Didja ever meet a hotshot producer, talking big talk about his indie film, dropping names and getting you all excited about what’s to come, and then he hands you a business card… with a Vista Print logo across the back?
Whoa. Talk about mixed messages. You’re putting together a multi-million dollar film but won’t spring the few bucks to get business cards that don’t promote the printing company?
Don’t get me wrong. I think free things can be awesome, and there’s a time and a place to use the freebies. But when you’re talking big talk but holding production meetings in a Coffee Bean (not because you love the tea, but because you have no choice), it gets a little hinky.
You’re an actor. You’ve trained. You have a brand. You’ve worked really hard to get clear on your type, to come up with a logline, to get all your tools in order so that you can be the best possible version of yourself, clear and focused, when you pop on the radar of the buyers. And then I ask for your URL so I can send a director to your demo reel and it’s, “Um. Yeah. Ugh. My website. It’s free-dot-web-template-dot-actors-dot-com-slash-joe-dot-actor-dot-twenty-seven. Thanks for checking out my reel! It’s under the drop-down menu marked templates-forms-reel.”
Yikes.
Use templates if you need ’em, sure. But spend the extra money to get the host’s logo off your page. Pony up two dollars so your site doesn’t advertise the “free actor templates” special they’re running. Spend the few bucks to get the non-watermarked version of whatever it is you’re using for your marketing tools. Invest in memberships at IMDb-Pro and CastingAbout so that you can TARGET rather than buying all the labels available and doing mass mailings, hoping someone might be biting!
Of course, it’s not cheap, running an acting business after a while, and that’s certainly a concern. But when I see actors spending thousands on CD workshops (without doing any sort of targeting) or shooting with the most expensive headshot photographers in town (when their output is about *their* brand, not the actors’ brands) and *then* choosing to pinch pennies by leaving template logos on their marketing tools or not spending the two bucks to submit on Actors Access projects (not gonna rehash that one; go read the awesome article I already wrote on the topic), I shake my head.
Balance your budget, lovely actors. There are places to save money and there are places where spending the few bucks will absolutely go miles in furthering the perception of you as a PRO in this business (not to mention how much of an edge it could give you). Ninja on!
LAST CHANCE: Hooray! FINAL DAYS for our #SaveSMFA drive, right here. Yup. If Self-Management for Actors has been a light in the sometimes dark world of the industry over the years, we’d love for you to help us finish strong, so we can get the 4th edition printed and shipped out to colleges around the world, helping even *more* academic programs introduce actors to ways in which they can stay empowered, as they navigate toward the career of their dreams. Share the link! Tweet with #SaveSMFA! And, again, huuuuuuge thanks, y’all. Wow!
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/001727.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.