When your industry is out of the mainstream, why would you market in a mainstream way?

On today's sign-up report, I saw that a blog all about the making, and promoting, of an independent film was on there. The movie is called Not Forgotten and the blog is called Not Forgotten Movie. (Aptly named, I know.)

As a film major, I love independent films but know how hard it is for them to pick up widespread distribution. If they're lucky, they'll be shown in small theaters somewhere in L.A. or New York. If I'm lucky, I'll have the chance to catch the film on Netflix. However, with the advent of social media, indie films can increase their chances of hitting it big by connecting with audiences before the film even arrives in theaters.

When a film is made by a major studio, millions of dollars can go into promoting it. But with small films like Not Forgotten, the only chance they have at being shown nationwide is if the audiences express an interest for it. With free tools like blogs, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, the producers of the movie can help spread the word at a much lower cost and prove that there is demand for the film to be shown.

In the case of Not Forgotten, in addition to a blog, they have a twitter account with almost 3600 followers. The producers promote the movie, interact with other film lovers on twitter, and give fans a glimpse at what it takes to actually get an independently-made movie into the theater. You can also watch videos of the movie's L.A. premiere and interviews with the stars on their YouTube channel. If all that weren't enough, Not Forgotten also has a Flickr account featuring still shots from the movie and promo pics of the stars.

Indie music has been doing this kind of online promotion successfully for years with a little service called MySpace. As much as I hate the obnoxious design of MySpace, I can see how the social network is useful for independent bands. You can get your music into the hands of people who want to hear it, build a fanbase and easily communicate tour dates. It's almost mandatory these days for an indie band to have their MySpace URL all over show flyers and concert announcements.

I expect to see more indie films doing what Not Forgotten has done with social media. Not only because the price of the marketing is in line with their budget, but because it gives me hope that some of these awesome movies might actually make it to Denver one day.

When I first started working at Lijit, Stan James sent along a few sites that he thought would help me get started in "the space". The space being, of course, blogging and marketing a tech company. One of the blogs he sent me was that of the lovely Liz Strauss, creator of the highly-resourceful Successful Blog. With a name like that, how can you not learn something from her?

Over the years, I've kept Liz in my RSS reader, looking to her posts for writing inspiration and tips on how to be a better blogger. I finally had the chance to meet Liz at the Blissdom conference in early February, where I had the honor of speaking. Liz and I fell into an easy conversation and it was quite apparent that this woman simply drips knowledge. She likes to joke about her age, but all I could do was listen and soak up her wisdom.

Imagine my surprise when, a week after the conference, I was included in Liz's post about how to be a successful sponsor at a small conference. While I was taking part in sessions, talking to Lijit publishers, and meeting many new people, Liz was watching. She could tell, by my engagement with other conference attendees, that I was there not just to promote Lijit, but to learn. Along with John Andrews (he of Walmart fame), I was used as an example of sponsors that understand how to make a lasting impression. Here's the line that resonated most with me...

John and Tara were about building relationships with their customers — current and future.

I don't mean for this post to simply be a way to toot my own horn, although you can tell by the title that I am still in awe of the praise. It's just that when I go to conferences, it's not about being at the right party or name-dropping. For me, conferences provide an opportunity to have meaningful conversations, to learn from the people using Lijit on their blogs, to make new friends, and of course, to give away as many Lijit t-shirts as possible. :)

I've seen it all when it comes to sponsors. There are the people who act "too cool" to actually hang out with conference attendees and those who are so interested in promoting themselves, you almost forget what company they're representing. I like to think that the work I do at conferences is some of the most important that I can be doing for Lijit because, in this day and age, relationships do still matter.

Thanks again for the shout-out Liz. And for using Lijit on your blog.

Okay, okay, so call me short notice Sally, but I wanted to be sure to help spread the word about a community event with promise. Or at the very least, with beer. Two of the local drinking groups with entrepreneurial problems, BioBeers and Boulder Startup Drinks, are joining forces tonight at the Foundry for a night of networking and commiseration. If you're interested, the festivities will start around 6:30ish.

Many of the attendees will actually be meeting up before heading to the bar to hear Jason Mendelson give a crash-course on raising venture capital at the Wolf Law building on the CU campus. To see more details about Jason's presentation, check out the Silicon Flatirons site for specifics.