The Filmmaker Who Built a New Model for Indie Film with Daren Smith

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Overview

Daren Smith — indie film producer and founder of Craftsman Films — is back on the show, and he's bringing a whole new level of clarity on what it takes to build a sustainable creative business. He breaks down the MOVIE framework from his new book Blockbuster, shares the LinkedIn strategy that grew his audience from 800 to 12,000+ followers, and offers a totally fresh take on selling that doesn't feel like selling at all. If you've ever struggled with getting clients to say yes, or wondered how to stop spinning your wheels across too many platforms, this one's for you.

Key Takeaways

Pick one channel and go all in. Daren grew his LinkedIn following from 800 to 12,000+ in about 18 months by showing up consistently and targeting the specific audience he needed to reach — investors, not just filmmakers.

Stop convincing, start listening. Rather than pitching what you want to make or sell, "dig for the demand" by asking clients what's frustrating them, what they wish were different, and what's keeping them up at night.

Leverage other people's audiences. Getting a column on IndieWire — a site with 10 million monthly visitors — didn't happen overnight, but it started with a single DM and a year of showing up. That's the shortcut that doesn't feel like one.

Use a filter for every opportunity. Daren evaluates every project with three questions: Is there leverage? Do I feel compelled to make this? And is it inevitable? If it doesn't clear all three, it's a no.

About Daren Smith

Daren is an independent film producer based in Utah, USA, who has produced four indie features and four seasons of television. Last year he had TWO films in theaters at the same time, which was a huge milestone. Currently, he's raising Producer Fund I, a $10M fund to produce the next 10 indie features, with the ultimate goal of creating a truly independent film ecosystem that benefits everyone - the investors, the filmmakers, the audience, and the industry at large. He's the founder of Craftsman Films, and the author of a number of books, his most recent being Blockbuster - How Independent Creators Can Build Massively Profitable Businesses.

In This Episode

[00:00] Welcome to the show!

[05:13] Meet Daren Smith

[06:47] Blockbuster

[13:36] Visibility

[16:18] Marketing

[22:54] Go All In

[26:35] Leverage

[29:35] Indie Film

[45:49] Having a Checklist

[50:26] Connect with Daren

[52:49] Outro

Quotes

"I'm not in the business of convincing people. If you convince somebody, you're running the risk of them being really upset if it doesn't go exactly the way they expected." — Daren Smith

"The release of the thing is the start of the marketing. If you're really smart and strategic, you're actually doing marketing leading up to it — creating the tension that gets people to say, I have to have this." — Daren Smith

"You're competing against everything else on the internet. Not just other people making movies — it's all of social media, all of AI, all of TV, all of gaming. You can make a really good thing and it can still fail if it doesn't reach enough people." — Daren Smith

"I'm doing an exclusively family-friendly, values-based, meaningful media model. When I evaluate a project, I want filmmakers to know how I think — so that you're not saying yes to things you shouldn't be." — Daren Smith

"Go all in on one channel until you reach a tipping point where it's kind of working on its own. None of mine were growing when they each got 10% of my time and energy." — Daren Smith

Guest Links

CraftsmanFilms.co — Daren's main hub (free digital copy of Blockbuster at craftsmanfilms.co/blockbuster)
Find Daren online - LinkedIn