Eat Your Shoes and Get Paid
Stories. They bring us together or tear us apart. They can unite or divide. They can bring war or peace, hate or harmony, fear or courage. The reality is, we live out stories every day, whether we know it or not. We tell them to ourselves as we walk through the world.
In fact, I would argue that you are telling yourself a story right now about this blog and the author. Something about what this topic is going to be about and what you like or dislike about the author’s style or disposition. The reality is we are all telling ourselves stories all day, every day, whether we know it or not. And I think that is why I love telling them so much, because stories are part of us all.
At times, however, following that passion as a career has been discouraging. Negotiating the value of the work with businesses and individuals is hard. And, in comparison to many other professions, it can feel like this important craft that impacts us all is seen more as a hobby than a valuable skill.
But it would be wrong to think that way, and I can prove it.
Here are some important keys for professionals in the field of all forms of storytelling (video, writing, graphics, and more) to remember when asking to be paid.
Werner Herzog is arguably one of the most famous directors of film and documentary film in the world. His work has been seen by millions, and he’s been well paid for his time. However, even Werner had his funding problems.
In 1982, while making his film Fitzcarraldo, Herzog ran into a big funding problem. His film was over budget, actors had quit and needed to be recast, and he was arguably out of money. To resolve the situation, he decided to hold a fundraiser and eat his own shoes. True story. Werner Herzog ate his own shoes, and he did it because he believed in his art enough to hold out for more money rather than fold under pressure.
**If you need further proof of the story, you can still watch him do it in Les Blank’s documentary Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.
Spoiler alert: It’s kind of disgusting, and I was amazed that he actually ate his soup-soaked leather shoes, but he did because he believed in what he was doing that much. That conviction paid off because he finished the film, shot upward toward greater recognition, and started getting paid for his time and ideas.
One of those ideas was the film “Lo and Behold,” a story of the birth and history of the Internet. That story was funded by Netscout, which invested an estimated $2.5 million in the film. But that investment was not in vain.
A case study released by Saville Productions showed that after the film’s release, Netscout had a 10x increase in its annual brand impressions, an increase of approximately 30 billion during the year the film was released. That increase equated to approximately $20 million in earned media value. In other words, the film generated nearly 10x its investment in earned media value.
In addition, the impact was also reflected in Netscout’s stock price, which increased 33% between June and August (the months of the film’s release). All an indication of the potential value in well-told stories through video production and digital distribution that still exists today.
All things being equal, Walton Film Studios has produced some impressive projects that have a correlation with success. This isn’t to say we were claiming to be the cause, but like Netscouts stocks to the release of “Lo and Behold,” you can argue we had an effect.
Here are a few examples:
Profiling HURT (2007) generated 20,000 views on digital platforms and featured Mark Gilligan’s run at the HURT 100, elevating his position in the community. His company, UltraSignup, went on to become one of the largest ultra-running race platforms. The company was sold for millions of dollars in 2020.
Becoming the Bad Boys (2012) & the Unforgettable Moments series reached into the tens of millions of views, 100x more than the average video on Pistons.com. It was even featured in sports blogs like Bleacher Report and SB Nation. There is a correlation worth noting between the success of that content and ESPN’s eventual production of the 30 for 30 Bad Boys (2014), which increased the value of the Detroit Pistons brand and potentially contributed to higher ticket sales.
Crossing Lines (a.k.a. OpenGov Across America) (2023) was recognized during the $1.8 billion majority share sale of OpenGov (2024). During the sale, the Chairman & CEO of Cox Enterprises referenced OpenGov Across America multiple times. This represented an emotional impact in the buyer’s evaluation of the brand and the CEO.
Money in, money out! What we do has value.
The big question to ask is: how do you establish your value to your clients? Or, like Herzog, how do you eat your shoes to get paid?
1) Prove your value upfront: The first thing that young production companies and agencies have to realize is that big agencies pay really smart people to do research and collect data to prove the value of their ideas and campaigns to global brands.
As an example, here is market data and research that points to why video has value:
B2B Research: Nearly 2/3 of buyers say social video influences buying decisions, while video-led campaigns were 3.2× more likely to report increased market share in LinkedIn’s research.
Sales Research: 97% of B2B buyers surveyed said they would be more receptive to sales communication after consuming a brand’s video.
Marketing Research: 87% of video marketers report that video generates leads, and 87% report that it directly increases sales.
Wyzowl Research: 88% of marketers said video increased understanding of their product or service, while 90% said it increased brand awareness and 87% said it generated leads.
2) Make your case simple: Summarize the data succinctly for clients in a way that is easy for them to understand.
Example: Data on video marketing today says videos are a powerful tool to soften the ground and build success for sales and outreach.
Videos = new customers.
3) Hold out or walk out: In the last decade, our industry has been flooded with young entrepreneurs who are just starting out. Many are missing the basic knowledge that production and artists’ unions fought for the rates that help everyone in the industry make a living. To compromise on those rates might not hurt you today, but it can bankrupt you and everyone else in the future.
**In my classes, I teach students general billing and day rates, along with how to build a budget. Here is an example video on rates and budgets that we teach in class.
So here is the point.
Any client who tells you that your video doesn’t have value or costs too much, and you’re confident in your numbers, should make you pause. They may either be inexperienced in production or trying to undermine your price.
So do yourself a favor: eat your shoes and hold your ground, or simply walk away.
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