Marketing Yourself
As I’ve mentioned before in these blogs, I’m a BFA Acting Major, so part of my senior year so far has been learning what to do to market myself since many actors, especially straight out of college, have no representation (manager, agent, etc.). I find that these tips may apply to others trying to market themselves as well, not just actors.
We are in the age of technology, so social media presence is ever looming, and most of us already have one. At both Arcadia and my high school, I have worked on marketing, so a few years ago, I switched my Instagram account to public and made it a business account. This allows me to see metrics on what I post and how much my followers, or non-followers, interact with my material. I have a story highlight saved for the podcast I run for Arcadia, one for theater, and one for modeling, with some of my photoshoots pinned at the top of my page. This branches beyond just Instagram, but I find that is where most people look first these days.
Second is learning to write an artistic statement and create an artistic resume. An artistic statement essentially explains who you are as an artist, stuff that can’t be found in your resume, more about who you are in the room. What kind of worker are you? What sort of material do you lean towards? Why do you do what you do? Acting is a very personable job, and theater is very collaborative, so knowing who you are is often important. An artistic resume is different from a normal resume. It often consists of a headshot, your name, contact information, general information like height, eye and hair color, and then the bulk is your artistic work, shows you’ve worked on, both technical and performing, who directed them, and where. The more names you can put on it, the better, because odds are someone knows someone you’ve worked with. Additionally, at the bottom, you usually list special skills, such as accents or languages you know, if you can cartwheel, and if you have a license. Can you swim? Solve a Rubik’s Cube? Ice Skate? Anything like that, because sometimes directors will look through resumes just to look for those who can play piano. Never go over one page, though, and never lie on your resume and say you can do something or worked with someone you didn’t, because almost always you will get caught.
Lastly, make a website. There are plenty of free website makers that are pretty easy to use. I am using Wix, which many of my classmates are using as well. My website is something I can link to my resume. There, I can put all of the aforementioned things: my contact information, resume, artistic statement, photos or video clips from performances, modeling pictures, and even writing samples.
Overall, there’s no single correct way to market yourself, and it’ll vary depending on what you are marketing yourself for. Just stay true to yourself and be honest about what you value and what you do.
