Marketing Wisdom

One of the most difficult things as an artist is selling ourselves. Here’s some helpful, marketing wisdom to aid you in that journey. 

It’s up to you to shop around and find out how best to spend your money. Every actor gets something different out of each of these activities. Figure out which ones work best for you. Engage in things that will best keep you on the radar of the industry and focus on your strengths. Here’s some marketing ideas to consider: 

– Produce Your Own Short Films (we can’t stress enough the value of this one!)
– Perform in Showcases
– Produce Your Own Plays
– Do Your Own One-Person Show
– Email or Mail Marketing Materials Regularly, Whenever You Work
– Do Casting Office and Agent Drop-Offs (if possible)
– Attend Casting Director Workshops (especially the free ones at SAG Foundation in LA and New York)
– Get On Red Carpets and Get Interviewed
– Do Mass Mailings of Marketing Pieces (flyers, promo pieces, etc.)

And, it’s very important that you, a unique actor, put a ton of effort into designing a good marketing plan. Meet people who have done whatever it is you’re considering doing and ask about their marketing plans. Ask them about their experiences. Knowing that may not be enough to determine whether it’s going to be the right fit for you and your needs, but it may sprout new ideas.

Everyone is a unique individual, therefore, people will get different results by doing the same things as others. No two people ever do all of the same things the same way anyway. There’s no single recipe for success. What works for one actor doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for every actor. Design a marketing plan that works best for you and your style. Keep trying new approaches until you find a list of things that work best for you. That’s the way to find your own recipe for success.

What will help you to know:

1) Trends – What is going on now in the industry? What are the “trends.” How can you meet them head on and take advantage of them? How can you change them?

2) How to Meet the Needs of the Industry – One of the secrets of building, a great business is to find the holes, the needs of the current market. Once you see what’s needed, you then provide the industry with the solution to that need. Where do you fit in? Where are you needed? Are you filling that need? And, by the way, we’re always looking for something new, something exciting. Chances are, that’s you!

3) What Is Happening in the Industry and How To Address It – Right now the business is redefining itself. Certain things are being pruned and tightened up. That’s why it’s so difficult to find an agent. Become lean and mean. Focus, focus, focus! Those who persist and buckle down will be the leaders of the pack when it’s over.

4) The Secret of a Self-Marketing Actor – Be the actor who makes their own work and builds their own fan bases! That’s the secret most don’t get!

Some final words on branding:

Branding Is Action. It’s About Doing.

In his book “Culture Making,” Andy Crouch makes the premise that people talk a lot about changing culture, but ultimately, to change the culture, we have to make better culture. In other words, stop talking about it and start making better stuff – movies, TV programs, online projects, books, music, art, etc… Think about it in the context of branding. The COO of branding at Jack Daniels Whiskey was asked how long it took to rebrand the company. She said, “It’s been six years so far, but we’re getting close.” It is a long process. Invest yourself for the long haul.

Branding isn’t what a company decides it wants to be – it’s what others say it is. In other words, while we try our best to shape the message and story that surrounds a person, project, or organization, it’s ultimately what happens in the mind of the audience or consumer that matters. So, the big question is: “What comes to mind when they think of you?”

Most companies that specialize in branding corporations often do a brand evaluation first. This evaluation consists mostly of finding out what other people say about that corporation. The evaluation is most effective at discovering what’s wrong with the existing brand, if there is one.

Next, they create a whole new story by creating things like a new logo design, a new website, television spots or programs, new digital media, and more. Obviously, they shape the story as they go, but the truth is having a “brand” doesn’t matter if you don’t have a presence in the marketplace. Sometimes, developing that brand story takes a long time and happens as a process.

Thinking that branding is a “strategy” is a limited way of thinking. Today, branding is action. It happens in the process of creating new projects. It’s the residue of innovation. One non-profit organization spent $250,000 developing a “brand strategy” and ended up with a 400 page report they had absolutely no idea what to do with. Branding is not a religion – it’s a tool.

Which would you rather have? A compelling presence in the marketplace, or a 400 page report? Branding is about doing. It’s organic and can only be discovered through listening first and then creating new products, ideas, and projects.

Branding is what you do and WHY!