Comments

Geez, Erik--my better half is the front view! We had 2 great days filming you, Tom! One take after another! AMAZING! Great anecdotal stories that will be helpful to all!

Posted by Dini Coffin at May 12, 2009 1:29 PM

Tom,

If you're looking for a way for folks to download for a fee, you might explore Amazon's CreateSpace or a similar service. I've been looking into CreateSpace lately, and may be signing up soon myself.

Posted by Dan Gunter at May 12, 2009 2:10 PM

Let me count the ways:
1. A DVD for sale though the normal book channel
2. DVD combo with a few TP books as a gift set (retail channel)
3. As Above (thru events organisers,venue mngrs, catalogue co's)
4. Affiliate marketing (or is that a dirty word?)
5. DM to HR managers for Christmas gifts instead of corporate calendars (some customisation/ signing on qty order?)
6. Readers Digest
7. Starbucks
8. Special offer to all chambers of commerce (to their membership bases)via DM
9. Do you have the courage for Ebay?
10. Educational and quasi educational institutions thru their book acquisition channel (skip the publisher, go direct)

Of course you may have to appoint a fulfillment house to handle the logistics for discs - and downloads are easily done as per advice above via Amazon.

And more importantly, free advice is worth what you pay for it ;-)
Dennis

Posted by Dennis at May 12, 2009 5:36 PM

18 months ago The Eagles new album, "Long Road Out of Eden," sold more than 711,000 copies during its first week of release, enough to easily top The Billboard 200 album chart. The two disc set was released exclusively at Wal-Mart, Walmart.com, Sam's Club, and Samsclub.com. Why not find a company to deal with your short videos exclusively – a company that knows how to market stuff effectively. Also sell it at a ‘good value’ price. It worked for the Eagles - might work for you.

I would think timing is important in that market – for instance business folks going on summer holidays will want to ‘get away’ from work rather than take this stuff with them on holiday so either launch it before the summer holiday season or leave it until post-August.

Just initial unstructured thoughts.

Posted by Trevor Gay at May 12, 2009 6:13 PM

Tom,

One of the nicer features of CreateSpace (by Amazon) is that they do provide both direct downloading and DVD/CD order fulfillment. It's a bit more expensive than the services I use to produce DVD's in quantity orders; however, by handling the whole process on demand (including DVD production/packaging via J.I.T., if you will), it eliminates the need for furnishing personnel to manage inventory, order processing, shipping, etc.

I see on-demand as potentially a big seller. 99% of the time, if I decide to order a video I'm ready to see it now. Dr. Wayner Dyer recently made a feature length (and style) film entitled "From Ambition to Meaning" (although I think the name has now been changed to "The Switch"). It is distributed through HayHouse. The online version, viewable only once in its entirety, is much cheaper than ordering the physical DVD/package. They also did something you might consider trying: they sent out a promotional email that required you to (1) forward a copy of the email to at least one friend through their system, which allowed you to (2) order the download/online version at a cost of $0 and view it in its entirety one time. The offer ran for only a few days. Sort of "forced viral marketing," in a way, but I had a lot of friends that watched it because we all did the "forward & watch" bit. And it also worked for HayHouse and Dr. Dyer because I turned right around and ordered the DVD, which I might NOT have done had I not seen it once and wanted to see it again. I know others did too. Many of them being friends who had never even heard of Dr. Dyer until I sent them the email offer.

The latter might be something to seriously consider. You might even want to check with HayHouse as a distribution channel in general. I've been pleased with their service and offerings.

Posted by Dan Gunter at May 12, 2009 7:11 PM

Tom,Eric,Cathy, et al...

As you always begin with the assumption it is "people first" and "its all about the people" then distribution is simple.

Here are my professional thoughts::

1) Edit each clip tightly for relevance and have one core message. Edit each clip tightly again for energy. Edit the clip tightly for brevity.

2) Each clip MUST include a 'run time' up front and the total time MUST NOT ever exceed 2 minutes!

3) Each clip will work best if it is clustered with others into a 'framework for action' or 'a theme'.

4) Each clip must be easily accessible and in a format that enables easy sharing amongst friends - eg YouTube videos, iTune downloads, Twitter friendly, etc.

5) ALL CLIPS MUST BE FREE! ALL CLIPS MUST BE FREE!

6) TPC must monitor feedback on the viral marketing spread of each clip and each theme set. This will set up an automatic 'focus group' to help you better manage your products, services, and revenue models. You will need to insert a simple feedback loop on each clip. Redo those clips that are not relevant or remarkable.

7) Adjust all the current REVENUE MODELS of Tom Peters speaking and workshop tours AND TomPeters! (TPC) training to best fit the growth of revenue that these CLIPS will generate once they go VIRAL!

I guarantee if you Excel at those 7 simple steps then you will make much more than a couple of bucks. You will see takings climb sharply in your current revenue models, if and only if, they are properly adjusted to suit this new enterprise.

Good luck with the execution of this WOW! project.

pharmacy viagra Cheers, Richard.

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at May 12, 2009 7:26 PM

Making a buck usually depends on someone seeing enough value in what you offer to want to pay for it, and at present that value isn't clear. So doesn't it all rather depend on what "useful" means, and to whom? Are these clips envisaged as reaching a new audience - schools for example - or are they really targeting an as-is TP consumer profile? What "uses" do/might they offer - thought prompts, practical solutions, adrenalin shots, or what - and who might benefit from them? Do they add up to a coherent whole, or are they unrelated bits? What will make them essential viewing for anybody, whether free or at a price? Is there anything new in there? Do they stand alone or possibly as part of a larger package of (paid-for?) materials? Is there any intrinsic scaleability of benefit which could form the basis for a free-to-fee transition? Etc.

Posted by RobCH at May 13, 2009 1:23 AM

thank you all for your thoughts on the video front.

Posted by erik hansen at May 13, 2009 9:25 AM

Erik, I was rather hoping we might get some further thoughts from you as well, on just what and whom these clips are intended FOR. "Hither, thither and yon" isn't a really clear targeting statement for choices of distribution, and I'm still unclear about what "useful" means in this context. As stated, this sounds a lot like a product-led exercise, with an "okay, now what?" punchline. I'm guessing this was all thought through in advance of two expensive days' shooting, so.....?

Posted by RobCH at May 14, 2009 12:40 AM

Tom,

I guess we're in good company ;-) We started rolling out ideas for our own videos on our "Heart of Excellence" website in recent weeks. Episode #1 got scripted, shot, edited, and online in just under 24 hours. Not bad for a ten minute video. Of course it does help when one of the firm's partners also runs a video production company. Episode #1 contrasts Japanese and American "suggestion programs" and their results, along with some insight as to why the numbers look the way they do. Good information for leaders trying to actually get something productive out of their suggestion boxes/programs. Briefly touches on the philosophy of "kaizen teian."

We invite you and all to check it out in its entirety at http://www.heartofexcellence.com/HoE-Videos.htm

Posted by Dan Gunter at May 15, 2009 1:17 PM

erik....can I borrow that camera? oh, and the film crew? :)

Posted by mike Neiss at May 16, 2009 5:49 AM

Going smoothly!

Posted by Andres Agostini (Andy) at May 22, 2009 9:24 PM