Some of the books are great, some are bizarre, some are 30 or 40 years old. None of them are really worth more than between 1 and 10 pounds (budget of the short isn’t huge either, but any day of shooting costs, as we know). The thing is, by buying one of them you’re not only acquiring a book, but also helping getting a film made.
Information is the key here, as well as using tools you will not spend hours getting to know and customizing. What I did for #AnaSellsBooks:
1. A dedicated email – this is easy for me, as you see I have my own domain. Use gmail, if you don’t – you’ll get the benefit of being able to chat instantly with whomever writes to you and uses gmail as well. What you need is an address that people can easily associate with your project, easily remember and most of all – easily pass on to others. No intricate spelling, is advised.
2. A facebook event – because god knows you don’t exist without one. Also, it is handy while spreading information, because people can share easily (my mum knows how to do it). And many did because they liked the idea. You also automatically acquire a kind of mailing list – to get in touch with all interested, when something important happens.
3. A tumblr blog – smooth and easy, and with a social edge. I put up snippets about my favorite books, photos of myself and friends with books and so forth. Any additional info goes up there.
Now with my basis covered, this is what I am going to do next:
- a mobile-friendly website with basic info about the action and most important links (more on this soon, you can use mippin.com to familiarize yourself with the whole thing),
- a simple monochrome, eco-friendly (not much printing needed) poster with basic info (web address, QR code for the mobile site, so mobile users don’t have to write things down) – to put around town in cafes/galleries, accessible online in case some one would like to download it and put it around where they live,
- a simple button for friends who offered to put it on their websites/blogs,
- hand written thank you cards for buyers, also easily fill-able in case a book is bought to be a gift,
- emails to my favorite book-related blogs asking if they like the idea and would hence write about it. This needs to come with – a nice high-res photo and/or graphics, all the useful links and a non-pompous description of the entire thing. Trust me, I’ve been blogging for a while.
- I’m going to stay on top of answering any one who contacts me in regards to this.
This is rather basic, but if you’re not very familiar with these tools, hope this gets you started. And if you’re looking for any more advanced ideas for your project – do get in touch. As long as you’re a filmmaker, it won’t cost you more than a pint of beer..