3 Awesome Reasons Blogging Helps Actors

Have you considered starting a blog?

I avoided the blogging craze for years, but I've since learned how insanely important it is for my acting career.

We live in a digital world that we can no longer avoid, but most actors are making the mistake of only posting their thoughts and content on social media--platforms they do not own. 

In this post, we'll discuss a few ways blogging can help your acting career and change your future.

People, including casting directors and producers, are researching you online. I've directly heard a handful of very reputable casting directors say so. Let's give them something good to find.

Disclosure: the Weebly links in this blog post are affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you I receive financial credit towards my account if you use my link and make a purchase.

However, I still highly recommend Weebly whether you use my link or not. It's the company I used to easily build this blog and site.

1. CASTING OPPORTUNITIES 

When you want to know more about someone nowadays, what do you do? Look them up online! Why should you assume that's any different for someone wanting to know about you?

Casting director Marci Liroff (who casts for Spielberg by the way) has such a great quote about this in her article on Backstage:

"I know firsthand that producers, studios, and networks can and do go through your social media. As an actor, when you get hired you are entering into a partnership with the filmmaking team. On a television show, the producers and network are beholden to their advertisers, and they need to make sure that the people involved with their show don’t have skeletons in their online closets."

But let's not assume that the research stops at social media. If anything, they're most likely getting to your social media accounts via a Google search, which means you need hits on Google from your website.

Do you even know what pops up online if you Google your name?

When you start a blog, a majority of search engine results for your name will come from your website and blog content, creating a professional and polished online presentation.

I used Weebly to build this site and blog because of their easy drag-and-drop system.

However, you don't need to just blog about your acting. In fact, I recommend against that because it will bore your audience to tears. If you want a guide on how to get started correctly, be sure to download my Actor Boss Roadmap.

While it's ok to mention your booked gigs, you should really focus your blog on a particular niche, even if it isn't related to acting. If you blog about one of your special skills, for example, that can turn into a really great marketing opportunity if casting directors are looking for an actor with that skill.

Let's say a casting director has narrowed down a role to five potential actors that they've pitched to the director and producers. If they need an actor with a particular special skill and they find that you are the only one with a ton of videos and blog posts online showing off that skill, who do you think they'll cast? The actor that looks like a pro, or one who just simply has it listed on their resume?

Your niche doesn't need to focus on a special skill, though. It could simply be a hobby, like beekeeping. Ultimately, having a niched blog with make you look like a well-rounded actor, and therefore more interesting and memorable. 

2. INCOME POTENTIAL

Holy smokes, people are making a crap ton of money blogging!

I resisted blogs for a long time. I just assumed it was a bunch of mommy bloggers talking about stuff that didn't relate to me. However, blogging has become a legitimate sources of income, especially if you create your own digital products. 

Actor friend, I know you need a source of passive income that frees up your schedule for auditions and bookings. Here are the top ways bloggers make money:

• Ad income
• Sponsored posts
• Affiliate income
• Digital Products
• Services

Do your research to see which income streams appeal to you the most.

Please know that it takes time to build up the minimum amount of page views required to really make money with ad income, sponsored posts, or affiliate posts. You need your blog posts to start ranking on Google. However, if your blog is focused on a particular topic, it makes it much easier to rank.

To learn more about finding your best target market or blog niche, be sure to download my Actor Boss Roadmap. To learn more about building a blog like mine, check out Weebly.

3. FANS & FOLLOWERS

Aren't you aggravated at the number of social media stars and athletes hopping over into film and television without legitimate acting coaching? I mean we've been working our butts off to get coaching, auditions, and bookings!

But you know why they're able to do it? One word: fans.

Studios and streaming platforms are interested in casting people that are easier to market or already have a fanbase that they know will tune in to watch. Fans mean less money in the marketing budget, and more money in everyone's pockets, which makes projects more successful. It also proves that you're a sure thing since people are already attracted to you.

There's a major caveat here: you cannot keep building your fanbase on social media. It's not enough to add 500 followers to your Facebook page anymore because you do not own that platform. You can lose those fans at anytime for a number of reasons. For more info on this, be sure to download the Actor Boss Roadmap.

I can't express to you how important a loyal fanbase is these days. Even if you become an A-lister, you need to move your fans off of social media and onto an email list. You cannot do this with Gmail!

Think of your favorite famous actor. If they wanted to write a book, the first question a book agent will ask them is, "How big is your list?" What they're referring to is an email list. Guess what that actor with millions of fans is going to answer? "Zero."

If you want ultimate control over your career, you need to safely interact with your fans outside of social media, and the best way to do that is an email list. The best way to grow that email list is by starting a blog. You can grow a huge email list without being famous!

My favorite platform for building a blog is, you guessed it, Weebly. Their customer service chat reps are amazing and hilarious.

Your niche blog will help you attract your best fans, and give you legal ownership of your email list, whereas social media companies maintain the rights to your profile followers.

TAKE ACTION

I'm guessing you saw a common theme throughout this blog post, specifically the mention of the Actor Boss Roadmap. 

I've been building my blog on Weebly over the last year, and it started ranking on Google. I didn't even hire anyone for SEO or purchase any Google Ads. The key to getting started is publishing niche content consistently so you can start ranking for a particular topic.

Ranking will put you in front of your best fans, which opens up the door for income and casting opportunities.

If you already have a website that allows you to start a blog, or you're interested in starting one, then be sure to get your Actor Boss Roadmap today. I created this guide after having a few false starts because I did not do things in the correct order. Learn from my mistakes so you can get results even faster than I did.

---

PIN THIS POST: