Infomercial production is a great marketing tool that has several specific benefits. Infomercials solicit a direct response from customers, since most sales from an infomercial are completed before the television infomercial is even completed. The target market that infomercials reach is very broad, bringing your product to a wide range of potential customers.

In order to ensure that the pricing and costs of infomercials is a wise investment for your business, you must first make sure your product fits the following criteria:

1. Infomercials work the best for products that can be demonstrated on the air.

2. Only attempt to sell your product through TV infomercials if the price of it is less than $100. Most people won't spend a lot on an item they cannot first see or touch.

3. The best products to sell on television infomercials are highly unique and innovative, and they catch the attention of the viewer.

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

Buy airtime for your television infomercial

The price of airtime varies greatly depending on several variables. One half-hour of airtime during prime time TV hours in areas like New York City and Chicago can cost up to $25,000, but may be as low as $1,500 in smaller areas. Thirty minutes of airtime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. will range between $500 and $3,000, depending on the size of the viewing area.

I recommend: Search for available airtime on many major cable, broadcast and satellite networks at RadioAirtime.com or Spot On Media.

Use an infomercial production company

The cost of hiring infomercial production services to take care of everything will cost between $25,000 and $100,000. It is a good investment, though, since infomercial production companies take care of everything from planning and production, to hiring the talent.

I recommend: Hire companies like InfoWorx or IntelliVision to produce your entire infomercial.

Hire talent to star in your television infomercials

The price of hiring television personalities also varies greatly. It can be as cheap as hiring an unknown actor for around $100, to $10,000 for well-known, big-named celebrities.

I recommend: Search Talent Management or Star Now for television talent to star in your infomercial.

Keep pricing and costs of infomercials down by going online

The cost of producing infomercials online is significantly less than TV infomercials. For as little $100, business owners can buy software and equipment needed to post short, Internet infomercials on their website, web broadcasting sites, or affiliate websites.

I recommend: Post videos for free on sites like YouTube and Metacafe.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Because many people mistrust infomercials as scams, earn trust with money-back guarantees and return policies.

Few consumers will admit to watching infomercials—those 30-minute TV commercials peddling everything from kitchen appliances to beauty creams—let alone to buying from them. What consumers say and what they do are, however, are two different things. The fact is, infomercials give entrepreneurs the chance to tell their product’s story, to not only say what it does, but also to show how it works. And while few people confess to it, the reality is that one in four Americans has purchased a product sold in an infomercial.

Infomercials are big business for anyone who’s willing to look beyond their reputation at the facts. After all, infomercials enjoy $91 billion per year in sales and one successful spot alone can generate more than $40 million in sales within only three months. Given the right product and the right value proposition, infomercials can work wonders. And lucky for you, the winning formula is simple. Successful infomercials require:

1. Entertainment
2. Demonstrated solutions to everyday problems
3. A visible spokesperson
4. Honest endorsements
5. A compelling sales pitch

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

Evaluate your product

Because infomercials are product-driven, their success hinges upon the existence of buzz-worthy merchandise. To decide if your product is infomercial-worthy, ask yourself these five questions: Is it unique? Does it have broad appeal? Does it have benefits and features that can be visually demonstrated? Does it offer a convenient solution to a common problem? Can you reasonably sell the product for three to five times what it costs to make?

I recommend: The easiest way to find out if your product is TV-ready is to ask the experts; with years of experience in direct response television, they've seen enough winners and losers to know what will fly and what will flop. Network with infomercial veterans via the Direct Marketing Association's Broadcast Council, or become an expert yourself by subscribing to industry trades such as the Direct Response Television Monitoring Report and Response Magazine.

Build a strong sales proposition

Before you move forward with producing an infomercial, or even planning one, you must decide on a compelling value proposition. Structure your offer carefully; consider product features, price point, add-ons and premiums, as well as strategies such as two-for-one deals and free gifts, which are especially effective when selling to television audiences.

I recommend: The key feature of every infomercial is the "Order now!" message, or the call to action. Make sure customers who are receptive to your sales pitch can follow through, and make it easy for them to do so by clearly displaying your phone number and Web site on-screen throughout your infomercial. Get a toll-free phone number from one of the service providers associated with the 800 Service Management System and make sure your Web site is serviced by a shopping cart system, such as 1ShoppingCart.com, so that customers can place orders online, too.

Plan your creative

Save money by developing as much of your infomercial in pre-production as possible. Start by scouting locations in which to film, building sets on which to work, writing your script and casting your actors, as well as getting a head start on any market research and public relations you might need to do.

I recommend: Using software like Final Draft AV, a scriptwriting program, or Directors Notebook, designed to help producers organize their production plans, can help you write, plan and perfect your infomercial well before you get the cameras rolling.

Produce your infomercial

Production-actually filming and editing your infomercial-can take several months. Help the process along by hiring professionals-actors, producers, directors, technicians, etc. -who have infomercial experience. They know what strategies, formats and techniques work, and they can minimize both headaches and hiccups.

I recommend: While you can take the do-it-yourself approach, it's advisable to enlist a marketing agency to help you in your infomercial efforts. Look for agencies such as Producers Direct, ITV, Target Market Advertising Group, Hawthorne Direct and Infomercial Solutions, which have infomercial experience and can either help you with pieces of production or put your project together from start to finish, depending on your budget.

Buy airtime

When it's time to air your infomercial, be conservative. Test your ad first in smaller markets, running it for two weeks on broadcast and cable television and at various times of day in order to find out what gets the best results. When you're confident in your response, proceed with a more aggressive rollout.

I recommend: Consider hiring a media buying agency with experience in direct response TV to purchase airtime for you. Agencies such as Koeppel Direct, Mercury Media and Crystal Clear Concepts know the markets, prices and people necessary to make your infomercial a hit.

Take and fulfill orders

Advertising a product is useless if customers can't actually buy it. Infomercials aren't only about filming, after all; successful ones also have efficient ordering, fulfillment and customer service systems in place.

I recommend: In addition to a toll-free phone number and Web site, to get started you'll need a call center, such as CustomerDirect or Omni Call Center; a credit card merchant account, with Visa, MasterCard or American Express; and a shipping solution, whether FedEx or UPS.

Expand into retail

An infomercial should never be your end goal. Make retail rollout part of your plan, too, in order to maximize profits and extend the lifecycle of your product.

I recommend: Many products branded with "As Seen On TV," such as those at AsSeenOnTV.com, enjoy instant popularity in retail stores. Consult the National Retail Federation for advice on breaking into retail or browse sites like RepHunter and RepLocate for a sales rep that can pursue retail leads for you.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Good infomercials feature real customers and professional actors alike. Take the time and spend the money to find and film both.
• •  The best infomercial advice, according to experts: Don't fake it. Consumers appreciate and reward honesty and can always tell when an offer is too good to be true.
• •  If you're interested in infomercials, be willing to invest time as well as money; most infomercials cost between $20,000 and $250,000 to make and take many months to produce.
• •  Infomercials come in many formats; choose one that fits both your objective and your budget. The demonstration, in which a product is used on screen; the storymercial, which features fictional vignettes; and the documercial, which resembles a news report about your product; are examples of different formats.
• •  Successful infomercials rely on a visible spokesperson to both vouch for the product and sell it. And while celebrity endorsements can give your product instant cache, you do not need a famous spokesperson in order to succeed. Instead, focus on casting as your lead an approachable and experienced actor who will appeal to your target audience.
• •  Customers aren't likely to watch your entire infomercial from beginning to end; as such, infomercials generally contain several smaller 'segments.' Include a call to action at the end of each segment-at least every 10 minutes-to encourage viewers to, 'Buy now!'
• •  The average lifecycle for an infomercial-before product saturation occurs-is six to 18 months.

Staying on top of infomercials news and trends will increase sales and marketing productivity. Producing infomercials in new and innovative ways, as well as using new sales strategies, will bring in new customers, help retain existing customers and develop brand recognition on a large scale.

Television infomercials are produced by the thousands every year, so give yourself an advantage by researching infomercial trends and setting your product apart from the competition. Turn new marketing and sales approaches into profit. By keeping up with infomercials news and trends, you can do the following:

1. Discover new ways to position your product in the infomercial market.

2. Stay on top competing products being sold through infomercials.

3. Find new and untapped markets in which your product has never before been introduced.

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

Talk to the infomercial production experts

Turn to infomercial producers for consultations to learn the new and innovative ways that infomercials are being made. You may have to pay a small fee, but this is the best way to get insider information, and you don't have to make a commitment with an infomercial company for production in order to hear the information.

I recommend: Get infomercial consulting from IntelliVision or InfoWorx, who offer product evaluation services for free.

Join a marketing association specializing in making infomercials

For a small membership fee you can join an association to read daily or weekly news, hear about new businesses and products, take part in workshops and seminars and network with other professionals.

I recommend: The Direct Marketing Association is the largest marketing and sales association that deals with direct marketing techniques like infomercials, but only accepts corporate memberships. The Electronic Retailing Association is for businesses that produce radio and Internet infomercials as well as TV infomercials.

Track television infomercial rankings and sales results

For a subscription fee you get instant access to regular up-to-date reports on direct marketing like infomercials. These reports will give you information on things like which products are being sold, how quickly they are sold, the level of Internet traffic to the product sites and what customer opinions are.

I recommend: Purchase weekly reports from Jordan Whitney or customized, in-depth reports from Infomercial Monitoring Service.

Subscribe to television infomercial publications

Infomercial news publications are a cheap and easy way to stay on top of the latest in infomercials news and trends. Regular publications that can be viewed online will not only give you the news, but provide advertisements and listings for services related to infomercials.

I recommend: Subscribe to DMNews or Response Magazine to read infomercial news, read editorials from experts, get access to resources and see event listings.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't copy new infomercial production company trends simply because they are new; carefully analyze them and make sure they will work for your business and product.

Depending on your product, an infomercial can be a great way to advertise. It allows you to demonstrate the effectiveness of your product to potential customers. Direct response television companies create infomercials to initiate a specific response in viewers. With a good spokesperson and a strong call-to-action, you can sell millions of dollars worth of product. However, it is expensive to create an infomercial, so make sure that you know these key terms before making decision

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Direct response television

Direct response television is another term for infomercials. The name refers to direct response marketing or direct marketing, in which the marketing style encourages viewers to respond immediately.

I recommend: Advanced Results Marketing describes direct response television.

Spokesperson

The spokesperson is the person in your infomercial that demonstrates the product. Choosing the right spokesperson is important as some personalities can develop a cult-like following.

I recommend: FilmmakerIQ.com lists the top seven infomercial spokespeople.

Call-to-action

The call-to-action is the part of the infomercial that tells viewers to call a phone number or visit a website in order to buy the product. Often, a call-to-action encourages viewers to act fast to receive a special bonus.

I recommend: International Cyber Business Services (ICBS) describes how to use a call-to-action to boost sales.

Pre-production, production and post-production

The pre-production phase of your infomercial is the planning stage. You write the infomercial, hire talent and draw out the various scenes. Production refers to the actual filming of the infomercial. Post-production entails editing and adding a soundtrack.

I recommend: Blip.tv explains the various stages of production.

Media buying agency

A media buying agency puts your infomercial in front of the right people. These are specialists that deal with purchasing advertising slots for a number of customers, either long-form infomercials or the average 30-second commercial. Because they have a deeper understanding of the demographics of various television slots, they will help you to determine the best time and channel for your infomercial.

I recommend: Crystal Clear Concepts is an example of a media buying agency.

Social proof

Social proof helps to encourage customers to buy a product by ensuring them that they are not alone. This may include scenes showing others using the product or testimonials from people saying that the product worked for them. This is an important element in selling a product.

I recommend: RoundOne discusses social proof in infomercials.