Pardon the Upworthy-style headline, but daily I am seeing headlines like “10 Reasons You Suck As an Actor” followed by subtitles like, “and you won’t believe what happened next!” as bait to get people to click through, up the ad revenue, and validate some so-called expert who’s only an expert at making a deal to exchange ad space for being called an expert all *over* the Internet these days.
*Zzzzzzzzzzzz*
Come talk to me when you’ve been paid to write a free, weekly column for over 15 years and we’ll compare notes on Google traction. Longevity is your friend, my friends. And those who play the short game are playing small.
You know your fellow actors who play small. They print out a thousand labels, place those labels on a thousand postcards, spend money on postage for those thousand postcards, and feel proactive about the busy work in which they’ve just engaged in the name of productivity.
And then… what?
Engagement is not what happens when one BLASTS the industry with news (or salacious headlines); it’s what happens when relationships are cultivated and maintained with care and genuine connections over time.
No, the results are not instant, but, man, are they meaningful!
We were recently talking at the SMFA Facebook group about a talent agency that has been not just double-dipping on commissions but also charging *casting* for the honor of having cast their clients. (Obviously, this is not in the State of California, where talent agencies are licensed, bonded, and held to certain legalities when it comes to commissions.)
When the convo turned to “Whyyyyyy on Earth would an agency *charge* a casting director and expect that this casting director would EVER cast that agent’s submitted talent again?” I said, “They’re playing small. They’re looking to make a little money NOW rather than thinking toward how to build relationships that help build careers that make a ton of money for everyone for decades to come.”
Short game vs. long game. Small career vs. huge career. FiCore because it means you can “at least work this buyout gig” vs. not being on a blacklist when it comes time for the bigass Super Bowl ads. Landing ANY agent because at least it’s an agent vs. researching and hustling for the Hell Yes rep of your dreams. Headline sensationalism and Mad Libs fill-in-the-blank-worksheet advice vs. customized conversations about what might actually be blocking you. Postcarding the world vs. targeting those who most need to know you exist and building meaningful relationships with them. Saying yes to every booking vs. paying attention to red flags.
By the way, I don’t actually think any of this has to do with “small minds.” It has to do with being results-oriented. My whole point in using this crazy title this week was to lampoon those who use crazy titles to bait people into thinking they’ve written something of enduring value.
My actual point is that results-oriented people do very well in the short game. But you don’t *admire* the one-hit wonder. Endure this business. That’s the key. Don’t play small and don’t play short. You’re in this biz forEVER.
Make it count. Play the long game.
PS — CastingAbout is hosting a super-awesome FREE event on August 18th in Los Angeles and it involves great people like the groundbreaking casting director Twinkie Byrd, yours truly, and the badass creators of CastingAbout! You *must* RSVP and this event will overfill, so do it now!
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001853.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.