The Power of Releasing Your Film Backwards

Backwards is the New Forwards

Many filmmakers are using YouTube as their main distribution strategy because it allows them to build a massive international audience and earn a larger revenue from YouTube than other AVOD and SVOD platforms.

However, many are releasing their film too late in their marketing campaign on YouTube, which feels backwards, and the best practice would be to release it backwards. 

What the H-E double hockey sticks(hell) does that mean? ❗

The current model of a releasing a film goes something like this…

• Release teaser trailer

• Release behind the scenes/making of movie

• Release snippets or scenes from the movie

• Release full trailer

• Release film!

That feels backwards!

So do that backwards for a better model.

Why does that feel backwards?

Because you are emulating an old model to build as much awareness and exposure as possible to get an audience to pay and see your film in one large short burst - the release weekend in cinemas.

The main way a traditional movie makes money is a cinema release(we won’t talk about streaming because that is a bit different). This is why ALL promo material happens before the release of the film, from interviews with journalists, to trailers, to snippet behind the scenes and making of. The studios want to drive as much attention and awareness to get someone to see the movie as quickly as possible the day the movie is released in cinemas.

But that's not how YouTube works. YouTube is a platform of instant gratification, so you want to give the users what they want right away. That means when they watch the trailer for your film, they want to see that film right away - so the trailer should point the audience directly to the film to watch on YouTube, NOT to make them aware that the film will come at a much later date.

The Better Method of Releasing Your Film

Real quick before we dive into this. You may be saying - “Why the heck would I release my film on YouTube. What about Netflix or Amazon Prime?”

I’m not against looking at other routes for distribution. If your GOAL is to find an audience AND earn a revenue(so that you can have some kind of salary to keep making movies) then a YouTube release is one of the best strategies. Also, it can be something you do after film festivals. With YouTube you can easily build an international global audience while earning income from adsense and potential other sponsorship opportunities.

So here is the new model for releasing your film.

• Release the film first

Now that you have the film out, you have a way to point all the attention from the rest of the stuff below, to your film.

• Release teaser trailer

• Release behind the scenes/making of

• Release snippets and scenes from the film

• Release the official trailer

• Release interviews with cast and crew

At the end of each of those videos, you can go ahead and direct the viewer to watch the official film by having a thumbnail at the end of the video and having a link in the description to the official film on YouTube.

On YouTube it doesn't matter if the film is there first. That's not the game, the game is long tail. Your audience doesn’t care when you released the film, they only care that they can watch it right now.

It’s a Long Tail Game

When we talk about the "long tail" for a film on YouTube, we're referring to how it can continue to attract viewers and generate revenue long after its initial release. Instead of just relying on a big burst of views when it's first uploaded, the long tail means that the film can keep getting smaller but consistent numbers of views over a long period. This happens because YouTube's algorithm can keep recommending the film to new viewers based on their interests, and it can be discovered through searches or related videos. So, even though it might not be a huge hit right away, the film can build a cumulative audience over time, leading to a steady stream of income and increased visibility in the long run.

Meaning you are driving consistent and constant attention to the film that is already released...not the film you are about to release.

Now this isn't to say you can't or shouldn’t have some sort of promo material before hand, but don't put all the promo and marketing upfront, save a majority of it after you post the film on YouTube.

Your goal isn't to build awareness BEFORE the film, it is to drive audience engagement AFTER the film is released.

Driving In Reverse

If you spend all your effort and promotion and marketing weeks even months before you release your film on YouTube, you risk creating awareness that fades and is forgotten. That is because the audience may even forget they watched the trailer for the film. They are not marking it in their calendars for when your film releases on YouTube. So when you do release it, all those people who watched the trailer may not show up to watch the film.

In a cinema it is different because viewers of the trailer and other marketing material will recognize the name and film when they see it listed in the cinema.

But on youtube, it may not work that way. So instead drive traffic to the film after it has been released.

That is driving in reverse. It’s like starting at your destination and driving backwards from there to show the path to the destination

Your destination is the completed film and that is your starting point. Everything you do from there shows the audience the directions to the film.

Now all that amazing content you release will drive audiences right to your movie. Trailers, interviews with directors, writers, actors, producer, et cetera.

This isn’t just for your feature film. Take the same approach for your short film.

Drive Awareness Differently

We are in a different era of cinema, streaming, and indie filmmaking. You need to stand out, you need your film to stand out. You have to think differently about how you will drive audience awareness to your film.

When someone watches your film, you are asking them to not watch Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Max, sports, lives events, other YouTube videos like Mr. Beast, and the thousands of other things they could be watching instead. Use the opportunity of their attention to drive them to your film NOT before it is released but AFTER it is released.

Bonus Tip* to drive traffic to your film! Don’t give the title of the YouTube video the name of the film, use the logline as the title of the YouTube video. The title of the YouTube video is the hook that pulls in the audience. The logline is the hook of the film.

As an example:

Movie Title as Youtube title: Harvest of Heist movie

Logline as the YouTube title: A farmer orchestrates a daring bank heist to pay for his daughter's medical bills, risking everything to save her life.

As a YouTube viewer, which video are you more likely to click on.

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