Sims 2.1

Real estate has created more millionaires than any other industry to date. The real estate market is failing miserably in this current economic recession. Private real estate investors have found a secret marketing niche to make millions of dollars in a down real estate market. These investors have turn to Internet marketing. The Internet has created a paradigm shift to way real estate is marketing. D.C. Fawcett and Greg Clement have developed a real estate Internet program called SIMS profit system. SIMS stand for Smart Internet Marketing Solution. SIMS is a digital marketing and Internet implementation plan. Sims is has 8 modules that any real estate investor can use to explode their business online. The goal of SIMS is to change the mindset of a real estate investor from an investor to a “marketor” as Greg declares. Let’s look at Module 1.

Module 1 of Sims teaches how a real estate investor can create a host of websites; squeeze pages and blogs to promote a number of niche markets in real estate. Sims teaches investors to create a pipeline of leads through various sources. The amazing part of Module 1 is that every website, squeeze page, and blog is automatically linked to every social media site that the investor uses. Preston Ely is a millionaire real estate investor who uses social media to promote a host of digital real estate products through Facebook. Preston used social media sites that were linked to 30 squeeze pages (a page that a person opts into to receive certain information by giving their personal information) to build a large list of real estate buyers. Preston had the largest buyers list in Tampa, Fl. D.C. Fawcett is a luxury home short sales investor who used social media and websites that targeted luxury homeowners in foreclosure. D.C. generates over 3000 leads a month in which he makes over $100,000.00 a month. D.C. builds relationships with both investors and homeowner through newsletters and emails. Both the newsletters and emails are filled with psychological triggers that create action. These actions often result in investors purchasing D.C’s seminar or real estate product. Most homeowners request a call from D.C.’s office about facilitating the short sale of their home. My personal real estate mentor, Chris Bruce uses a subscriber-based blog to promote his real estate mentorship program. I had the pleasure of finding Chris’s blog on Google by accident. I opted in for a 7-day beginners boot camp and received a free eBook for requesting the information. Days later I received and email with an invitation to Chris’s webinar. I have been a student of Chris for 8 months now.

The use of the Internet and digital marketing is a powerful tool. I am currently developing my own real estate investing company. It is my goal to create a franchise that will not focus on one deal at a time. I want to use these Internet techniques on websites, blog, squeeze pages, web 2.0, video marketing, and offline marketing that will supply leads for years to come. Any business that is not using digital and Internet marketing will not survive in the future.

SIMS 2.0

The real estate market has created more millionaires than any other industry to date.  The real estate market is failing miserably in this current economic recession. Private real estate investors have found a secret marketing niche to make millions of dollars in a down real estate market.  These investors have turn to Internet marketing.  The Internet has created a paradigm shift to way real estate is marketing.   D.C. Fawcett and Greg Clement have developed a real estate Internet program called SIMS profit system. SIMS stands for Smart Internet Marketing Solution. SIMS is a digital marketing and Internet implementation plan. Sims is has 8 modules that any real estate investor can use to explode their business online. The goal of SIMS is to change the mindset of a real estate investor from an investor to a “marketor” as Greg declares.  Let’s look at Module 1.

Module 1 of Sims teaches how a real estate investor can create a host of websites; squeeze pages and blogs to promote a number of niche markets in real estate.  Sims teaches investors to create a pipeline of leads through various sources.  The amazing part of Module 1 is that every website, squeeze page, and blog is automatically linked to every social media site that the investor uses.  Preston Ely is a millionaire real estate investor who uses social media to promote a host of digital real estate products through Facebook.  Preston used social media sites that were linked to 30 squeeze pages (a page that a person opts into to receive certain information by giving their personal information) to build a large list of real estate buyers. Preston had the largest buyers list in Tampa, Fl.  D.C. Fawcett is a luxury home short sales investor who used social media and websites that targeted luxury homeowners in foreclosure.  D.C. generates over 3000 leads a month in which he makes over $100,000.00 a month.  D.C. builds relationships with both investors and homeowner through newsletters and emails. Both the newsletters and emails are filled with psychological triggers that create action. These actions often result in investors purchasing D.C’s seminar or real estate product.   Most homeowners request a call from D.C.’s office about facilitating the short sale of their home.   My personal real estate mentor, Chris Bruce uses a subscriber-based blog to promote his real estate mentorship program.  I had the pleasure of finding Chris’s blog on Google by accident. I opted in for a 7-day beginners boot camp and received a free eBook for requesting the information.  Days later I received and email with an invitation to Chris’s webinar. I have been a student of Chris for 8 months now.  

The use of the Internet and digital marketing is a powerful tool.  I am currently developing my own real estate investing company. It is my goal to create a franchise that will not focus on one deal at a time. I want to use these Internet techniques on websites, blog, squeeze pages, web 2.0, video marketing, and offline marketing that will supply leads for years to come.  Any business that is not using digital and Internet marketing will not survive in the future.

The art of Bifylelodge.

Modern etymologists are baffled about the origins of the word "Bifylelodge". The word has taking the english language by storm. It is used in almost every form of the english language. It can be used as a noun, a verb, and adjective. The mystery of the creation of the word is deeply rooted in a blend of urban colloquialisms.  Bifylelodge is a mixture of the meaning of the words bullshit, fraud, and the slang use of the word Fly. Thus is the meaning of the multiple uses of the term in the english language. For example you have just read a bunch of Bifylelodge!

Digital Evolution

The way movies were advertised before the creation of the Internet was limited to advertising via television and publications. So what has changed? Technology is evolving at a phenomenal rate.  In order for advertising and marketing agencies in the film industry to keep up with the current technology, agencies have started to apply digital and mobile marketing techniques to reach moviegoers worldwide. These agencies now marketing through the Internet, smart phones, and book readers.

The Internet has singlehandedly changed the world. The way millions of people bank, share information; research topics, and seek employment are all done differently because of the Internet. The Internet opened a universe of new ways for movie producers to reach audiences. Online advertising allows production companies to place ads on millions of pages viewed daily by subscribers. Trailers for the new blockbuster movies coming out could be seen on social media sites when users login to their accounts.  After viewing a trailer the user could simply click on link that would allow them to buy tickets. Advertising movies on Social media sites alone can drive millions of viewers to the box office.

The creation of the smart phone has created various avenues for moviemakers to get their products out to world. Let’s key in on a niche market for smart phones, smart phone applications or apps for short. Smart Phone apps are applications that a user can download to their phone for free or for a fee. These applications are designed for specific functions that meet the users needs.  Filmmakers have created applications that will market and advertise their products to app users. For example, Fandango has an app for the I Phone that will allow users to acquire movie tickets from the I Phone. For more movie apps visit http://www.slashfilm.com/iphone-apps-for-movie-geeks/.

Society is slowly transitioning from paper products to the digital products. Major publishing companies are going out of business because of the recession. Consumers are no longer able to afford monthly subscriptions for a newspaper or magazine. Ironically consumers will still buy a new I Pad or new book reader to read their favorite books and magazines digitally. Publishing companies are now offering subscriptions on I Pads and book readers for their users.  These subscriptions can be paid for a monthly fee or on a yearly basis.  The newest trend in publishing is digital books and magazines. This technology is still being created, a digital book or magazine will allow the reader to read articles and view advertisements interactively. Click here now http://www.dfnionline.com/DFNI-digital.html. So imagine a new film trailer being advertised in a digital book or magazine that will give people an interactive experience.

The E-Book Factor

The world of publishing is changing rapidly as physical books are being translated into digital mediums. The old way of publishing is a slowly dying business. Major magazines and publishing titans are losing billions of dollars because of the economy and the emergence of authors who deciding to self publish. The Internet has shifted the balance of power from the publishing company to the author. The Internet gives the author the ability to self produce the project, promotion to millions of people, and cause the major publishing companies to seek co-publishing deals with the author.

The ability to self- produce an e-book has become an easy and simple process. An author can find everything that is needed to create and produce an e-book online. For example: John Smith can write a book using a basic Microsoft word program. Once the book is edited, John can design his own book cover by downloading free book cover templates by doing a basic Google search.  John can upload his own picture on the back of the e-book cover and design the front cover by using Adobe Photoshop. Now John has an e-book that is ready to be marketed and promoted.

The Internet is a great tool to promote and market an e-book. If this process is done correctly an e-book can make an author millions of dollars. An author can explore millions of niche markets to promote their product. Once the author finds his or her niche market, the author can create a marketing campaign to target customer within the niche market. This method is effective because the target customer is already interested in what the e-book is about. Marketing campaigns can but set up on search engine sites such as Yahoo or Google and social media websites such as Facebook.  By utilizing these marketing techniques an author can reach millions of customers.

Major publishing companies have decided that the Internet and the ability of authors to self publish their work, is not a fleeting phenomenon. This new trend of publishing is here to stay and it is growing at an alarming rate. To salvage their slowly dying companies, publishing companies are beginning to offer co-publishing deals to authors who have a large consumer base for their self-published work.  The co-publishing deal would allow the author to get a major distribution deal, share the copyrights, and royalties with the publisher equally.

E-books are here to stay. My advice to any author looking to get a major distribution deal would be to self publish a few projects and market them online. Create a viral buzz about yourself and your books through social media to develop a following. It will not be long before a major publishing deal will be sitting on your desk.

Ways to get a Co-Publishing Deal

The old ways of publishing are dead. The economic climate combined with frustrated authors who are tired of major publishing companies taking most of the profit from their work, has led authors to self- publish their own books.  These methods can be contributed to recent trends created by the Internet. In recent years authors have been able to harness the power of the Internet to self-publish and market their books to the millions of people. Major publishing companies have been unable to hold to the traditional ways of offering authors publishing deals where the publisher owns the copyrights to the authors work and keeps 85% of the profits and the author receives only 15% royalties from the books. The Internet and the economy has allowed independent authors to level the playing field in which major publishers are offering co-publishing deals to independent authors. Co-publishing deals are created when the author has sold a large amount of copies of their book, has created a sizable fan base, and can market to a large amount of people.

A co-publishing deal is when the publisher offers the author a deal to publish their books for an equal share of the copyrights and royalties. Co-publishing deals in past years were rare and very hard to obtain. The growing trend of self-publishing authors has created a larger stream of revenue for themselves. The recession is causing major publishing companies to go out of business. Major publishing companies are losing billions of dollars yearly. So in order to stay in business major publishers are offering more co-publishing deals.

One way authors can position themselves to get a co-publishing deal is to use Print on Demand Companies to publish and distribute a book.  Using print on demand companies will allow an author to get a book edited, published, and distributed for an affordable price. If the book is successful, the author can sell a large number of copies. The author will also retain most of the profit while earning a greater percentage of royalties.

Another way an author can earn a co-publishing deal is to create a sizeable fan base by marketing and promoting on social networking sites. The power to create a fan base through social media is a powerful technique. An author can place a small ad on face book to create awareness of his or her book. As people begin to click on the ad and purchase the book, a phenomenon called a viral buzz happens. A viral buzz is when people begin to spread the information about the book by word of mouth, email and mobile messaging.  The word will also reach major publishers, who in turn will seek to gain profits from the fan base through the author.

Lastly the Internet offers a number of marketing avenues to for authors to reach a large number of people. We have discussed how using facebook is effective. Another social networking site is Twitter. Twitter is a social networking site where people can post links to their websites, talk about their favorite restaurants, and become followers to each others Twitter page.  An author can create a blog that talks about his or her book. Within the blog the author can add a link to the purchase page of the book.  The author can also write a press release to announce the release of the book. The author can also create a personal website that will allow fans to enter their names and email addresses. The website will also have an e-commerce link for fans to purchase the book and also a forum page for fans to leave a comment. This personal website will allow the author to build a large database of customer that the author will use to build a relationship with. When the author has a new project coming out, the author can simply e-blast the database to promote the new project. These methods require a lot of effort but can be done overtime. Once implemented the author can expect to gain popularity and profits.

Protecting Your Business From Liabilities

All businesses created must be created with some form of legal protection in place.  The film industry is one of the most litigious industries in America. Film companies face lawsuits daily as parties file claims of copyright and trademark infringement. Another film company maybe sued for violating child labor laws in regards to child actors. With all of these litigations happening, how does a new film company protect themselves? We are going to analyze actual litigations and determine what provisions are needed to protect our businesses from potential lawsuits.

In employing the use of minors in the entertainment industry, Sanchez v. Nickelodeon provides a good example of what a film company should give adherence to. Caitlin Sanchez was hired at the age of 12 by Nickelodeon to play the animated character Dora, the star of Dora the Explorer.  Caitlin was paid $5000.00 per episode as well as some residuals from the Dora character. When Caitlin turned 14 years of age she went through puberty in which her voice changed. Nickelodeon fired Caitlin stating that her voice was no longer suitable to portray the Dora character. Caitlin’s parents filed a lawsuit for breach of contract and wrongful termination.  In examining the plaintiff’s arguments there are a number of violations that Nickelodeon is accused of.  1) Nickelodeon failed to have an attorney present when she signed a contract with Nickelodeon.  2) Caitlin’s agent and Nickelodeon forced Caitlin to unconscionably sign the contract. 3) Nickelodeon violated state child labor law in New York in which all contracts involving hiring minors must be review by the courts first before the contracts is legally binding.  I admonish all filmmakers to consult your attorney when you plan to hire a minor for your production. Be aware of the state laws concerning minors in which you are filming. Always make sure the minor has legal representation before initiating any contracts. The minor’s parents should be present at signing as well. 

Famed filmmaker George Lucas created “Star Wars”. In 1977 Lucas employed the use of Andrew Ainsworth to create the helmets for the storm trooper characters. Ainsworth created his own original molds for the helmets.  27 Years later in 2004 Ainsworth setup a website to sell his molds for the weapons and helmets he created for the movie.  Lucas filed a copyright lawsuit in the U.S. against Ainsworth who is a citizen of the United Kingdom. Lucas won a $20 million dollar default judgment against Ainsworth. In 2008, Lucas moves the case to the UK, Ainsworth files a counter lawsuit claiming that he owns the copyright and a portion of the $24 billion sold in merchandising.  In 2010, the UK court dismisses Lucas claims.  The protection of intellectual property is a must for any film company. In this case Lucas went into contract with a person who was not a United States citizen.  A film company in the United States may not always have legal protection in an international setting. Having an attorney who specializes in International Law on your legal team is recommended.  Note that a film can also create multiple sources of revenue in the form of toys, books, posters, clothing, etc. Consult your attorney to file the correct paper work to protect your intellectual properties.

The King’s Speech is a film produced in the United Kingdom that won best picture of the year. The American Human Association is threatening legal action based on the alleged use of a trademark certification. The British film uses the phrase “ No animals were harmed” in the making of this film. The phrase is trademarked by the AHA. The AHA has used this trademark power to demand certain rights of filmmakers who use animals on set. The AHA has no authority over the film while it is being distributed in the UK. However the Weinstein Co. is distributing the film in the U.S. The AHA is also threatening legal action against the Weinstein. Co if the words are not removed from the film in the U.S.  This situation teaches a potential filmmaker to 1) thoroughly search out all clearances and permission for any use for copyrights and trademarks, 2) having ownership of copyrights and trademarks allow the owners to have certain privileges, 3) once infringement has been discovered you have a legal duty to mitigate, 4) Know the scope of your jurisdiction. 

Structuring a film company to minimize litigation is a lot of work. The hiring of the right personnel is paramount. Having a legal team that can analyze all future work before production begins can save time and money.  A filmmaker must know how to create additional revenue streams through the creation of intellectual properties. These litigations serve as a guideline for establishing a successful film company. While no company can avoid being sued, having adequate legal protection helps.

Blog Resources

http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com

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