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MARKETING
YOUR ACTING TALENT !
Actors get overwhelmed with
trying to market themselves but really there are just some basic steps you need
to do and everything else is gravy!
OUR TOP TEN RULES FOR MARKETING YOURSELF AS AN ACTOR:
DO THE
BASICS FIRST!
- MAKE SURE YOU
HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL!
The first rule is an easy
one... Start by getting better at your craft, learn all you can about
connecting with an audience, and make yourself indispensable to producers
and directors.
- Get a great
resume picture.
Go to a professional and spend some money... it's the best way. [See our
list of Toronto shooters for some people
who can help. Come see us and we'll SHOW YOU SOME GREAT SAMPLES]
- Put
together a persuasive actor's resume...
Your resume needs to reflect you at your current stage of development.
Beginners can have resumes too! Maybe you have a special skill like dancing,
or speaking an unusual language or some athletic ability that sets you apart
from the rest of the beginners. Professionals can make sure that their
resume reflects their most "sell-able" side. It's not just a list of
credits; it's an important marketing tool. Need help? Drop by and see us
during our open studio hours and we will give you
some free, no cost or obligation, no risk analysis of your resume or SHOW
YOU SOME GREAT SAMPLES. [See
that's a bit of marketing on our part!]
- Learn to
write a great introduction letter...
Haven't got an agent? Want to change agents? Moving to a new market? Want to
introduce yourself to a director or producer? We all go agent hunting and we
still use snail-mail to send out pictures and resumes and a great letter
will help cut through the clutter on that agent's or producer's desk. Start
with something amazing that someone ELSE said about you and your skills,
looks, experience or talent. Newspaper reviews, acting awards, even a
comment from an acting coach may open the mind of the reader. Keep the
letter short, simple, friendly but not over-the-top. Be professional but not
too cool. This is not a business letter... it's a small commercial about
your talent!
- Give them a
sample of your work to look at...
All agents and casting people want to see a fully professional wonderfully
edited demo reel with you in fabulous scenes from your many major films and
leads in TV series. YAH SURE! Most of us don't have that in our early
careers when we need to market ourselves the most. Make it easy for
them to get to know you. Do a great monologue for them in their office if
you can. [Come prepare it with us if you choose to... try our
Audition Skills Class.] Cut
together short scenes from an acting class like our
Focus on Film workshop. You may be able to do
this yourself with an up-to-date computer , a few hours on your own, and
some cheap software. Or go to a professional... ask us we can recommend
someone to help you do it. If you have a great or unusual voice do an audio-demo
CD. [Take our Voice-Over-Over-View
class for hints and skill-building that will help you crack this market.]
- Make sure you
are on-line! You
MUST join the Casting Workbook either through your agency or on your own.
http://www.castingworkbook.com/
If you are a union member you need to keep your union site presence up to
date.
THEN ADD
SOME EXTRA SIZZLE!
- Make your own
personal acting website too...
Register your named domain site NOW. [Hey like
WWW.SEARSANDSWITZER.COM you
mean?] It's cheap and keeps your named site ready. To get your name go
to any web-service or internet service provider. the cost will vary from
almost free to $10.00 to $30 per year depending on who you use. Next step
choose a web host.... if you have high-speed you likely have space NOW.
Hosting companies can charge anywhere from nearly free with your Internet
service to $30 or more a month. Then either get that geek friend of yours to do it OR learn how to
build your own website. You can use one of the templates available to you
online. We do this website ourselves with FRONTPAGE. Just search for them. Fancy
websites seem rarely to pay off very well. They are fun for your friends and
family and OK as long as you don't mind the cash out-lay, but don't expect a
lot of return from them. Rarely are any other resources other than a great
picture, good resume, and decent audio/video reels of any real use.
- MAKE SOME
ACTOR'S POSTCARDS...
you can use that great resume shot to create terrific small postcards. Your
local Kinko or almost any full-service shop can do them cheaply. Come see us
and we'll show you some samples.
- GET
PROFESSIONAL HELP...
eventually you will need professional help. Seriously. There are marketing
experts who do PR for performers. If you have an agent they do a lot of
direct marketing on your behalf all the time.
- Be creative
and do even more!
The first actor who makes an impact with an unusual new marketing twist may
make some waves that will change a career.
BUT
remember it's not
really about the marketing...
Most casting pro's in our
trade are pretty immune to our marketing tricks. We don't think that
William Hutt got into his first job at Stratford through his marketing skill. We
suspect that Harvey Keitel didn't have all this stuff together when he started.
And if you look like Uma Thurman [and have her talent, experience and presence] someone else
will be more than pleased to market you!
Make sure that you do the
basics above, send a few nice notes if you get a call-back and that's about the
limit that works.
Put your cash into small films, theatre showcases, networking,
training and keeping up to date pictures, watching other actors, doing workshops
in other cities, and you'll get more out of that than by aiming at great marketing stuff.
Have fun... get known... and
get better at your craft.
[Hint: See you soon in an acting class!]
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