How to Bid on Infomercial Jobs
For experienced freelancers and independent contractors working on media projects, a good video reel can possibly land you project-based jobs such as producing infomercials. If you have some corporate works, informational videos, and advertising projects in your reel and resume, bidding for infomercial jobs could provide you good rackets.
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Things You'll Need
- Video reel (DVD and on the web)
- Resume and/or company profile
- Proposal letter with project quotation
- Costing references
- Reliable client and agency contacts
- Optional:
- Your own website
- Print portfolio
- Name/business cards
Instructions
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Make your video reel and upload it on the web so that prospective clients can easily access it online. This reel is a short, edited compilation of previous infomercial and other corporate/commercial works you've done. It showcases the best shots and top clients you have, and it uses upbeat music as accompaniment. A good reel should be between 1 to 3 minutes long.
Burn copies of your reel onto a DVD if you are asked to send physical copies to clients' offices.
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Make an impressive resume. For artistic and media jobs, creating a visually enticing resume is always a plus. Good presentation provides an edge to make your mark and for you to get remembered by the client among the bidders. Highlight your best credentials and past projects you made for bigger companies to further build your credentials.
It is a good idea to come up with a website where you can place your resume, portfolio, and reel. You can also include copies of your past projects in your website, but make sure you have the right to publish these video projects on the web and/or that you have obtained permission from your former clients to upload the video on the web. Add photos of your past production works online for prospective clients to see.
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Design a format for cover letters, proposals, and project quotations. Create formats for contracts, billings, and other production-related documents in advance so they'll be ready when you need them. There are available formats easily searchable on the web. For more options, you can also buy CDs or books with formats for various production and bidding documents. Those on CDs usually provide documents in Word format so that you can easily revise and reword specific parts according to the project you're bidding.
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Research costing information for infomercials. Buy books and seek advice from colleagues who are experienced in bidding various projects. Such information aren't usually available on the web, as bidding is very competitive and entails careful budgeting that are usually confidential. Your past experiences in bidding for infomercials (or similar production works) could also be good benchmarks in finalizing your costing.
The costing will depend on a project's production requirements and the kind of company looking for your services. A multinational company will definitely put more production value and budget for their infomercials as compared to small- to medium-scale businesses. You can finalize the figures after receiving the project brief from the client when you bid.
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Develop as many connections as you can. Attend workshops, symposia, product launches, conventions, and advertising congresses. Make sure you have enough name/business cards available. Get potential clients' name/business cards, too. These can be a big help in finding out more about bidding notices and knowing the right people to whom you should send your reel and other credentials for possible projects.
Bigger companies also have agencies that play crucial roles in selecting who gets the projects. You can send your reel and portfolio to them ahead of time so you can be on their radar--and they can inform you when they have a project up for bidding.
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Always have copies of your resume (or company profile if you are bidding as a company), print portfolio, DVDs of your reel and/or sample projects, and name/business cards ready to submit to potential clients. Remember to provide them with enough material to leave a good impression without annoying them with a hard sell.
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Watch infomercials and other advertising, corporate, and informational videos to keep up on the latest trends, current needs of various clients, and effective styles, treatments, and running times for infomercials.
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Read the project brief carefully when you are asked to bid. It's best to have a tailor-made proposal and quotation for each client. Research the project and provide a personal approach to your bid without losing its professional details. This is a little tricky, but remember that people behind the call for bids appreciate enough personal appeal--this makes them feel that you prepared your bid with their specific needs in mind.
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Provide a realistic cost estimate. While it's true that the lowest bidder has an edge in winning the project, make sure you don't provide an unrealistic budget. If you do, even if you get the project, you'll either earn less than you deserve (or nothing at all)--or you won't get the resources you need to do your best work on the project, which will cause problems in bidding for future assignments.
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Tips & Warnings
Find your niche and include this in your image branding to increase your recognition by clients. Develop expertise on specific products, services, and campaigns. For instance, your niche could be doing animation, motion graphics, and special effects. You may have a couple of sample works with pharmaceutical companies, school videos, or home TV shopping projects. Look like more of an expert than a jack of all trades.
In making your own website, it's best to have your own domain name and hosting instead of depending on free resources. This helps you look more professional. Buying your own domain name and hosting isn't expensive and is a good investment.
Always be straight to the point and never make a long proposal/quotation, resume/company profile, video reel, and portfolio. Otherwise, potential clients are likely to gloss over your bid, and you won't leave a good impression.
Always be on time when submitting your bidding materials. Respond to phone calls and emails right away. Submitting your bids well before the deadline can help you to be remembered by the client, and you're more likely to get your proposal read if the client doesn't have a stack of them piling up.
