New Book Explains 'Crowdsourcing'

If you're a writer and filmmaker like me, you absolutely have to read Richard Botto's "Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd." This book should be required reading not only for filmmakers and writers, but for any creative type.

Richard Botto is himself a writer screenwriter and actor. He is also the founder of Stage 32, which is basically the LinkedIn for creative types.

Crowdsourcing, as Botto explains, has a long history that goes back before the Internet and other modern technology existed. A lot of people confuse crowdsourcing with crowdfunding, as Botto describes in the book. Crowdfunding ‒ using platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to raise money for projects ‒ is simply one form of crowdsourcing. 

So what is the definition of crowdsourcing? Crowdsourcing is identifying your audience and finding ways to engage with them.

We creative types tend to make a lot of mistakes because a lot of what we do is trial and error. "Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers" will show you the mistakes you've been making and how to learn from them, especially in some of the case studies that Botto includes.

For example, there is a case study about the documentary "Mile... Mile & a Half" about a group of friends who happen to be filmmakers who got together to hike a 200-mile trail in California's Sierra Mountains. The filmmakers did everything right: they researched their target audience and identified dozens of groups of people who could be interested in the subject. 

The "Mile... Mile & a Half" crew consciously decided to zero in on just three groups of people who would be interested in the documentary's subject matter. They systematically engaged these groups through social media and on Kickstarter to raise nearly $100,000 to complete the documentary.

The really cool thing about "Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers" is that it includes tons of research about effective ways to engage audiences. The book explains how to use crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Seed and Spark, and more traditional crowdsourcing methods like networking in person and doing speaking engagements. 

If you're just starting out as a filmmaker ‒ maybe you're still in film school or you're just learning on your own how to make films ‒ or you're an actor or some other creative type, you should definitely read "Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers." You can learn how to build an audience and a network of professional contacts. 

And if you're like me, a filmmaker and writer who has already released several projects, the book will teach you new techniques and reinforce tried-and-true strategies to propel yourself forward. 

"Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers" should be required reading for every film school, drama school and even business school in the country. It's a must-read textbook and guide that you should have at your disposal, and I highly recommend it.