Know-How Exchange : Strategy

If you're trying to market it yourself, given your target market, create a website for it. Upload short (1-2min) YouTube videos from the DVD (showcasing small pieces that showcase your talent, style, etc.) and ensure that your website info is clearly labeled.

On the website, also embed the videos (perhaps a higher-quality version?) and add some great stills of winning teams, etc. If you're in this for the long-haul, create a regular newsletter (perhaps about the latest contests, cheers, etc.) and email it to people who opt-in. Remember that it's unlikely that people visiting your website for the first time will suddenly want to buy your DVD - they'll want to ensure that what you have is "that good" and they can trust you.

If you and your partner are well-known, make sure that your faces on the website, and that you explain why your DVD is "worth it".

Once these pieces are in place, visit cheerleading blogs, put in ads in cheerleading magazines, contact cheerleading coaches from around the US, etc.

Dear Cat and Jamie,

A keyword search on Google for the term "cheerleading video" gives the following result for April, 2009.

cheerleading videos 14,800 (note the plural)
cheerleading video 18,100

This means that last month 32,900 searches were carried out on Google for those terms.

As Jay suggests, you need a website.

You also need to drive traffic to your site. You can use paid searches, enter discussions on cheerleading forums, send simple, benefit rich information to schools and colleges in your state or region, and see which advertisers advertise regularly on cheerleading websites and in cheerleading magazines.

If there are repeat advertisers it means that that particular media is profitable for that advertiser, which means it could also be profitable for you.

www.cheerleading.com gets 41,000 visitors every month. They don't accept advertisements, but the people that visit this site, also visit these sites:

www.cheerleadingonline.com

www.omnicheer.com

www.cheerwiz.com

www.varsity.com

www.sportsteam.com

www.soffe.com

www.justforkix.com

The website, www.americancheerleader.com gets 10,600 visitors every month. They accept advertising. You might want to contact them to find out what their rates are: bbean@americancheerleader.com

This is just one example of a contact. By contacting each cheerleading site that sits well with you, you could offer an affiliate program: they advertise your product to their list, the ads drive traffic to your website, each referral has a unique code to track the sales they send your way, and in exchange for a sale of your product from that referrer, they get a percentage of the gross sale.

The sites I've listed here are all listed on a site called Quantcast. The link below:

www.quantcast.com/cheerleading.com

lists the sites above and also tells you how many visitors those sites get per month, thereby expanding your reach potential.

I hope this helps you and I hope your product launch is incredibly successful. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

If you're not using social media, get in the conversation! Follow people who have an interest in cheerleading and begin engaging with them. Share information that's featured on your DVD or new developments since you finished editing. Build a Facebook fan page and invite people to join and keep up with your activities.

If you're not familiar with social media, remember it's all about how you can help readers of Twitter, Facebook, etc. Don't be a shill, which means that every time you post a hint or piece of information from your DVD, resist beginning or ending it with a sales pitch for your product. Include sales information in about 10 percent of your posts.

Social media is all about developing relationships. Give more than take, and nurture them. Do that, and sales will come.

Why are you doing this? Are you hoping to make a lot of money with this venture? Publishing, even on popular topics, is not usually very profitable. Those who are successful usually publish (a book, a DVD, etc.) as a way of building credibility for the business they really plan to use as a profitable vehicle.

So start by defining and articulating WHY you're doing this at all. If it's a way of giving back, then you might be willing to break even or even lose some money on the venture. If it's to make money, then you need a more complete marketing plan, so you'll know what you can afford to spend on marketing, what the value of a customer is, and what your product life-cycle is likely to be.

For us to presume to know what your objectives are is kind of foolish. So we have no idea how much you should be willing to spend to market your product, or how you might want to go about it.


P.S. I suspect you already have a business plan and a marketing plan in place, or you wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of producing the DVD. What did you assume in the plans?

Getting your we site up of course is important but the most important thing is to GO where your audience is :))

There must be thousands of high schools and colleges in the US alone all of whom have Cheer Squads.

Cheering is also getting more and more popular in other countries so I am sure your DVD will sell overseas too.

Get some great Flash Video banners up and running (300 x 250) with clips of the cheering and links through to your site where they can order the DVD.

Get your banners up on the SChool and college web sites, alumni sites, Cheer squad, football, and other sports sites.

Face Book of course, check out the groups and get your flash banners up in there.

Don't forget all the FREE video hosting sites. If course YouTUbe but don't forget Google Video - the results from Google video can be stunning.

You have a great 'Niche Market' product so just work your niche, simple as that.

NB: In terms of replication, don' waste too much money being over ambitious with your first run. Duplicate 1,000 pieces first and sell those, then just run more batches a you need them. The last thing you need is 10,000 unsold units in your garage looming large every day and making you feel depressed :))

Good luck,

Matthew