CDs & DVDs

Support

Services

1-2-3 Guide to Maximizing your Profitscd replication

So you have a DVD or CD you want to sell, or distribute yourself. You've heard all about how you can get ripped off and talked into signing all your profits away by some unscrupulous agents, or a distribution company. In some cases, filmmakers or musicians have signed contracts which not only ties up their content with one just entity for years - they have also signed away 95% of any profits.

Obviously there are hundreds of upstanding distribution channels open to you and your project, but while you seek out that dream contract, or distribution deal, why not start selling now and begin recouping some of your production and manufacturing costs?

Sound scary?

Instead of relying on a single sales avenue, why not create several to better extend your product's reach, increase your exposure (needed, or at least benefits you when looking for a sweetheart distribution deal) - oh, and increase sales revenue for you along the way!

Have no fear you can do this yourself and maximize your profits by following these simple steps.

  1. If you haven't already done so, create your own website promoting your product(s), with a large "buy now" button strategically placed next to the product description. Even if you haven't already got a website, you can create a simple single-page site for less than $150 by hiring a designer-for-hire from www.elance.com and registering a suitable domain name with an outfit like www.1and1.com
  2. Next, sign up your product for on-demand fulfillment with www.CreateSpace.com, send them a copy of your film/CD and upload your cover and disc art. The costs for sign-up are free (at time of writing), but have never been more than $50 to get started. The major advantage of signing up with CreateSpace is that they are now owned by Amazon, which automatically gets your disc listed on Amazon.com.
  3. Next, sign up for an e-store with FulfillDisc (a PacificDisc subsidiary). Costs for this are $100/year and will give you a sales page that looks like this live product page.
  4. Park some, or all of your inventory with FulfillDisc (check monthly storage fees). If PacificDisc have made your discs in the first place, there are no shipping costs as the replication plant is next door to the warehouse.
  5. Link the "buy now" button on your website (from step #1) to your FulfillDisc sales page (step #3).

Let's review

If you followed these 5 simple steps you'll already have two sales channels opened - all for less than $300 (probably even less than that). Now you're free to start promoting your title with email blasts, press releases, film festivals and all the other suggestions found here in a series of articles by Mark Bosko.

When your hard work draws in a customer to your website and they click on the "buy now" button, by linking to your FulfillDisc store, you'll only pay about $4 on a $20 sale to complete that order. If you pointed at your Amazon store, you'll pay $11 on a $20 sale. See example below:

Example: You set the sales price of your DVD at $20.

If someone purchases your DVD from FulfillDisc, they keep the first $2.99 + 5% to fulfill the order. You collect $16.01/sale.

If someone purchases the same DVD from Amazon.com, they keep the first 55% to fulfill the order (under their Amazon Advantage program). You collect $9.00 for each unit sold.

So, why sign up with Amazon in the first place?

Because Amazon.com gets like a bazzillion eyeballs a day and chances are that someone will find your DVD for sale and purchase. Especially if your DVD has special-interest or niche subject matter. Giving up 55% of your sales price to Amazon might be painful, but they can justify this by finding many sales you might otherwise not have seen - and let's face it. 45% of $20 is better than 100% of no sale at all!

Good luck out there.