If you’re serious about selling your script and launching your screenwriting career, then you need to know how to promote and market your screenplay the right way.
In this article you’ll discover…
– An easy and effective way to promote your script
– How to get the attention of agents and producers
A lot of screenwriters, who, I have to say are excellent writers, are terrible when it comes to marketing their script. I would even go so far as to say that 95% of screenwriters write their script then cross their fingers and hope that somehow their script will magically find its way from their computer into the hands of an agent or producer.
The other 5% of screenwriters, who I have to say aren’t always the best writers, understand that getting their script into the right hands takes the right strategy and mindset.
That being said, times have changed and Hollywood has changed a lot in recent years. Hollywood has not only become more open to new writers entering the industry, but the way that Hollywood agents and producers do business has changed too.
The Internet Changed Everything
In this series of articles, I’m gong to show you how you can leverage the power of the Internet to get your screenplay seen and read by the right people.
Now you’ve written a great screenplay, which is wonderful, however, the main problem is this… screenplays are long—90 pages at least. So how do you get the right people to spend at least 1-2 hours of their life reading your script?
The answer is simple but not always easy to execute—that is, you have to get people excited about your work. Now writing a query letter is a great way to promote your screenplay and get people excited about your work. But I would also like to add three more excellent marketing techniques that you can use to promote your script (and that can be incorporated in your query letter as well).
Hollywood Does It And So Should You
Any idea what I’m talking about? I’m talking about movie trailers.
Have you ever watched an amazing movie trailer and thought to yourself, “I can’t wait to watch the movie.” Every time you watch the trailer you get more and more excited about seeing the movie when it comes out. This is the power of effective marketing at work.
Have you ever thought why movie trailers are so effective? It’s for the simple reason that they build anticipation and they’re short and easy to grab your attention.
Ever tried pitching your screenplay and found yourself getting tongue-tied, missing out all the important parts of your story and feeling like you just didn’t do screenplay justice?
I’ve seen this happen hundreds of times when dealing with screenwriters. They’ve written an excellent script but they just didn’t know how to sell it.
The writers rambled on about the story and the characters (this is common both in person and in query letters) and they end up turning their audience off and killing all interest in their screenplay (which is often genuinely good).
A Movie Trailer Is A Great Way To Promote Your Script
Have you ever considered putting together a movie trailer to promote your screenplay?
You might be surprised to hear that this can be done very cheaply and even for free (especially if you are able to get in touch with film students and editors who are skilled, but simply looking to build up their portfolio).
Imagine how easy it would be to pitch your screenplay if you had a movie trailer of your script ready to go.
You meet someone at a networking event and they ask you what your script is about — you simply send them a link to your trailer. This person can then watch your trailer on the spot and know exactly what your screenplay is about.
Not only that, this person can watch your trailer multiple times to get the full flavor for your story and the more they watch your trailer, the more excited they will be to read your actual script.
Did I also mention how useful this approach is when it comes to getting people’s contact details. What do you think will happen if you go up to an agent or a producer and ask them for their contact details because you want to send them your script?
Nine times out of ten, they’ll say no or refer you to their assistant or someone else.
But what do you think will happen if you say to these same agents and producers, “Hey, do you have a minute so I can show you the trailer for my screenplay?” They’ll most likely watch it and if they’re gripped by the first ten seconds, they’ll keep watching. Then the real magic takes place.
You can then ask the agent or producer for their email address so you can send them a link to your trailer and your script as well. This has worked on me and my colleagues before and it will work for you too.
Include A Link To Your Trailer In Your Query Letter
Now, you all know that Script Mailer can send your query letter out to agents and producers. I won’t pretend that Hollywood is a perfect system. A lot of great writers with incredible screenplays still get overlooked (just like George Lucas and J.K. Rowling were initially overlooked too).
I have, however, noticed a trend where screenwriters who are having the most success with their query letters are writing great pitches, and, in other cases, they’re including a link to a promotional trailer for their script.
(You can put your trailer on YouTube and then link to your trailer in your query letter.)
Making a trailer is a very effective way to pitch a script, and if you can embrace modern technology it can really give you a huge advantage when it comes to marketing your screenplay.
I have also noticed another great promotional technique that only a handful of screenwriters are using to great effect. In my next article, I’ll tell you what this other promotional technique is.
Until then, consider putting together a good quality promotional trailer for your screenplay—the results for those of you who are bold enough to try this method are well worth it.
*Jennifer Sloane has worked as a screenplay agent in Los Angeles and Nashville for the last five years. Jennifer loves good movies, music and animals. A former television and movie executive, Jennifer currently heads business development at Script Mailer (a company that connects screenwriters with agents and producers in Hollywood).