Independent producers in this economic client are facing some tough challenges. Much like a once storied ballplayer whose career is in twilight. What should this great player do? Become a manager!
That was the major theme from Philip Hodgetts session on the future of Web Video Business Opportunities here at the DV Expo. Philip (recently reclassified from “resident alien” to “resident” - congratulations Philip) is a prolific blogger, speaker and author on a variety of independent producer topics.
Philip had some great advice on where the market for independent producers is heading and how producers should reframe their mindset as entrepreneurs. According to phillip, our focus as content producers should be on creating business opportunities (Manager) rather than waiting for opportunities to present themselves (Player). Managers study the tape for upcoming games. Locating niche opportunities to exploit (audiences hungry for content on a specific topic).
The player just waits at the plate for the pitch: The producer calling upon an agency or enterprise to see if there was commercial opportunity (”Have any work for me?”).
The manager anticipates the pitch and puts the right leverage at the plate to create an opportunity: Create content around a niche interest, develop an audience and leverage the value (”Wait until you see what I have for you!”).
Yes, this is more difficult but it’s also more lucrative. You are cutting out the intermediaries that might suck the profitability out of your hard work. Also, you get compensated for recognizing a trend rather than waiting for someone else to ask you to act on it. Who do you think will come to come to next time?
And if you have trouble finding someone interested in your idea, you can always monetize it yourself (10 to 99 cent range). If you have chosen wisely, you have content that people want and will pay for. The “Big Hit” will continue to decline and the long tail (niche content) will continue to rise. Additionally, how and when content is consumed will diversify along with storytelling formats.
We took the kids to Pixar’s WALL-E tonight and it reminded me of the importance of a good story in every bit of content. (BTW, an excellent film, I highly recommend it). Many companies mistakenly believe that weaving a good story comes second to the information they are trying to convey.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We, as humans, have been learning in the form of story for more years than most of us can imagine. Using that built-in instinctual way to learn is the best way to convey information.
Here are the major parts of a story and an example of even a mundane piece of content, like a CEO’s quarterly earnings report, can follow the story process.
Exposition: the beginning of the story where the stage is set. The situation of the characters in the story is explained to include the setting.
Rising Action: a series of situations that builds tension toward the final conflict for the main character of the story.
Climax: the turning point in the story where success or failure for the main character hinges. Often a lesson learned during the rising action pays off here.
Falling Action & Resolution: (aka denoument) The final conflict is worked and the struggle is finished. A new “normal” is set as a result of the result of the climax and life continues.
Exposition: “We began this quarter with a strong belief we could do better than last quarter’s disappointing earnings”
Rising Action: “We were off to a rocky start with the economic challenges in the US. We adjusted our pricing strategy and still did not see the up tick in sales we expected. We knew we have a great product and our efforts were just not paying off”
Climax: “We realized if we were going to truly impact sales, we had to go door to door with every employee demonstrating our benefits. Nothing we had done in the past was going to work. Everyone pitched in”
Resolution: “As a direct result, we doubled sales, our fortunes turned, and we had a great quarter”
Taking the time to write your content in terms of a story will pay off in both attention and retention.
