Making the most of media and entertainment means using creative ways to promote your business in this industry without spending a great deal of money. Luckily, there are many free or inexpensive ways to do this. If you want the media and entertainment industries to offer you more than just a movie or a television show to entertain you in your spare time, focus on the marketing and public relations opportunities these industries can afford you.

Using the film, television and media fields to promote your product can be less expensive than you think. While the media and entertainment industries may look very glamorous to outsiders, these industries actually rely on business owners for financing and for other important contributions. Journalists need business owners to interview, for example, while movie and television shows need props, products and services for their sets and shows. You can use this to your advantage by:

1. Visiting trade shows to develop contacts in the media and entertainment business.

2. Hiring product placement services to gain recognition in the media and entertainment industry.

3. Working with journalists and other professionals in the field as an expert.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Visit entertainment media trade shows to develop contacts and forge business relationships

Whether you want to sell to the media and entertainment industries or hope to leverage these industries for promotion of your company, you need to find the specific professionals who can help you. One great way to learn about media and entertainment companies in your area is to visit local trade shows. Trade shows allow you to make the most of media and entertainment contacts while feeling out the local industry players.

I recommend: BizTradeShows helps you find media trade shows in your area. You can search shows by organizer, date or location as well. EventsEye lets you find entertainment industry and media industry trade shows in your area.

Use product placement services to get your company into the entertainment media spotlight

Having entertainment personalities recommend your product or having your company mentioned on the radio, in a television show or in a movie is a great way to market your business. Usually, a company pays a fee for this service, but the results are well worth the cost. Although this form of marketing in the entertainment and the media industries is often quite subtle, it's almost always effective.

I recommend: Mediaplacement, which has been in business since 1998, offers product placement services for both feature films and television. New Age Media Concepts offers product placement services in television shows, films and music videos.

Offer your expertise to professionals in the media industry to build your brand

Nothing gives you and your business more authority than being seen as an 'expert,' and few things give you more credibility as an expert than having your words quoted in the media. When media professionals quote you in their pieces, they often mention your business name, offering you free publicity and promoting you as an authority in your field.

I recommend: ProfNet is a simple directory that connects you with media professionals. Simply fill out a form and media professionals looking for experts in your field will contact you. The Absolute Write forum is a very active online professional writing community. Professional writers looking for sources for their next article often post interview requests here.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Making the most of media and entertainment means making the most of your media entertainment industry contacts. Offer to serve as an expert on something specific when contacting a journalist, for example, rather than starting your communication by outlining the details of your company or requesting publicity. Get the relationship off on the right foot by offering something to the media or entertainment professional needs before asking for something in return.

Many people want to work in the media and entertainment industry. As a small business owner, you can make your mark in the entertainment, media industry with very little start-up cost. Online entertainment companies have a high profit, but it requires a lot of leg-work to get your entertainment website or blog noticed in slew of other sites that are doing similar things.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when starting your entertainment business:

1. Specialization is key. Whether it’s a gossip site or a movie review website, find your niche. It will be much easier to attract readers and advertisers.

2. Know your topic well. If you’re going to be a gossip blogger, then take the time to make connections and relationships with people in the industry. You don’t want to regurgitate the same old gossip that was an exclusive on someone else’s blog.

3. Movie reviews are a great starting point when looking to start and entertainment business and getting connections in the media entertainment industry. If your website becomes popular enough, you can begin to get asses to films as well as other perks from the studios.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start your own YouTube

Video sharing websites are all the rage, and there is still plenty of opportunity for growth in this industry. Create your own video website that focuses on any aspect of the entertainment industry that interests you.

I recommend: Clipshare gives you the script necessary to start your own video sharing community at an affordable price.

Become a media and entertainment industry authority

If you have a love of the media and entertainment industry, then being a gossip blogger may be the right entertainment business for you. Start-up costs are low. You just need a free blog site and hosting, and if you can get the inside scoop on what's going in Hollywood before anyone else, your blog will be getting hits in no time.

I recommend: Wordpress.org is a free blogging software that allows you to also create many static web pages. It offers you the most freedom when comes to setting up your blog.

Create a movie review entertainment business

A movie review site is an easy entertainment business to start and make successful. While there are many movie review sites on the web, you can make your site stand out by including not just reviews but reviews of other entertainment, media news, and video and podcasts on your site as well.

I recommend: Doteasy is a great business hosting network that offers free hosting, with enough space and bandwidth to support entertainment companies.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Advertisers are going to be to your success with your entertainment, media business. Look to join various ad networks when your blog or website has become a well established online business.

The media and entertainment industry is a broad umbrella term for any business or company involved in fields such as live entertainment, broadcasting, filmed entertainment, journalism. Although most of us associate this industry with pure relaxation—seeing a movie after work, for example, or relaxing in front of the television on a weekend— businesses rely heavily on the media and entertainment industry for their marketing and branding efforts.

If you own your own business, there are many ways the media and entertainment industry can help you with promotion and advertising. If you provide a service or product useful to the media and entertainment industry, you may opt for direct sales. To find PR opportunities that can expand your business and to learn more about media and entertainment basics, consider:

1. Forming advertising trade-out agreements that position your product in movies and television at little cost.

2. Developing media and entertainment contacts to promote your business.

3. Hiring celebrities to testify that your product is great—in front of the press.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Create trade-out deals with the entertainment business to have your products showcased

Trade-outs are a way for businesses to provide producers with the items-- books, furniture and other accessories--they need on the set. Producers often get props and needed furnishings for their sets while companies get a great branding and promotion opportunity. Trade-outs are often less expensive than product placement deals, but require signing a contract and providing customized products free of charge.

I recommend: Media Matchmaker links advertisers or companies with producers of television shows and films. Another option is to contact producers directly, in writing, to let them know that your company products are available. Visit VisualNet for the valuable contact information of many production companies in various areas of the media and entertainment industry. Once you have this vital information in-hand, you can negotiate trade-outs with some of the industry's biggest players.

Develop contacts in the entertainment and the media field to promote your business

The media entertainment industry works largely on contacts, so developing contacts in the field is essential. If you want your business to be mentioned in a local newspaper or news show, for example, it will be much easier to accomplish this if you know people in the local media. An entertainment industry directory or media directory can also help you develop a mailing list if you have products or services you can offer the media and entertainment industry.

I recommend: TalentBox.com is an online directory that allows you to find entertainment and media professionals in your area. If your business has a product or service that is related to the industry, you can list your company on the website, as well. TheIndustryContacts.com is a national directory of those in the entertainment media industry. It's a good resource for developing contacts and mailing lists. Plunkett's Research's Entertainment and Media Industry guide includes media and entertainment basics, industry statistics and a directory of companies and contacts in the field.

Find celebrities willing to testify about your product or business

Celebrities are always in the public eye, so when they endorse your company, many fans will listen. Celebrity endorsement deals also mean that the entertainment companies celebrities work with will hear about your product. You don't have to contact public figures directly--a number of services will find celebrities willing to ink an endorsement deal with you.

I recommend: The Prince Marketing Group offers a celebrity product endorsement service. The company will find celebrities to promote your service or product. The Celebrity Endorsement Network has worked with many movie stars, athletes and other public figures. They partner with businesses every step of the way, from initial consultation to negotiating the endorsement contract.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When contacting entertainment or media companies for marketing opportunities or to offer a service or product, realize that professionals in these fields are busy. Practice your pitch until you can explain yourself in a sentence or two.

Very few people, especially in America, go through life untouched by the media and entertainment industry. However, the terminology associated with media and entertainment isn't as common. Understanding the vocabulary is necessary if you find yourself working in the media and entertainment industry. Consider these terms to help you out.

Action Steps
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Journalism

Journalism is the reliable reporting of current events and news through various media like television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. News journalists formulate feature stories, breaking news and investigative reports. Opinion journalists produce columns, reviews and editorials.

I recommend: The University of Western Ontario offers a complete definition of journalism.

Digital broadcasting

Digital broadcasting is the transmission of digital signals over the air. This replaces the old analog signals that used to be the standard for over the air broadcasting. Digital broadcasting allows for more options and higher quality.

I recommend: The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) explains digital broadcasting and how it impacts both television and radio.

Cable networks

Cable networks are a package of channels received through cable or satellite. On older systems, there may only be 20 cable networks. However, on newer cable and satellite systems, there could be more than 150 cable networks.

I recommend: The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) offers in depth information about cable networks in the media and entertainment industry.

Local channels

Whether through a free signal over the air or through cable or satellite, local channels offer information that pertains to your particular area of the country. Local channels often feature news, weather and other local programming to help keep citizens in the area informed.

I recommend: DISH Network offers a list of the local channels available in most of its markets.

Television ratings

Television ratings are a scale to determine the popularity of a program. Using statistical sampling, the ratings company can determine which shows are popular and which shows are not. Networks use this information to renew, revise or cancel television shows.

I recommend: HowStuffWorks explains the television ratings process.

Live television

Live television is programming performed live on location, and broadcast to the audience without editing. Live television offers talent one chance to get it right, because there's no time to edit mistakes. Many awards shows and news programs are broadcast live. However, many networks require a three or five-second delay so there's time to respond in the event of an inappropriate situation.

I recommend: TV Acres offers a television glossary which includes the definition of live television.