FADE IN:
INT. XANADU – DAY
PHIL EDWARDS sits in front of a computer putting the finishing touches to yet another email about the latest movie news to send to his friends.
The swift reply comes:
Friends: Put it in a blog!
INT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS – NIGHT (music by Vince DiCola plays)
Phil builds a blog.
INT – PRESENT DAY. Phil talks with DWPub about the origins of his blog, Live For Films.
Tell us about your blog, how did you get started? Why did you choose your subject?
Live For Films began as my friends were fed up of the constant emails I sent them about movie news. "Put it on a blog," they said, so I did. Turns out many more people enjoyed what I was doing and Live for Films now has a worldwide fan base. Why movies? I have always loved them and always will.
How do you source content for your blog?
Content for the blog is sent over by our writers – reviews, articles, etc. News, trailers, posters, art work, etc. are sourced from either press releases, emails from artists and designers, readers of the site or other movie sites.
Do you write reviews? How many people read your reviews?
The Live for Films team all write reviews – either from screeners we get sent, screenings we get invited to, or just films we have always loved or hated. We also get reviews sent in by readers of the site. Live for Films gets 250,000+ readers a month and the reviews are one of the draws to the site.
How did you build a following for your blog?
Initially, the blog following just grew slowly and naturally. Then as we expanded onto Twitter and, more recently, Facebook and Google+, the site became more well-known and the following has just grown and grown. Over 21,000 followers on twitter and over 5,000 likes on Facebook.
Are you a PR friendly blog? Do you accept contributions and content for your blog?
We are very PR friendly. The more information, images, etc. we are provided the more chance it has of being posted. We accept contributions and content from PR firms, readers, film makers and whoever else has something to share.
How best do you like to be approached by PRs?
Email is always the quickest and easiest way to get in touch.
Blogging is great because….?
…you get to share things you love with people who love the same things.
Phill can be found tweeting @live_for_films.