off the ground a lot faster with the likes of Kickstarter
and other social funding resources. The funding provided can help provide a higher
caliber of work to the end user.

It’s an exciting time to be graduating from college with an eagerness to create!
When I graduated from my Drama Degree from the University of Washington, I
remember discussing an article discussing the impact an economic recession has on
the art’s organizations. It went on to discuss the decrease in funding to help keep the
doors open, the potential decrease in quality and the decrease in attendance. While
this scared and saddened me to hear, the new finance avenues available to budding
artists and entertainers really excite me.

Bob Dylan said it best – “ The Times They Are a-Changin’ ” (Jan 1964).

Related Links:

http://www.arts.wa.gov/projects/documents/Arts-And-Recession.pdf&pli=1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCWdCKPtnYE

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Taking Advice From The Experts

The first business plan expert that I took advice from was Paul Grant, who is the founder of The Funding Game and NextMentor in the Mentoring Program. He mentioned that the most important piece of a business plan is the executive summary. He stated that it is important to make the executive summary easy to read and not too lengthy. This is because of the fact that investors take a first look at the executive summary to decide if they want to read on or meet with you in person. Investors look at an executive summary like an employer looks at a cover letter or resume.

When developing my business plan, I put a lot of thought into the executive summary based on Grant’s recommendations. This not only made the summary more concise and to the point, but it really helped me prioritize the points of the company that I needed to get across in a short amount of time. It helped me weed out sentences based on what the investor needs to know, before getting bored and running out of time. It really helped me define what makes my company unique and something worth investing in.

The second business plan expert that I took advice from was from Greg Alexander, the CEO of Atlanta Family Fun Centers. He stresses the importance of reducing the risk for an investor, and to show that you take your competition seriously. It’s recommended that you leave room for unexpected changes in your business plan.

While developing my plan, when I needed to adjust numbers or budgets at all, I at first started getting really frustrated. One number change in my budget could make me have rerun and rethink the entire plan. After doing this a couple of times, I started to realize that although I did have to do my work over again in order to make a small change, it was probably a good sign. It is important to be confident with a business plan, but it definitely needs to be something that you are able to alter due to conditions, sales, competition etc. It definitely helped me assess lots of different possibilities and changes and how to go about altering them.

The third business plan expert that I took advice from was Sean Christiansen, the Chief Technology Officer at the University of Central Florida Venture Lab. He stated that one of the most important parts of a business plan is pointing out potential competitors’ barriers to entry. He mentioned that it is extremely important to point out to investors how you will prevent competitors from gaining control of your market.

I felt like I learned a lot during the development of this part of the business plan because it not only helped me realize what advantages my company would have over competitors, but helped me realize what the company would have to do to in order keep our customers and make it more difficult for competitors to come into the market. Before, I honestly was only thinking about competitive advantages and gaining new customers, but Christiansen’s words made me realize that I not only have to be proactive towards what my company can offer, but also reactive when thinking about other business looking for my target market as well.


References:
http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/

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The Importance Of Knowing The Business

After graduating at the University of Washington with a degree in Drama, I was a little unsure where to go from there. I had completed a few internships in the television industry (which I loved) but was also involved in theatre productions as well. My mind was all over the place. What did I want to do? Acting, stage production, television production, writing, casting, journalism? I wanted it all!

There was so much that I wanted to do in the industry and it was hard facing the pressure that I had to decide on something. That is precisely when I decided to get my Masters in Entertainment Business. Throughout the program I have definitely realized certain aspects of the industry that I enjoy more than others, but I wanted to have a solid foundation in the industry as a whole.

At first I let it bother me when people asked me what I wanted to do with my degree and I didn’t exactly have an answer. Don’t get me wrong. I think it is extremely important to set goals and have a plan of action in mind, but I have come to the realization that knowing the industry as a whole, makes you extremely marketable and versatile in the industry and you won’t be limited as to what you can accomplish.

Let’s take actress Octavia Spencer for example. If you missed the Oscars, click here to see her win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I did some research online and actually found out that she started her career in casting, but was asked to audition by the director of A Time To Kill and landed a role in her first movie. She has been landing acting roles ever since. I have no doubt that her experience casting has helped her acting ability as well. She isn’t the only one who has followed this pattern. There are several actors on SNL that started out as writers who continue to both write and act.

These may be lucky coincidences but I have a feeling that a huge part of these entertainment professionals being so versatile, is their knowledge of the industry and experience. Even if you start out at the bottom, you never know when an opportunity might arise and getting as much experience in the industry in general, will help your credibility. Although I intend to create goals for myself, I just want to get involved in the industry in any way possible, whether it’s taking tickets, interning, working as a production assistant, etc. There will be a lot to learn and it will help me out greatly in the long run! I am officially inspired!

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It's Just Business!

I think it is a great quality to be able to separate business decisions from personal ones and ultimately do what is best for your company. It is often very hard to let the boundaries collide and let hurt feelings get in the way of putting the company's best interests first. One of the business people whom I greatly admire for this is Simon Cowell.

Simon's recent season of the US X Factor did not meet viewer expectations at all although the show was widely anticipated. He created a ton of hype over something that ultimately did not produce the results he had hoped for. His solution? Evaluate what was done well and what was done wrong and make adjustments for next season. Simple as that. Like it was nothing, he fired the host of the show, and two of the other judges. Here is an article that discusses the sudden announcement. Simon Cowell obviously had a friendship with Paula Abdul and had worked with both Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones before. For whatever reason, he decided the show would be better off without them. It had to be difficult taking these colleagues feelings into consideration! The bottom line is that you and your business will be more successful if you are thinking about the brand first and foremost, whether or not it affects those personal relationships. Rumor has it, that Steve Jobs was a major jerk who didn't care about hurting anyone's feelings. He created several enemies on his way to the top! Having the ability to separate the two is a unique quality, but the thing I admire about Simon Cowell is that he somehow makes these decisions the right way without creating a backlash from his coworkers. If you read the article, you can see that the people fired did not have one bad thing to say about Simon or the way that they were let go from the show. Paula actually looks forward to working with him again! I want to know what his secret is! It is one thing to be successful by knocking down others along the way, but anyone that has an opportunity to work with him still jumps at the chance (even if they have been burned before). I would love to see how the makes his decisions and how these decisions are handled once made by Simon. He's definitely taught me that it is okay to put your brand first, but proves that a little tact goes a long way!

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Blogging Success

It is resolution time! This week I will be focusing on one of the blogs that I currently follow and inspire to be like! In the first month of school I learned about professional learning networks and how important they are when connecting with people. One of the blogs that I choose to follow called Producer's Perspective
and it seems to have done everything right! Please feel free to take a look around. Ken Davenport is the author and he is currently a Broadway and off-Broadway Producer. He has written several books and heads workshops related to getting a show off the ground. He really has created quite the online community and is considered an expert in the industry. As you can see by his blog, there aren’t direct ads, but he is frequently holding contests to give out show tickets and other freebies for promoting those shows and he currently has quite a few blog followers. There are several things that I think have contributed to the blog’s success. I’m going to try and break them down and then take my own advice and give my blog a little makeover!

First of all, Ken never creates blog posts just to create content. For every one of his posts, he has something to say and the content is interesting. I’ve never read a boring post. He always has an idea and opinion, which he backs up very well!

He also has a very specific niche that he is targeting. Broadway. He focuses on Broadway as it’s own industry and although his posts aren’t always focused on a specific show or actor, they are focused on innovative ideas in order to make the business of Broadway better as a whole. He doesn’t stray of subject and his blog followers know that he is one to trust in the industry.

He has a market. Although a niche is very important, having a market that is interested in that niche is just as important. Ken is located in New York City and has marketed his blog to people in the industry and interested in the industry!

He is a real person. I’ve noticed that he relates to people and opens up in his blog posts. It is in no way pretentious and it shows that although an expert in his field, he shows he is a human being. He is also always asking for input and reaching out to his fellow blog followers.

He has really created a brand with his blog. Producer’s Prospective is now a brand of his own and goes hand in hand with his books and stage workshops that he offers.

He updates regularly. I’ve been told being inconsistent with blog posts can make you seem unreliable and can actually devalue your blog. Ken updates his blogs almost daily. Every once in a while he will miss a day here or there, but never a week.

It is marketed well! You can tell he knows the ins and outs of social media, as there are links to post content on Facebook, Twitter, and even your own blog! This not only helps get the word out about his blog, but will also help his search engine optimization. This is my main resolution. Although I know a lot about Facebook, there is still so much to learn about ways to share this type of information. Twitter and Pinterest are the two I definitely need to brush up on. This can be difficult, but it isn’t something that you just learn. It’s constantly changing and evolving so it’s extremely important to stay updated! Ken’s done a great job of this!

References:

Image from: http://wjlta.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/rss-logo.jpg
http://www.theproducersperspective.com/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57333218/7-rules-of-successful-bloggers/

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An Interview with Trudy Ludwig!

Considering that this month is focused on publishing, I thought it would be a great opportunity to interview a published author, who I am proud to say is my aunt! Trudy Ludwig is a published Children's author specializing in issues related to the subject of Bullying. Although her books are intended for children, both the parent and the child can learn from her material. Feel free to check out her website here! Hope you enjoy the interview and comments are appreciated!

Was the passion that you had for writing always something you were eager to pursue or did you notice a lack of literature covering this topic which inspired you to write about it?

It was a combination of both. I’ve been a writer by profession for many years. Throughout my earlier career as an advertising / marketing copywriter, I never quite felt passionate about my craft. I knew I loved to write. I just didn’t love what I was writing.
My creative life turned around when my daughter, who was seven at the time, became the target of bullying friends. As a parent, I have often read to my own children stories that help instill moral values, provide positive role models, and address social/emotional issues. But in my search for age-appropriate books to address the very real and rampant problem of social cruelty among peers, I came up empty-handed. Frustrated with this resource gap, I decided to write my first picture book, My Secret Bully, to help empower my daughter and many children like her to make healthier friendship choices. It was such a rewarding and energizing experience for me that I quit my freelance copywriting career to focus on making a difference in kids’ lives, one book at a time.

Once you knew that writing was something that you wanted to pursue, what were the first steps that you took to get started? Did you shop around for agents/publishers or did you start by self-publishing?

After I had written the manuscript, I approached some organizations and experts and asked for their review and, if they liked what they read, endorsement. Once I had professional endorsements, I went to the library to research literary agents and publishing houses to come up with my target list for submissions. I also networked with other published authors and one of my contacts gave me the name of a small press in Oregon who ended up publishing My Secret Bully.

Once you signed on with a publishing company, did you stick with a one-piece deal or did you agree on a multiple book agreement?

I didn’t sign a multiple book agreement. I wanted my relationship to be based on a book-by-book basis. My first publisher, with my approval, sold my first contract to another publisher, as he had to sell his business due to health reasons, and he made sure I was in good hands with my new publisher, Tricycle Press. I loved working with Tricycle and they had been so very supportive of my books that I constantly kept coming back to them with subsequent manuscripts, which they published. Recently Random House Children’s Books took over Tricycle and I’m now with their imprint, Alfred A. Knopf.

Where can we find your books now?

They are available wherever books are sold (e.g., independent bookstores and national chains, online, and through Random House Children’s Books).


What other outlets have these books provided for you to share your message? What is next for Trudy Ludwig?

I’ve been able to present at schools and conferences around the U.S., educating students, parents, and teachers on these important topics. I also collaborate with leading experts and organizations and have been profiled on national / regional television and radio and in newsprint.
What advice would you have for someone just starting out, who has a great idea for a piece or maybe has even drafted one? It’s important to understand that every writer’s path toward publishing is as different and unique as the story he/she writes. Research the publishing avenues available to you and weigh their advantages and disadvantages with your personal and professional strengths and weaknesses to determine which avenue is the right fit for you.
Write your story. Edit it. Then edit it again. Keep editing your work until you feel that it’s the best it can be. Then have other people read it and critique it. If you’ve written a children’s story, have kids of different ages read your story and give you feedback on the plot, vocabulary usage, etc. Then make further edits, where necessary. Do all this BEFORE you submit your manuscript to a publisher or literary agent.
Research other published books related to your manuscript’s subject matter. Those publishers may be interested in your book, as well. Also check out the author’s dedication page to see if there is any mention of his/her literary agent’s name. That agent may be worth contacting to see if he/she is interested in representing your book.
Network. Network. Network! Join writers groups and associations in your region and around the nation to connect with others in the writing profession. For example, if you want to be a children’s author, check out the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Search the Internet for listings of those groups you may want to consider joining. Last, but not least, don’t let fear of rejection get in the way of your dreams to become a published author. Perseverance is crucial!

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SOPA

This past Wednesday, I was getting ready to start my discussion post for class. This particular discussion post was about POD (print on demand) websites for writers interested in self-publishing. Knowing little about the subject, I decided to check out Wikipedia to get a basic overview of what these sites were and how they worked. This was the page I found:

First of all, I felt extremely out of the loop for not having heard of SOPA or PIPA before. It is a major issue in the entertainment industry, yet I hadn’t heard anything of it until that day! What I can tell you is that if all these sites were on a 24-hour blackout to raise awareness, I would say their mission has been accomplished. I took the time to do my research a little bit and here is what I was able to find as a general overview.

SOPA (Stop Online Privacy Act) is an act that will be voted on by congress on January 24. The act is meant to curb online piracy and its main supporters are powerhouses in the entertainment industry. If the act passes, it will give the government the power to block access to websites with infringing material or the potential of having infringing material. This will affect numerous websites and will have a major impact on specifically websites that have user-generated material. It will also give corporations power to sue search engines that provide links to the sites with infringing material. This act will also force advertisers to cut off funds completely from websites accused of infringing material. Piracy and the infringement of Intellectual Property has been a major problem since the startup of the Internet and I do agree it is a problem in need of a solution. Coming from a background in the entertainment industry, I do realize how important it is to protect those rights. After looking over the potential cons of this act though, has mad me come to the opinion that there has got to be a better way of trying to curb piracy than the actions proposed by SOPA.

According to some of the research that I have done, putting this act into place won’t necessarily stop down loaders. Although these sites won’t be easily found in search engines, the down loaders will still be able to access these sites simply by putting in a complete web address instead of the website’s name. If the act passes there is a strong likelihood that user based websites will not exist anymore: Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc. If one of their users were to post infringing material, their whole business could be shut down completely! One of the main problems I see if this act passes is the potential for abuse. SOPA could make it possible for companies that feel infringed upon to get the suspected infringers shut down without even a court hearing. I definitely respect the entertainment industry, but I do feel that there has to be a better way to protect this intellectual property other than having the web completely censored! It violates our freedom of speech and from what I’ve found, it may make the web less secure. I just feel that it is a very slippery slope as to how far this can go. Feel free to check out some of the websites below and stay tuned!

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/283781/20120118/sopa-blackout-jan-18-bill-supporters-protesters.htm#page2


http://socialtimes.com/a-quick-overview-of-sopa-will-it-pass_b87740


http://americancensorship.org/

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