Pricing and Costs of Infomercials

Determine cost of television infomercials

By Nikki Wheeler

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.

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