How much do you make

[Oliver Daniel]

10 hours ago, IronFilm said:

@Oliver Daniel , best post in this thread so far. 

Thanks! 

[Oliver Daniel]

2 hours ago, Jonesy Jones said:

The problem with this is that you are now on the hook for results. And this is another problem I see with video is that there is very rarely a direct roi. 

Video can be very productive when it is part of a synchronized campaign thrust. So we’d need a solid marketing plan. Is that our job now?

What am I missing?

Yes you’re on the hook. But like all things, to reach high levels of financial success you have to take big risks. 

You’re not quite right with the ROI thing. You can measure this stuff very precisely.

To enlighten you further, imagine two meetings, where one guy is offering “a beautifully shot video”,  and the other is offering a 300% sales increase for the business (using video). Who are they going to choose? 

Ive seen a huge shift in the way clients see myself by speaking to them in a way they can see how the video materials will be handled and distributed to get a result. 

Yes, you will need distribution and media buying knowledge. But it’s a great way of making you stand out from other video creators. Being the “dude with a camera” is fine for a lot of people, but if you’re after growth, it’s going to be very hard.

Plus, if you can get the client a business result, the income is WAY better and gives you more freedom for passion projects. 

[zerocool22]

38 minutes ago, Oliver Daniel said:

Yes you’re on the hook. But like all things, to reach high levels of financial success you have to take big risks. 

You’re not quite right with the ROI thing. You can measure this stuff very precisely.

To enlighten you further, imagine two meetings, where one guy is offering “a beautifully shot video”,  and the other is offering a 300% sales increase for the business (using video). Who are they going to choose? 

Ive seen a huge shift in the way clients see myself by speaking to them in a way they can see how the video materials will be handled and distributed to get a result. 

Yes, you will need distribution and media buying knowledge. But it’s a great way of making you stand out from other video creators. Being the “dude with a camera” is fine for a lot of people, but if you’re after growth, it’s going to be very hard.

Plus, if you can get the client a business result, the income is WAY better and gives you more freedom for passion projects. 

Yes I can follow that. But how do you measure the ROI exactly? Do you manage the google adsense, face book ads and get a report from their sales department? 

[Oliver Daniel]

2 hours ago, zerocool22 said:

Yes I can follow that. But how do you measure the ROI exactly? Do you manage the google adsense, face book ads and get a report from their sales department? 

You can see this yourself without asking a sales department, but you will need access to their page / ad account management. 

For example, your videos might be sequenced in a series of FB Ads for an e-commerce brand.

At the first stage, you show an awareness video to a cold audience. 

Secondly, segment the audience that has watched 50% + of the first video and show them product focused videos for website traffic. 

During their research they’ll see promos, explainers, how-to’s etc around the web. Some will convert to a sale, others won’t. 

Those who don’t convert need a reminder or incentive, based on their online behaviour. So you use content re-marketing like testimonial videos to nudge them back to the basket. 

Whatever the objectives are, you can measure the ad spend behind the videos against a tracker event that will show you the sales conversion amount. 

I have someone else to manage the distribution aspect, but I have to understand it so my creative approach is also strategic. This is also how I speak to a client. They feel they are being served by someone who knows how to make video work specifically for their business need. 

At the end of the day, I just love shooting and editing stuff really! 

[Jonesy Jones]

So yeah. You’re no longer talking about filmmaking, but a marketing firm. For those with that skill set, or willing to dive in that’s great. Some of us are/were filmmakers. And that’s a lifelong pursuit as it is. I mean just how many hats does a guy need to wear?

[thebrothersthre3]

15 minutes ago, Jonesy Jones said:

So yeah. You’re no longer talking about filmmaking, but a marketing firm. For those with that skill set, or willing to dive in that’s great. Some of us are/were filmmakers. And that’s a lifelong pursuit as it is. I mean just how many hats does a guy need to wear?

I think its just the reality for most creative jobs. Its either you know the right people or you are lucky or you are good at business or at least marketing yourself. 

[IronFilm]

3 hours ago, Jonesy Jones said:

So yeah. You’re no longer talking about filmmaking, but a marketing firm. For those with that skill set, or willing to dive in that’s great. Some of us are/were filmmakers. And that’s a lifelong pursuit as it is. I mean just how many hats does a guy need to wear?

 
If you move up market to do bigger jobs you'll also get the chance to wear less hats as you can delegate certain roles. For example no longer will you need to be a master of sound as well, as you'll be landing bigger gigs where you can hire someone to be your sound recordist on the shoot. 

[Oliver Daniel]

6 hours ago, Jonesy Jones said:

So yeah. You’re no longer talking about filmmaking, but a marketing firm. For those with that skill set, or willing to dive in that’s great. Some of us are/were filmmakers. And that’s a lifelong pursuit as it is. I mean just how many hats does a guy need to wear?

In the commercial world, filmmaking is first and foremost a marketing tool. It is for music videos too, but that market see it differently and you have to treat it as such. 

You don't have to where all the hats. I don't want to wear all the hats either. *overwhelm* You'd do better financially if you had that system in place, however if you're able to talk both strategically and creative, plus integrate seamlessly with other marketing skillsets - people take you much more seriously. They don't see you as just as video guy. That's my experience anyway. 

p.s learning stuff away from filmmaking is confronting, stressful and uncomfortable. Does my head in but it's getting easier. Also video in my local area is massively oversaturated. Over the past I've had to move ahead and differentiate.  Just having an attractive style isn't enough.