How Not To Pitch Me

By

Jeffrey Taylor

I invest in indie films and encourage people to tell me about their projects. As a result, I get anywhere from 2-3 e-mails a day pitching me a movie project. In general, most of them fail to get me motivated to look at the attachments which typically include a business plan, movie script, trailers and hyperlinks to their company websites.

Most people assume that I am already in the supermarket and ready to buy. What movie makers fail to understand is that you first have to get me to want to go to your supermarket.

So, here are some ideas which will get my attention in your e-mail:

1. Tell me why movies are a good investment and how they are better than alternative investments such as gold, oil, platinum, diamonds and real estate.

2. Tell me why your movie is better than other movies without going into how great or unique is your story. Tell me why the market needs your movie.

3. Tell me why I should invest in your project. What's in it for me?

4. Tell me what you have done to move your project forward. Are you on first base, second base, etc. in your journey to get your project done.

5. Tell me who is associated with your project. Tell me who you know. Tell me who has already put in money. Don't tell me about tax incentives, product placement or deferred equity from distributors. That is not real money. They are the promise of money. And, if you want me to be the first investor, tell me why others have already turned you down.

6. Tell me which distributors you have talked to. Many of them will tell you the market value of your project. This way I know what the maximum amount your picture can cost and still make a profit.

Trust me on this one. If you can get my attention in a cold call e-mail, I will probably download your files, look at your websites, read your attachments and be able to have an intelligent conversation with you. Otherwise, you are wasting both of our times.