In an attempt to tap into his strong fan base, Joss Whedon has launched a new experiment in online video, dubbing it "Dr. Horrible," an online musical of all things. It's the story of a villain always getting stopped by a hero, while also yearning to know a girl at a laundromat.
Whedon created and/or wrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and Serenity, among others.
With fans of Whedon being extremely passionate about his work, he is pretty much guaranteed a significant number of people will take a look at his made-for-the-Internet creation.
Whedon self-funded the work, saying it was somewhere in the low six figures to produce.
If you were aware of the Internet musical from the beginning, you know it didn't launch well, as people struggled to access the show, as huge demand and geographic limitations caused a lot of technical problems.
Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.
The show will be available online ad-supported and free for viewers until July 20. From there it will be taken down and offered on Apple iTunes for $1.99 for each of the three installments it'll be offered in, or $3.99 for the entire series.
The reason I'm bringing all this up, is because we've been talking a lot about a strategy that has been working for some time online, and Whedon is attempting to do this with Dr. Horrible. I'm talking about offering a product for free, and then creating a secondary product which can be sold as some type of classic or premium offering.
Online marketers have been doing this online for some time, and has been very effective.
Along with his iTune's strategy, Whedon will be creating a DVD to go with the original story; although the cast will be the same, the story will be new, remaining within the original 42-minute time frame. He'll call the second story "Commentary," which will also be a musical.
Everyone has been trying to figure out how to best monetize online video, and I think the strategy Whedon is using will be one of the major ways to succeed. We should definitely watch the outcomes and learning experience Whedon goes through, as he attempts to successfully implement an online video strategy.
What is important to me with this, is watching the business side of it. Understanding the general amount of money invested versus cash generated. I do like that he already has several ways to monetize the video: through ads, downloads, and finally the DVD. That should give him a look at percentages that can be expected through the different means of income.
Even though this experiment is through a creative type, don't think it doesn't apply to your online business. If you have a fan base you can market to of any kind, using this type of strategy, not only with video, but in any type of content, will definitely add to your online success.
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