Run a Film Festival

I was extremely proud of the hard work that myself and my sister put into the website, but once I asked for critiques from this site from people who are not my target audience, I received mostly negative opinions.

Some didn't like the colors I used, some called the site spammy. Others hated the countdown timer, etc.

I did take the advice of some and removed the countdown timer from the site to keep it from looking to salesy.

One person questioned my experience, which told me I did not do a good enough job of explaining why I am teaching this subject. I went back and beefed up that area.

I discovered that you have to expect people with good intentions and bad intentions to weigh in. Some are here to really help you while others are here to tear you down (and your idea) for whatever personal reasons they have.

Although it maybe should be just a one-page sales page, I decided to make it a little more. I'm offering a free overview class, then a 4-week session which goes into specific details.

Still deciding the best way to serve up the information (teleclass, video series, online summit, etc.)

I knew I had to decide first what to name the website and business before I registered it with the IRS and take out social media handles.

I played around with DIYFilmFest, or similar ideas. I still like that name, but there were domains that were either taken or very similar. But none of those domains were offering what I wanted to offer.

I brain-stormed with my sister who has a background in IT, project management and business development. She came up with the idea of Run a Film Fest. It was specific and to the point.

I also bought the domain, Runafilmfestival.com just to protect my idea.

Went to popular Facebook filmmaker groups and posted a poll asking if anyone would be interested in this subject or learning how to run their own film festival.

The results were 90% yes, 10% no. Some even said "hell yes." I had international filmmakers especially interested.