3 Smart Ways for Actors to Market Themselves Right Now

1/29/2019

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED

The business and marketing side of acting doesn't need to be complicated. I worked with an actor once who told me, "You're good at the business and marketing side of acting. I need to work on it." Are you going to be an actor that just talks about it, or will you take action this year?

Most actors hate the words business and marketing. The good news is that you don't need an MBA to market yourself as an actor. In this post, I'll give you a few super easy ways to better market yourself that you can take action on today.

Consider what leadership expert John C. Maxwell has to say about taking action: "Dreams don't work unless you do."

Acting Motivation: 3 Smart Ways to Market Yourself Right Now

1. ACTOR MARKETING IDEA: BRAND YOUR SOCIAL PROFILES

How many social media platforms are you using? Comment and let me know. I suggest having at least one but no more than three that you actively use. Otherwise, your entire life will be consumed with posting.

One of the easiest ways to make yourself look more professional online is to brand your social profiles. In other words, make them all look the same or very, very similar. I'll teach you how to do that for free in this post.

Branding your social profiles will be a lot easier if you create separate personal profiles and acting profiles. I suggest that you create private personal profiles and public business or creator profiles.

The public profiles can showcase both your acting and personal posts. However, the personal posts on your public profile should be limited to what you would share with a stranger on an airplane (with other people listening). I learned this concept from Jasmine Star.

Human brains love consistency, so if your social profiles look the same, it creates a sense of trust that they're in the right place. It will also give you a professional, polished online presence if someone searches your name.

That consistency on your social media platforms can also build trust with your followers in case you ever want to monetize your platform. You don't need to know how you're going to monetize it right now. If you do make a decision on how to monetize your platform, then the foundational branding work will already be done.

It's also important to remember that casting directors for mainstream film and television will not cast you directly from your social media profiles. They may have someone research them to make sure you haven't posted something that will hurt the production, but only once you've auditioned.

In order to even be considered for the audition, you must have a reputable talent agent. In order to get a talent agent, you need to take these five very specific steps. If you have an agent, but you're not yet getting requested for mainstream film and television, then you've most likely skipped one or more of these five steps.

2. ACTOR MARKETING IDEA: ATTEND FILM AND ACTING EVENTS

An actor in my agency told me something interesting at an audition. She lived in Los Angeles where she worked as a producer's secretary before moving to my market.

She booked a number of TV shows during that time because production sometimes needed an actor last minute. Since she was already on the studio lot, they'd pop in and have this convo:

Production: "Hey, aren't you an actor?"

Actor: "Yes."

Production: "Great! Do you want this role? If so, pop over into hair and makeup."

Besides the fact that she's beautiful and talented, she was booking like crazy because she had constant exposure to the people that could offer her a role.

How are you getting yourself more exposure? How can you be more present within your local and regional film market? Attending more film and acting events in your area is a great way to connect to the film industry, whether that be mainstream or indie jobs. Let's look at a few ideas you can research today.

FIND A LOCAL FILM OR ACTING COMMUNITY
There's most likely at least one established film community in your area if you live in a film hub. Ask other actors you know if they're involved. This is a great way to meet indie filmmakers and network with other actors to potentially earn yourself more demo footage or festival awards.

FIND REGIONAL ACTING WORKSHOPS
Even if you're not ready to perform, some of these workshops have observation only tickets. These are great for helping you decide if you want to invest more in that particular workshop in the future. Either way, your name and face are showing up more in those circles.

FIND ACTING SPECIAL SKILLS INTENSIVES
It's better to find special skills training in your city if the training needs to stretch out over time. However, there are a lot of weekend or week-long workshops focused on one special skill set that would get you exposure for that skill. Consider out-of-state or out-of-country multi-week intensives if they're reputable. Casting may recognize the host organization or an instructor's name that bumps you to the top of their list.

VOLUNTEER AT FILM FESTIVALS
Yes, the goal is to be an actor in a film at a film festival. However, volunteering may get you great exposure with directors and producers, especially if you're able to help them in some way during the festival. I do not suggest that you market yourself as an actor unless they ask you if you're an actor. Also, let it be a surprise to them if you show up in a film. No need to tell them. They'll appreciate you more for not talking about it.

GET INTERVIEWED ON FILM PODCASTS
I was invited to participate in two interviews without pitching myself simply because I've been present in my film and acting community. If you agree to an interview, please make sure you have something of value to offer the listeners besides talking about yourself. What takeaways have you learned on your shoots?

Do you have other ideas on how to connect to your film and acting communities? Comment below to share if you do. Remember to put acting events into your calendar to increase your chances of attending. It's okay if you're not ready to signup or buy a ticket yet. Having it in your calendar will remind you to decide closer to the event.

Actor Boss Insider: Free Weekly Goals Coaching for Screen Actors

3. ACTOR MARKETING IDEA: WRITE THANK YOU CARDS

Please, please, please stop wasting your money printing and mailing resumes or postcards to people you haven't worked with. I know for a fact that the casting directors you want to get your headshot and resume in front of don't have legitimate addresses listed.

I let an actor friend of mine use my P.O. Box as her return address, and all of her mail to the most popular casting directors was returned because, well, they like their privacy.

Writing thank you cards is always a good idea because you'll be writing to people that you've actually worked with, and you'll have a call sheet or email containing a legitimate address.

Word travels fast in this business, and everyone likes an actor that expresses gratitude. Gratitude also increases your confidence according to a study cited by Forbes.

Please don't assume you know how to write thank you cards correctly. I had a steep learning curve, but now I can write cards that get a response, even from directors. Learn more about how to get started here.

I had a director email me after receiving my thank you card saying he planned to work with me again. That has never happened from me sending out marketing snail mail, assuming it even gets to where I hope it's going (see the first part of this section).

A lot of actors only ever communicate about themselves. Imagine how tiring that is for casting directors and directors. Now imagine how refreshing it must be for them to have an actor not only say thank you but personalize their card in a meaningful way. I'll teach you how to do it here.

Actor Boss Insider: Free Weekly Goals Coaching for Film Actors

TAKE ACTION

Remember, dreams don't work unless you do.

Here's your marketing checklist for today:

Make your social profiles look the same.
Research local or regional film and acting events you want to attend. Would you like to make that your goal this year? Get my free weekly goals coaching here.
Write someone a dang thank you card.