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How would YOU spend $1,200 of marketing budget in six weeks?

by Thaddeus
28 replies
Hi,

I'm running an online competition. It's for amateur writers, and they need to send in a screenplay. Some excellent prizes, and some top quality judges. It's a top quality event basically.

I've been up and running for 6 weeks, and I've done the usual multiple mentions on all the related Facebook and LinkedIn groups I can find, I'm Tweeting daily about it to about 4,000 acounts, I'm sending bulletins to my mailing list of 12,000 people, plus some of the associated trade email lists I can get access to.

Entries are going pretty well so far, but I want them up by a factor of ten(!)

With six weeks to go, how would YOU spent $1,200 of marketing budget to make this happen?

Thaddeus
#200 #budget #marketing #spend #weeks
  • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
    Anyone? Seriously? Am considering even ads in the national press. Please don't stand by and let me blow my cash
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Originally Posted by Thaddeus View Post

      Anyone? Seriously? Am considering even ads in the national press. Please don't stand by and let me blow my cash
      Are you going to pay me to be your accountant/marketing director then?
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      • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
        Local radio is a good thought, but I don't know enough about how to get that done in time - and I wonder how far I'd get with a budget of just $1200?

        To make it clear, I'm in the UK, and the budget works out about £900 GBP - just translated it to USD to get a wider pool of ideas!
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        • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
          I have an accountant, but I'm certainly going to spend the money on someone doing some marketing, Joe. Depends on the pitch.
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      • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
        Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

        Are you going to pay me to be your accountant/marketing director then?

        He didn't ask for a thesis dissertation nor did he post this in the warrior for hire section so go over there if you want to get paid for every single little thing you do.

        Is this not a FREE section of the forum? Thats why people come here and when I see responses like this it really makes me wonder how good a business man you really are.

        Have you never gave anything free away before to get MORE business?

        This forum has more entitled mindsets on it than any other forum on the net.

        -Red
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        • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
          Originally Posted by RedShifted View Post

          He didn't ask for a thesis dissertation nor did he post this in the warrior for hire section so go over there if you want to get paid for every single little thing you do.

          Is this not a FREE section of the forum? Thats why people come here and when I see responses like this it really makes me wonder how good a business man you really are.

          Have you never gave anything free away before to get MORE business?

          This forum has more entitled mindsets on it than any other forum on the net.

          -Red
          You've been poking around for at least a few days now trying to goad me into playing this game with you. Was this the best post you could find to go all out on? Tell you what, take a mulligan. Regroup and come back when you can find one of my posts to provide a valid argument against :rolleyes:.
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    • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Thaddeus View Post

      Anyone? Seriously? Am considering even ads in the national press. Please don't stand by and let me blow my cash
      Have you run any press releases? If they get picked up by the press, you might not have to run any ads.
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      • Profile picture of the author Chuck Avants
        I think the press release comment would be a good start. Being front page of Google news and other places would get to your market quick and also people looking at the press releases to put on their blogs, newspapers, etc. could be prospects as well.

        You may need to do more than one depending on how long it sits on page one.
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  • Profile picture of the author seoed
    How if you do something more classical like radio-ads or even cheaper tv-ads?
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  • Profile picture of the author PassiveIncomeTeacher
    The question I would ask, is it reasonable to expect entries to be up 10 fold? Screenplays take a fairly intensive effort. If you are reaching out to the groups you have talked about, who else is there to reach? I think answering these questions should tell you where you should place any more effort.
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    • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
      Screenplays do take a lot of work, but there are many many thousands of writers out there who have one or two completed scripts on their hard drives that they well might want to enter, and could well be hidden gems. It's a matter of getting to them.

      I'd like to reach all the writers who don't spend too much time on the internet. The offline world I'd guess.

      I'd also like to reach all the writers who DO spend a lot of time on the internet, but in a place that will make them surprised to hear from me there. Different modalities etc.

      Again, that kind of points to the real world, (unless I'm missing something). Local radio, local newspapers - but how to reach them on limited budget and only a few weeks?
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    • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
      Actually I've never seen any returns from the classic advertising I've tried in the past, in national press or niche mags. May as well have thrown my money away. Much much better seems to be getting editorial coverage.
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      • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
        Fantastic, thanks Fatgirl.
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  • Profile picture of the author CaesarSEO
    $1200 isn't really much money if you intend to do some real life advertising mate.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidsu
    Banned
    I definitely would go with Adwords Display Network (the banner ads).

    With proper targeting, you could get entrants easily...
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  • Profile picture of the author Nicola Lane
    Six weeks to go is rather late to get anyone new interested - as it will take much longer than that to write anything.

    Also you seem to have totally ignored writing related forums and blogs.

    It can't be that "top quality" if none of the major industry people have mentioned it o their blogs etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
    Er, Nicola, it is top quality, and it is getting a fair few mentions. But you know how it is -keeping the publicity ball rolling takes a LOT of effort. I just want to maximise the opportunity while I can.

    Six weeks - nah, you can write a script in six weeks. You can certainly finish off your half completed project in two if the mood takes you.

    If we're going online, then forums - good point - blogs, yes - and Adwords, interesting.

    I haven't done anything with Adwords for years. What is the state of the art on how to approach that? Anyone written a hot new guide recently?
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  • Profile picture of the author NicheDad
    One word sir: Affiliates.

    You need signups, but don't know how to go about marketing to get them? That's what affiliates get paid to do. Let the affiliates do the work and take their share of the $1,200.
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    • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
      Nichedad,

      Would love to, but I've got something like 200 affiliates at the moment and only two of them every produce any sales. 99% of them sign up and send perhaps thirty clicks in two days, then sit back and do nothing forever. Immensely frustrating this end.

      And my best affiliate has even disappeared this last month - suspect Penguin got him!
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  • Profile picture of the author WinstonTian
    Nichedad has a slice of the cake with this
    one. He's partially right.

    Except you need to go out there and
    freaking buy an advertising medium. Go out
    there, and test everything, and make it
    work for you.

    Paid traffic works.

    Winston Tian
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    Winston
    The Beginner's Doctor

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  • Profile picture of the author williamk
    Banned
    It would depend on whether you have some basic knowledge on SEO. If you have then buy some tools and then do Off page SEO on your sites. It shouldn't cost you more than 300$ for AMR, SB and BMD. With them rank sites in 6 month period and use the other money to improve the content.
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  • Profile picture of the author fenixpro
    Hi Op,

    Well, I would probably use some sort of PPC - like adwords or facebook and drill down solid KWR so that I was pretty targeted. Drive those leads to a landing page where you get at least their email addy so even if they don't enter/sign up right then, you can follow up with them.

    The other idea that comes to mind right off the bat is forum advertising. Not marketing, advertising. Just look at the top of this and any thread here in WF and you'll see nice big banners. Those get hella clicks. Find forums for writers and see if you can either do banner or even mailers to the members (maybe the forum sells solo ads).
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  • Profile picture of the author Thaddeus
    OK, thanks guys.
    To summarise then:

    Paying for ads in relevant newsletters
    Paying for ads on relevant forums
    Press releases [Does anyone know a PRWeb equivalent that hits the UK well? Would love to find one]
    Affiliates
    PPC
    SEO - [not really an option, as have only six weeks - and the domain is not an EMD - very hard to make progress over that time frame, no?]

    Any other suggestions?
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  • Profile picture of the author mileagedriver
    Digital marketing ? Like youtube etc., I think it would give you a good reach.
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  • Profile picture of the author williamk
    Banned
    It would depend on whether you have some basic knowledge on SEO. If you have then buy some tools and then do Off page

    SEO on your sites. It shouldn't cost you more than 300$ for AMR,Sb and BMD. With them rank sites in 6 month period and

    use the other money to improve the content.
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  • Profile picture of the author tommo25
    Do your self a facebook fan page on it, get your friends to join the page then tell them to get there friends to join and post on it regularly. Get some flyers printed then go out into your town or city centre and them out. Put small A4 sized posters up in your local post office and supermarket or a dentist's or GP's waiting room.
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