If you feel constant pressure to publish a project early, maybe don’t start advertising it before you’re well close to release date.

I hate it when movie producers start promoting a movie sometimes six months or even a year before it’s released. I get it. You think nobody will show up if you leave it to the last minute, but you know… By the time the movie is out, you, as a non-devoted fan, are sick of hearing about it and it’s old news and there’s another movie coming up “soon” that you figure “we’ll go see that one.” Further, the cast and crew are under constant pressure to fulfill the devoted fans’ needs to see the new movie. Maybe it would be better if you didn’t start to promote the project until it’s close to being finished and trust that most people don’t plan their movie nights a year ahead. Just be reasonable.

Save the advertising budget to the last month before release, and make sure that for as long as the film is in theatres, you catch every search for a movie that weekend. Make sure it’s everywhere for the month before, not the year before.

Also, maybe get over the whole “create a bit of a buzz” thing… We’re over it. We know how you little shits operate. But the thing is, we don’t care what the story is about, we want to know who is in it. Some want to know who directed it, but we just want to know our favorite actors will be on screen, and that’s all there is to it. Stories are important, but we trust the actors to do their jobs and to pick their projects like champs.

Still, try not to put the actors under pressure. They still need to enjoy the process to make it worth seeing. It’ll be enough to know “Johnny is working, release dates are unknown.” Specifics are not required until they are. Release schedules on a need-to-know basis, yes?

Also know that the fans are just expressing that they WILL be there, they are anxious to see it, and their “when is it going to be released?” means “we love you and care, and don’t want to miss a day after the release” NOT “hurry up you sluggish idiots.”

Apply to your web, art, music, etc. projects as applicable.

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