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Niche and audience-specific feature-length movies - are a product, and like any other product, they need marketed. A successful marketing campaign allows your film to find its audience, which then leads those audiences to buy your films.

The arsenal of tools available to market your film is vast. From custom web sites and trade magazine advertising to press releases and postering the town – there are multiple ways to bombard potential viewers and customers with your "marketing message." But how do you start this whole process?

This sure sounds like a simple and stupid question, doesn't it? Well, if your response to this simple question goes something like, "My film, Crystal Clear, begins as an pseudo-documentary on the science of crystals, then showcases the leading researcher in the field but turns dramatic as it follows the government's investigation of him for possibly illegal experimentation …" then you better sit down and give it more thought. The above-described project begins as an educational film, turns to a biographical documentary only to end up sounding like a true crime TV program! Keep in mind that your film or movie project cannot be all things to all people.

You must be able to define your film in one concise sentence. Think "sound bite" when answering the following questions about your project:

1. Is it a documentary, instructional or informational tape, feature film or short?
2. Is it educational, reality-based, children's, anime, science fiction, horror, western, drama, action?
3. Does it to entertain, enlighten, educate, inform, sadden, madden, scare or elicit pity?
4. Does it make a call to action, a prompt to buy, or change the viewer's way of thinking?
5. Are the principal characters fictional or actual beings, historical, present-day or future beings, human, animal or other-worldly creations?
6. Does the project deal with a current event, fad or popular culture phenomenon?
7. Does it depend upon realistic special effects or stunts?
8. Is it set in the past, present or future?

Let's consider Crystal Clear again. This time, may want to say, "Crystal Clear is the intriguing story of Dr. Jars Harman, the world's authority on crystals and his high-profile struggle to use his science in saving eyesight."

The above sentence identifies the major story-line (leading-edge scientific research), described the settings (present-day worldwide healthcare environment) and even includes an emotional plea (struggling to improve lives).

There's an old saying that goes, "You gotta know ‘em to show ‘em." What this means is you must be able to identify an audience before you can present them with your product.

Properly identifying your audience can be difficult because you really have three separate audiences, not just one. They are:

Those who will watch the film (consumers via purchase, rental, download or broadcast situations)

Those who will buy /sell the film (retailers, library, catalog and other film buyers, distributors, acquisition agents, sub-distributors)

Those who will promote the film(publicists, media, festival programmers)

In order to obtain the clearest picture of who will most likely be attracted to your project, it is necessary to create an "audience profile." This allows you to discover common traits and characteristics of potential viewers. Ask yourself:

1. What is the primary gender of your audience?
2. How old is your audience?
3. What is the educational level of your audience?
4. What is the income level of your audience?
5. What is the religion of your audience?
6. What is the race of your audience?
7. What is the occupation of your audience?
8. Where does your audience live?
9. What are the habits and interests of your viewers?
10. What are the purchase patterns of your audience?
11. What are the major motivations of your audience?

You are not trying to stereotypically profile your audience, you are simply trying to get the best "read" on those folks who are most likely to view (and buy) your film.

O.K. So you know what you have and who wants it. Now what? It's time to promote. While you may not have the budget for a large-scale marketing campaign, you can utilize a number of Net-based and traditional techniques to attract the notice you need to your film.

There has been no bigger marketing boon to filmmakers than the Internet. It provides low-cost access to a worldwide audience, and the latest film-based technology makes it easier than ever before to promote your project.

First order of business – host a website. Be sure to include details about the project, contact information and a trailer. Marketing a visual product like a film makes it vital that audiences can "see" what they're getting. Keep it professional and appealing to its target. For example, if you are trying to promote a faith-based documentary, be sure online content is all-age-appropriate.

With more than 114 million sites live on the Net, marketing a film involves more than just hosting a website. Thanks to the growth of social networking, electronic promotion just got easier.

Online film sharing and publishing services like YouTube, Revver and MetaCafe are giving way to amazing amounts of film-based programming being unleashed online by hundreds of thousands of filmmakers, hobbyists and many small and large content and film production companies who never had the means and budget to get their contents out to as potentially wider set of audiences. You need only an encoded film clip to participate.

Using the media in as many forms as possible is not an option - it is a necessity when marketing a film. With the thousands of media outlets in operation today, your first task is identifying which ones best suit your needs.

The process of finding the proper media to solicit with news on your film involves four simple steps:

1. Collect information on every possible source of media (magazines, radio, Podcasts, websites, etc.) that may have interest in your film
2. Contact each and ask about their wants and needs
3. Sort according to type (print, broadcast and web) and desirability
4. Record each media's lead times (how long they need information before it is used), preferred method of information submission (e-mail, fax, snail mail) and type of information preferred (press release, web link, film press kit, b-roll footage, photos, audio tape, etc.).

A media kit entices the media to cover your project. It is a comprehensive package providing detailed information on all aspects of your film that is used by reporters, reviewers and anyone else who will help you market your project.

A traditional media kit usually consists of the following:

• Film synopsis
• Trailer or full-length copy of film on DVD
• Project fact sheet
• Cast and crew lists
• Production company backgrounder
• Production photographs
• Key art
• Business card

Depending on your budget and technological sophistication, all of the above items can be created traditionally on print and placed in a folder, electronically and placed on a CD, or the media kit can exist virtually, with all data downloadable/accessible via a website. The point is to make this information easily available to media and anyone else on your marketing list.

One warning: just as a good media package helps your efforts, a poorly executed kit can hamper your potential.

The press release is the cheapest and easiest way to get your marketing campaign started. The most used (and overused) device in the industry, a press release is a one-page synopsis of the news you want to communicate to your audiences. Websites, newspapers, magazines and broadcasters receive hundreds of these daily, and, if you want the media to take action on your release, keep it short and accurate. Be sure there are no grammatical or factual mistakes and clearly point out the 5 "W's" (Who, What, When, Where, and Why) in the first sentence.

Using reviews offers film producers a simple, cheap and effective way to influence an audience. An objective, third-party endorsement of your project is always more convincing than saying the same things yourself. How do you get your project reviewed? Just submit your project to one of the thousands of media that exist solely for that purpose. Most review-specific media are more than happy to take a look at your project and give it some press.

The interview presents you as an expert or interesting figure. But how do you get interviewed? Luckily, due to the popularity of reality programming and the world's obsession with celebrities, finding interview opportunities in the media isn't too tough. Sometimes it is the result of a well-written press release. A reporter will call, wanting further information on whatever topic the release covered. Other times you'll "sell" yourself as an interview subject to the various media relevant to your film.

Remember that during an interview, you are the expert on the topic. It wouldn't be happening if you didn't have something educational, informative, interesting or amusing to say. Hint: Podcasts are loaded with interviews…record your own and make them available via any virtual locations that make sense.