Go no further than listening to this interview with Social Media expert Linda Nelson!

Take notes as Linda reveals her 5 biggest tips specifically targeted to filmmakers, that you’ll want to take and put into action immediately. Ready?…. Here you go…. Enjoy!

Got questions? Go ahead and post them underneath and Linda can answer you here…. OR, you can contact her directly at Linda @ NelsonMadisonFilms.com if you would like individual help creating a custom Facebook page for your film ***

OK, so here’s one very common situation I’m seeing a lot of lately….

A filmmaker comes to me with a film at the script stage and doesn’t know what to do first or even where to turn to for funding. Anybody out there ever been in this spot??

The first thing I ask any filmmaker in this situation is “How Much Are You Trying To Raise”? Depending on what their answer is, I determine FIRST whether that is even a realistic budget or not taking into account: 1) whether they are a first time filmmaker, 2) someone with a track record behind them, or 3) someone who has ’some’ experience but not a real track record per se….

For first time filmmakers or filmmakers with ’some’ experience but no real track record, I always recommend they bring on board their project either a Director, Producer, or Executive Producer with more experience, so they can leverage someone else’s track record to start creating their own.

Next, I recommend the filmmaker take an honest look at the amount they want to make their film for, and then I work through realistic sales projections with them so we can determine whether or not they even have a shot of recouping their budget. Sometimes we find a way to make it work for the budget they want, but sometimes it requires adjusting the film’s budget to meet the realities of the market (never a fun thing but necessary if they want to break even or profit with your film).

Once we determine a realistic starting point in terms of budget for the film, we set out creating a plan of attack for getting all the necessary elements in place to actually justify the film’s budget, and then figure out how to present all this properly in the form of websites, pitch packets, and other marketing collateral.

Finally we figure out the appropriate audience & venue with which to start moving forward – is it via live sales presentations to private investors? Is it via a Crowd Funding campaign for development funds? Is it via Pre-Sales to targeted buyers at the next film market? Shopping it one by one to executives in their offices? Or a combination of a few or all of these?

You see how every film needs it’s own Strategy depending on what it is and who it’s for?

There’s obviously a lot more involved in financing your film, but I wanted to simplify the process somewhat so you can at least see a STARTING POINT. That’s what I find trips up so many filmmakers: they don’t know where to START. And if you don’t at least start the process, you’ll just continue to find yourself stuck in the same position month after month, year after year, with no movement and feeling increasingly frustrated. So whatever you do – whether you get help with this process , or embark on it on your own, start NOW and get the ball rolling, and then it won’t be so overwhelming any more….

So for those of you who are in this situation now, or have been in it before, what experiences have you had that you can share with us, and maybe help someone else who’s experiencing Overwhelm right now?

To cap off my series here of Filmmaker Case Studies from Film Markets, I wanted to include a recent interview I did with Digital Production Buzz called “5 Tips: Prepping For AFM”.



Any of you planning on having your films at AFM? If so, are there any remaining questions you have that were answered in any of the case studies I posted? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

And if after all that, you still feel like you want help with getting YOUR film to the next Film Market (AFM), check out my FILM MARKET LAB PROGRAM where you can save $50 if you register before Monday, August 9. There’s only 4 spaces left at the time of this writing so register this weekend so you don’t miss the boat!