10 years ago, an actress would graduate high school with the wide eye dreams of becoming a star. She would take a Greyhound to Union Station, find a waitressing job and audition on her time off. She would hear rejection after rejection.
On one golden day she would get a callback. She’s excited and puts her all into her callback. All the sacrificing paid off. She has scored a commercial. Hey everyone’s got to start somewhere. After a few commercials under her belt, she scores a credited speaking part on a cable TV show. It’s not much but it’s enough to build momentum.
Then one day, she gets her BIG BREAK. She lands a lead on a TV pilot. The show gets picked up. It’s a hit. She’s an overnight star despite the overnight taking several years. Her agent tells her of an opportunity to headline a potential blockbuster. She takes it. Her movie trilogy makes a billion dollars worldwide. She is now an A list.
Fast forward to now. The industry looks very different. This trajectory is no longer the standard. If you have 500k Twitter followers and 1 million YouTube subscribers you have an audience.
Competition is tougher than it’s ever been and as the celebrity landscape becomes more accessible, entry into this world is painfully difficult. How does an actress keep up?
Leverage your personal brand to create opportunities that allow your strengths to shine.
1. Identify your unfair advantage.
What is it that only you can do? Acting is not proprietary. It’s not your distinguishing factor. It’s not what makes you stand out, not in a sea of thousands of other actresses who look just like you but younger and older willing to do what you may not for less. Take stock of your personal brand and identify those characteristics that give you an advantage. Taking the Myers Briggs test is a great starting ground to learning about your type.
2. Create your own platform.
Half of the actresses in the waiting room most likely have their own website. Half of those probably have a YouTube channel. This is leverage because this means they have an audience. The entertainment business is just that – A BUSINESS. As television shows and films look to have reach in the digital world, it makes sense to leverage the audience of those they cast. It makes the marketing easier and cheaper.
3. Leverage your skills to create a business.
Don’t rely on the big break to give you permission for having the lifestyle you want. Nothing will give you the time flexibility you need for 3pm auditions like having your own business. Once you’ve identified your unfair advantage and you’ve setup your platform, leverage your skills to generate income on your own terms.
Teach a class, offer a group program, sell audition training videos, setup websites for other actresses, manage social media for production companies or open an online shop. There are so many opportunities to position yourself competitively within your industry. Consider this the back door approach.
4. Blog, blog and blog some more.
A blog is the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to make your mark in the entertainment world. Write reviews of films, curate relevant and nice industry news, share casting notices, interview industry leaders, provide resources to other actresses or gatekeepers. When you can position yourself to become that “go-to” person for whatever your blog is about then you’re in a better position to transition your brand.
The entertainment industry is all about relationships. Once you can strategically cultivate relationships, you can manifest the opportunities