Film Promotion: Market Your Movie on a Budget
Get your film in front of the right audience — fast. We help indie and commercial filmmakers build momentum, attract attention, and market movies with an honest, budget-friendly review.
Standard pricing is $49 for a short film review (under 40-minute runtime) and $99 for a feature film (over 40-minute runtime).
We will determine if your film meets our editorial standards before processing any payment. All payments are handled securely via PayPal.
When you contact us, please provide your name, email, a synopsis of your film, whether it’s a short or a feature, a trailer (if available), and a link to view the film (if available). We will get back to you within 24 hours (excluding weekends) to confirm your film’s eligibility and begin the process. Once payment is confirmed, you will receive notification of the published review within 5 business days.
At Philosophy in Film, we believe in promoting independent filmmakers and their work. We understand that promoting indie films is hard because few things in life (including movie marketing campaigns) are free. Fortunately, we offer indie movie promotional services at very affordable rates!
____________________________________________________________________________________
Independent Movie Marketing with Philosophy in Film
Philosophy in Film will promote your film on our social media channels for free. However, we do screen films to ensure that they match the tone of our site and the interests of our readers before we engage in any promotion.
For more effective and lasting marketing, we will write and publish a review of your film (like this one) and promote it through social media. Prices are based on the length of your film (under 40 minutes or over 40 minutes), but we do make discount considerations for micro-budget films on a case-by-case basis.
So, here’s a quick recap of our promotional services for indie films:
- Social Media Shoutout – *Free of charge; reaches thousands of people instantly. (*your movie must meet our editorial standards)
- Review + Direct Link to Film + Social Media Shoutout (our most popular choice) – Requires a fee; reaches thousands of people instantly; a review (750+ words) brings in more viewers early on, as well as thousands of additional viewers over time. We also link to your film page(s) or any accounts linked to your film production you’d like to promote (e.g. link to stream/rent/purchase your film, relevant social media account, production company website, etc.). Your film must still meet our editorial standards for publication.
For more information on film promotion pricing, reach out to us directly, or send a message to our Facebook Page (the former method will get you a faster response than the latter!).
We realize that our platform is not the only way to promote your film. We just wanted to let you know that we’re at your service if you need us! It’s important to remember that the people who come to Philosophy in Film are generally interested in independent films, avant-garde films, surrealist films, horror films, short films, and the like. So, if you’re trying to promote a mainstream action movie or romantic comedy, this may not be the right place for you!
In any case, let’s look at some other ways to market and promote your movie on a tight budget!
How to Market a Movie Without Breaking the Bank
The movie industry is constantly evolving. The industry of today is vastly different from the one we knew just 10 years ago. As a result, you should stay updated on ways to effectively market your movie. It could make the difference between screening your movie in your apartment or debuting your work at a major film festival!
So, let’s look at 5 proven methods to market and promote your indie film project!
Set Aside Funds for Film Promotion Ahead of Time
It doesn’t matter if you made your film for $1 or $1 million, you need to have a marketing budget. Most independent filmmakers focus on the funds they need to actually make the movie and completely ignore marketing. Then, they do everything in their power to market their project for free.
While we definitely recommend taking advantage of free movie marketing strategies (more on that later), you still need to have funds for paid marketing. Even if it’s just $20, it could help get the ball rolling and put your passion project in front of more viewers. So, when you’re setting up your budget during the pre-production phase, don’t forget about the cost of indie movie marketing!
Send Your Movie to the Right Festivals
Film festivals are one of the best ways for indie filmmakers to get their movies in front of audiences. If your movie is well-received, you could even get a distribution deal out of it! That’s why you should always submit your finished work to more than one film festival.
This doesn’t mean you should submit your film to every film festival in existence. If you’re a first-time filmmaker, you should strike a balance between optimism and pragmatism. You shouldn’t automatically assume your movie won’t make it into big film festivals, but you also shouldn’t assume that it will, either.
So, what’s the solution? Send your movie to a wide range of film festivals that are relevant to your project. This last part is particularly important. You don’t want to send a short comedy film to a horror film festival (unless it’s a horror comedy, of course). So, do some research to figure out which festivals are best for your movie.
Additionally, take advantage of where you come from and where your movie was made. For example, if you live in Atlanta, Georgia, and shot your film there, look to local film festivals like the Atlanta Film Festival or the Atlanta Underground Film Festival (these are just two of many options).
Local film festivals have a much higher acceptance rate than bigger, international film festivals like the Sundance Film Festival or Cannes Film Festival. That said, you should always have a bit of optimism when submitting your film. So, submit your film to small and large festivals alike. You never know what could happen!
Reach Out to Film Promotion Blogs
This tip may be a little self-serving, but it’s also a legitimate and very effective way to promote your movie. Philosophy in Film receives dozens of emails from independent filmmakers in need of marketing every week. While not every film makes it to our front page, many do. The same is likely true for other film blogs.
So, spruce up your writing skills and prepare to compose the best email of your life! You don’t want to be overly verbose (bloggers are busy people), but you also don’t want to undersell your movie. Your email to film blogs should include all of the following:
- Identity – Explain who you are and provide a very brief description of your background and experience in film.
- Film Description – Describe your movie or short film in three sentences or less.
- What You Want – Are you looking for free or paid marketing? Do you want a press release, review, or social media shoutout? Explain what you want the blogger to do for you.
If your movie (or a trailer for your movie) is available to view online, you should include a link to it in your email. Then, find all the bloggers whose content aligns with your needs and send out your email en masse. Many bloggers won’t respond at all, while others will come back with rates way out of your price range.
However, you’ll likely get a few responses that meet your needs and work within your budget. Once the blog posts start rolling out, you can expect your movie to get traction online and become much more visible. Oh, one more thing about reaching out to film blogs: don’t forget to be friendly!
Harness the Power of Social Media
Nowadays, most independent film promotion is done on social media. You don’t need to have a huge social media following to market your movie (though it could certainly help). There are tons of groups and accounts for independent filmmakers to market their content for free. You may need to do a little digging to find them, but they’re there!
In any case, you should use just about every channel at your disposal to market your movie for free. Here are a few of the best platforms to use:
- X (formerly Twitter)
- Youtube
If you have your own website or blog, even better! This gives you a platform to regularly promote your own filmmaking projects for free. If you weren’t able to scrape together any money for marketing, social media and/or personal blogs are the way to go. These are the only free methods that give your movie the chance to go viral!
Create and Use Promotional Material
While bloggers, film festivals, and social media platforms can all help promote your film, you are your own number one promoter. No one wants your feature-length movie or short film to be as successful as you do. Be prepared to do the heavy lifting when it comes to creating and using promotional material.
Learning how to market a movie requires time and dedication. To save money, you may need to create your own trailer, movie posters, advertisements, flyers, and other promotional materials. These materials should provide basic information about your film so that people can decide whether or not they want to see it. If you have the money to outsource these tasks, that’s great! But keep in mind that it will take away from your overall marketing budget.
The Bottom Line
Learning how to market a movie is like a crash course in content promotion. However, film promotion and marketing don’t have to be a pain. You simply need to create a budget, set your goals, and follow the tips above to reach your desired audience!
If you’d like to learn more about how to market your movie or short film, contact Philosophy in Film today!