Does your company provide the financing? If so, how does one go about applying and getting approved?

What are the general amounts you offer?

Perhaps we can talk on the phone?

Thank you!

Gary

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Here are at least the 4 things Gary did wrong, the results he will get AND the better way to do this. 

1) The contact form where Gary submitted his email clearly has text and links covering, "Looking for Film Investors?" AND "Frequently Asked Questions" - he ignored them both. 
 

Strike 1 for Gary - he can't/won't read, has shown NO interest in who he is emailing, has demonstrated he is both lazy and not seriously trying to finance his movie, and has just advertised he has no contacts in the film industry.

In this instance, there isn't much Gary could do correctly, because his answer was provided before he ever sent the email. However, should he want to engage in ANY type of dialogue with someone who he thinks could help him at some point in his fundraising, his email could have started with something like, "Hi Melissa. We are long time followers and fans of FilmProposals and really appreciate all you do for Indie Filmmakers trying to raise money to produce their films. We especially enjoyed  the article, 10 Things You MUST Do To Attract Film Investors, and we have tried to implement the first 6 things your recommend. However, we are stuck on item # 7 and are hoping you could provide us some advice about....." 

2) "What are the general amounts you offer?" and "Perhaps we can talk on the phone?"
 

Strike 2 for Gary - here's what he basically just emailed, "what can you do for me and will you donate your valuable time to me for free while I ask more about what you can do for me"? 

He's emailing complete strangers without bothering to take 1 minute of time to familiarize himself with the person or company he's contacting. Ultimately, there is no machine or automated process deciding if you are going to get money. There will be HUMAN decision makers involved, so treat them as such. It doesn't matter how small or large the company or individual is. The bare minimum you need to do is learn about them as people and as a company. You are not swiping an ATM card, you are asking for people to trust you with their money. The minute someone gets an email like this, it reads like the author is randomly sending emails to strangers hoping something will stick - rather than actually learning about financing.  What would it take for you to trust someone with YOUR money? I get soooo many emails that start with "Dear Sir" - would you hand over money to someone who couldn't take 30 seconds to learn your name?