Jen at original Starbucks
When in Rome
I’m in Seattle for a few days, and within minutes I had a cup of coffee in my hand. When in Rome right.
And I have to admit, these Seattler’s really know their coffee; Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, Tully’s not to mention all the mom and pop shops around town.
With that being said, I couldn’t help but think how Starbucks has managed to rise above the rest in it’s international appeal. Not that Starbucks isn’t good coffee, but it certainly is not Seattle’s best.
I asked a few locals what they thought on the topic and they all had pretty much the same response [and it had very little to do with the coffee.] Marketing, Marketing, Marketing!
First Starbucks Seattle 1971
Which brings me full circle to why I’m writing about this.
It got me thinking about Party Girl Plus One and all the web series that sell their “cup of joe” to the viewing audiences. What has made the Starbucks of web series rise above the rest? And what is it going to take for Party Girl Plus One to find it’s own international appeal? Well, I didn’t have to go all the way to Seattle for the answer. Marketing, Marketing, Marketing. [And to think I studied this stuff in college].
SO HERE HERE to my fellow Party Girl Plus One viewers, friends, family and fans. I NEED YOUR HELP! I am doing my part TRUST ME! And now I call out to you from the roof top of my apartment slash set: If you like, love or enjoy Party Girl Plus One, please share it with your Friends, Family, Co-workers, FB’er, Twitterers! Subscribe on YouTube, Tweet, RT, share, share, share! This is the time! 6 episodes in, number 7 on the way and 5 more to complete season 1. And on the way to being the Starbucks of web series, Web Series’ Best and on everyone’s screen around the world.
THANK YOU!! for you love, support and help. I do this all for you and couldn’t do it without you.
xo
One thing I’ve learned with Venus Spa on Youtube is that it’s not the web equivilant of a Floyd album. It’s the equivilant of Top 40 pop radio. The videos need to be short, to the point and some light interactive elements. My mistake with the first season of Venus was letting many of the episodes run WAY too long.
The vloggers are so big on Youtube because they are rapid fire and as predictable as the tides in terms of content being dropped regularly. We can learn from this and adapt to this very competitive climate.
This means that you should try to cut the episodes down to about a minute or two, (no longer than 2:30,) and drop them more than once a week. In the case of PG+1; you want something people can watch during their coffee breaks or on the bus. The average bus ride isn’t that long and if the video is still only half finished when they get to their stop, (watching on iPhones and what not,) you’ve lost them.
Once the format is in place go right after your target demo on Youtube. Look for similar shows and similar audiences and friend as many people as possible. Invite fans of said shows over to your series. This is very time consuming but it will breed a loyal following. (This worked for Venus.) You have a fun show that appeals to a niche audience. That niche IS on Youtube and can be found. It’s very time consuming and can be tedious but it does work.
Best of luck and drop me an email if you want to chat more!
Chris G.
Marketing marketing marketing indeed! I feel your pain. Unless your show is already part of a collab network, has angel investor/corporate backing, or blessed by Whedon, getting traction is a steep uphill climb.
I’m the editor and spare time marketing guy for our show and would love to chat with you and compare notes.
Hey Chris,
Thanks for your reply.
Just watched The Variants latest episode. Really funny. I love “I just turned the lights off with my mind”.
Marketing is a strategic effort; time consuming and more involved than the actual shoot itself.
I’d love to chat as well.
Let me know what works for you and let’s get on the phone.
Talk to you soon,
Jen
Hey Chris,
Awesome insight. I’ve spent the last 2 days on YouTube watching, friending, watching, commenting.
Getting so much info along the way: what people post, what interests people, what’s good, bad, and so-so.
Much more time consuming than shooting the episodes themselves.
I played around with the episode length at the very beginning and will re-evaluate it as I move through
the process. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Keep up the great spa. I did notice your numbers increase in the last few months. Was that attributed to
all the friending/friends/subscribing/youtube work above or are you working with an outside source?
Also do all of your cast/crew pitch in and help with the YouTube fan building?
Much thanks!! It is all very appreciated.
Jen