Two Questions (not 1, but 2) about Infomercials

9 replies
Hi Guys,

I have Two questions about Infomercials:

1.- Have you tried them and/or know the price for a 4 a.m Infomercial Spot?

2.- Wasn't there an IM product about Infomercials? (I think I saw one once, but I can't find it)

Regards,

Chewie.
#infomercials #questions
  • Profile picture of the author erinwrites
    I haven't tried infomercials before but, having spent some years working in media, I can tell you that even at 4AM, television spots are SPENDY. Even if you only want the 4AM spot on one channel, it will cost a pretty penny. And, of course, you'll need to find the $$ to produce the infomercial.

    That said, the 4AM crowd are usually pretty good buyers. Most stuff looks pretty appealing at that hour!
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Brock
      It's really hard. I tried a late night infomercial for an IM product I sell. Spent about $300 for 300 visits. Not bad, however none of it converted.

      I'm pretty sure that to make your infomercial successful, especially for IM related stuff, you need to do at least a 2 minute spot. You also need to get a call center - close rates on phone calls are much higher than your average visitor coming to your web page.

      Most of the success is in the advertisement itself, from what I have learnt. You can't just through together some 30 second long powerpoint slide. It just doesn't jive...especially with all the high end commercials out these days...

      Just my two cents. This summer I am doing an actual commercial commercial with professional crew, scripting, etc. I'll let you know how that goes...
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      • Profile picture of the author jdenc
        This is older info but it should be close. You basically pay a set amount per 1000 viewing households I believe the quote I got some time back was $300 per 1000 viewing. It is actually cheaper per viewer than a 30 second spot at least in that sense. But it is nothing to spend 300k before you get to the media buy if you want a high quality, tested production. A successful infomercial can gross in excess of 5 million a year and some have broken the 100 million mark so you definitely want to put your best foot forward.
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        • Profile picture of the author chewie49
          Originally Posted by Daniel Brock View Post

          It's really hard. I tried a late night infomercial for an IM product I sell. Spent about $300 for 300 visits. Not bad, however none of it converted.

          I'm pretty sure that to make your infomercial successful, especially for IM related stuff, you need to do at least a 2 minute spot. You also need to get a call center - close rates on phone calls are much higher than your average visitor coming to your web page.

          Most of the success is in the advertisement itself, from what I have learnt. You can't just through together some 30 second long powerpoint slide. It just doesn't jive...especially with all the high end commercials out these days...

          Just my two cents. This summer I am doing an actual commercial commercial with professional crew, scripting, etc. I'll let you know how that goes...
          Daniel: Can you share more info? (channel, etc.)


          Originally Posted by jdenc View Post

          This is older info but it should be close. You basically pay a set amount per 1000 viewing households I believe the quote I got some time back was $300 per 1000 viewing. It is actually cheaper per viewer than a 30 second spot at least in that sense. But it is nothing to spend 300k before you get to the media buy if you want a high quality, tested production. A successful infomercial can gross in excess of 5 million a year and some have broken the 100 million mark so you definitely want to put your best foot forward.
          Jdence: I would appreciate more info about the channel.

          Thanks.
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        • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
          This is probably your best bet right now (only guessing). The video shows a real world example of using Google TV Ads to get exposure.

          Keep in mind the $1.30 or so per lead that it worked out to be does not include any costs for the producing of the commercial (video).

          Ignore the first 30 seconds as it is an unrelated commercial and enjoy the vid...

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          • Profile picture of the author jdenc
            Sorry I don't recall the specific channel been a while since I looked into it.
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          • Profile picture of the author chewie49
            Originally Posted by Bill Farnham View Post

            This is probably your best bet right now (only guessing). The video shows a real world example of using Google TV Ads to get exposure.

            Keep in mind the $1.30 or so per lead that it worked out to be does not include any costs for the producing of the commercial (video).

            Ignore the first 30 seconds as it is an unrelated commercial and enjoy the vid...

            SlateV | Arts and Life | How I Ran an Ad on Fox News

            ~Bill
            Bill,...in one word: WOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

            I won't sleep tonight!!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Scott
    Chewie,

    Talk to Matt O'Connor (WF name Matt James).

    He used to be in the informercial biz and he's a KILLER copywriter.

    If anyone knows how to make stuff sell from infomercials... I'd bet it's him.

    -Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author erinwrites
    A word about channels: every channel is, technically, different. Even a national network like ABC will have different commercials that play in different towns and cities. This is because each station affiliate ("channel" in your area) will have local advertisements and programs that it wants/needs to air.

    So, if you want to run an infomercial at 4AM everywhere on a specific network, you are going to need more than a "channel." You are going to need a media buyer/promoter to help you.
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