We get a lot of questions here at YEKRA about our affiliate program, also known as AffiliateConnect. Most often... "How can YEKRA help me find my audience and sell more online without the need to spend on advertising?" This case study highlights how publishers NOT using YEKRA are currently leaving 60% of their revenues on the table. For more information, please visit: https://www.yekra.com/corp/filmmakers

2. How can YEKRA help me
FIND MY AUDIENCE
SELL MORE ONLINE
without spending on advertising?
We get a lot of questions about our AffiliateConnect
technology from clients. Most often…
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3. Sirius is an explosive documentary about next-generation energy
and potential extraterrestrial technologies.
We loved watching it, and we were extremely excited to see
how the filmmakers experimented with AffiliateConnect, YEKRA’s
one-of-a-kind film marketing tool. Through YEKRA, the Sirius team
ignited their community of backers and evangelists to action. By
turning suppor ters into curators and promoters, Sirius spread
their message and sold their content around the world through
an extensive, passionate online network.
C A S E S T U D Y : S I R I U S
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4. R E S U L T S T O D A T E
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5. ² Sirius grossed over $250,000 in the first 48
hours.
² Over $550,000 grossed to date and growing
² Curated by 1,765 affiliates who then promoted
to their own audiences
² Approximately 50% of total gross was sold
through affiliates
² 10% of gross came from Yekra.com as a direct
result of Yekra marketing to its members
² Top affiliate earned over $11,000 in
commissions and is still earning today
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AFFILIATES
50%
FILM
WEBSITE
40%
YEKRA
10%
P E R C E N T A G E O F S A L E S
S I R I U S S E T T H E R E C O R D
F O R O N L I N E D O C R E L E A S E S A L E S .
If you engage your community to help sell your film, they can drive more sales than
your website directly. Half of Sirius’ revenue came from affiliates.
“A revolutionary distribution platform – we had over $250k in sales in the first 48 hours which we were able to
track in real time, while maintaining full control over the rights to our film” - J.D. Seraphine, Producer of Sirius

6. W H A T W E L E A R N E D
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7. P R E - S A L E S M A T T E R .
² Sirius made the film available for pre-order over
a month before launch
² Affiliates were incentivized to sign up because
the film was only available through them and the
filmmakers’ site
² During pre-release, viewers could buy from the
trailer instantly, without being redirected
² Pre-sales were sold at a reduced price to
incentivize early bird purchases and to further
incentivize affiliates to promote
² Over 50% of Sirius affiliates signed up and
started actively promoting before the release
² This served as free advertising to targeted
audiences for the producers, generating millions
of free and targeted impressions
² The film’s revenue increased exponentially in the
final days and hours leading up to release.
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
18-Apr 19-Apr 20-Apr 21-Apr *April 22
(Before
Release at
7pm PST)
S I R I U S P R E - S A L E S
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H I G H L I G H T S
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8. E X C L U S I V E C O N T E N T H E L P S S E L L .
405K views
775K views
1.2M views
4M views
² During the pre-sale period, the Sirius team delivered
YEKRA “Goodie Bags” to affiliates with exclusive clips and
promotion material from the film, which they reserved
during editing.
² The clips became increasingly compelling and
contributed to sales and overall buzz surrounding the
film.
² All affiliates were encouraged to post clips to their own
YouTube accounts or share the filmmaker’s listing directly.
² Over 500 affiliates posted the clips to their own YouTube
accounts and overlaid their YEKRA simple links to drive
sales.
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² Affiliates also created their own videos for their channels
and promoted their YEKRA affiliate links - this alone
earned one affiliate $3,920.
² After affiliates had the clips exclusively for 24 hours, the
Sirius team sent the clips to anyone who had bought a
pre-sale of the film.
² This incentivized pre-sale buyers with the reason and
content to become affiliates and promote the film.
² Users who didn’t sign up were also encouraged to share
the content with their networks.
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9. If you crowdfund your film, you already have an army of engaged fans, curators,
promoters and evangelists (all, “affiliates”) ready to go. You just need to activate them.
C R O W D F U N D I N G H A S A S E R I O U S L Y L O N G T A I L .
² At the time of its campaign, Sirius held the record for the highest
documentar y raise in histor y.
² Sirius realized that they had a huge database of potential promoters just
waiting to help the cause and get rewarded for it!
² 53% of the Sirius backers signed up as affiliates to promote the release of
the film. Many of these affiliates earned back their crowdfunding investment –
plus a healthy return!
² These backers/affiliates became some of Sirius’s top sellers
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10. S I R I U S ’ R E L E A S E W I N D O W
S T R A T E G Y G E N E R A T E D D E M A N D .
The Sirius team decided not to make their film available
online through any other retailer other than affiliates,
YEKRA and themselves, through the pre-sale period and
during the first twelve months of release.
Contrary to common folklore, the early success of Sirius
on one online platform did not result in major platforms
refusing to host and sell the movie. Actually, it drove
demand from traditional distributors to acquire the film
and release it onto other digital platforms.
Over one year after its original online premiere through
YEKRA, a significant US distributor acquired Sirius, paying
a meaningful minimum guarantee to the producers.
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11. T H A N K YO U F O R R E A D I N G !
If you found this case study useful, please share it with your fellow
filmmakers, producers and distributors
If you’d like to useYEKRA to help your film reach its online audience,
visit www.YEKRA.com to get started
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