Back from LA!

Ahoy, my friends!

I've been for a while without writing because I recently spent over a month in LA, and I'm writing to share with you the bounty of my trip. :)

As I've shared here, part of my unique trust in ships has to do with the fact that I've been called in from SOLELY those...across the country. By people I've never met before.

While I didn't get to meet those particular offices in person while I was in LA, I DID meet several more who recognized me from my efforts!

At a workshop, one CD stopped in the middle of her speech to a 30+-person class and said, "I know you! I get your postcards!" Another said that she always got my mail and always opened it. While doing drop-offs, yet another peered at me and said, "I know you, you've come in for us before, right?" 

These are just. Ships. Being sent 3,000 miles away to tremendously busy offices. My friends, your efforts will not be wasted--my experiences are totally proof!

I also maximized my trip by shipping every single week to my selected offices; did as many drop-offs as possible, and I also workshopped with 8 of my selected 11. :) Those touch-ins count as ships, too!

Now that I'm back with LOADS more goodies in my noggin, what questions might you have about my experience? Serve 'em up, friends!

Ahoy, mateys!

Jen

Answering YOUR Questions: Getting in Front of the Creative Team!

My gal Catherine Rogala asks: 

"As you know, I am on a quest right now to land the role of a life time in an upcoming movie. I have contact info for the producer and cd, but would like to also send my ships to the screenwriter and director. I can't find any contact info for them on imdbpro, only their agents. Any thoughts?"

I do indeed know, Catherine--and I'm so proud of you! (This amazing girl is giving her all for a plum role in the next HUNGER GAMES film. Check out her prowess here!) 

So here's the deal--there's definitely a chain of searching you can take into your own hands to get your footage/headshot to the right people! So let's start with IMDBPro, which you noted. 

-IMDBPro has their agencies and managers. This will be the last resort, so keep it in your back pocket.

-Time to see if they're on Twitter. Google their name "Joe Smith" + Twitter to see what comes up. The director had an immediate hit and the writer does not. No problem! Moving on! :D

-Time to see if they're on FB. (Check both fan pages and personal accounts.) And always ignore the community pages with no pictures; those are akin to wikipedia entries. The writer isn't on, and the director doesn't seem to be, either. 

-Check for blogs that they may write.  I couldn't find either for these guys, but that's okay.

So you have one Twitter account! Bully! Need more? Let's think outside the box...

What about their IMDBPro History? If they've been around for a while, earlier productions may have been with their own production company, meaning that the contact info goes to them. Sniff out their history and if the contacts match. Also, the director is the Exec. producer on TOUCH--what about sending to their production offices as a backup? 

Also, check in with any IMDBPro 'friends' in common--the director and I have one friend that links KINGS and KING KELLY! Not sure if he met him properly, but it's a shot, right? 

What about the Production Company? Chances are that the writer and director will be in that space a LOT throughout pre-production, so definitely target that solid place with a solid address! (Also, there are apparently *2* production companies...so you can target Lionsgate, also! "Director, c/o Lionsgate...")

And if you feel like you've exhausted the possibilities online...what about the phone?

Who could you call? You could call Color Force-- "Hi there, my name is Catherine Rogala, and I'm looking to get my materials to director so-and-so for the role of _____ in HG:CF. How can we make that happen?"

You could *definitely* call their managers/agents and ask for the most direct way to get in touch!--
"Hi there, my name is Catherine Rogala, and I'm looking to get my materials to director so-and-so for the role of _____ in HG:CF. I haven't had much luck finding his contact info--how open would you be to referring me to the best possible way to get these to him?"

You're on FIRE (CATCHING fire, you see what I did there?!), Catherine! Keep making bold moves and the universe will bring it back to you! 

Ahoy, Mateys!
Jen 

Resume Feng Shui

(All this is credited to the wonderful and magical Bonnie Gillespie, who you can and probably should follow, read, love, etc.) 

Bonnie covered a really wonderful topic forever ago, and she called it 'Resume Feng Shui.' She wrote it years ago, but I find it's an essential lesson with virtually every actor I know--especially those preparing for their 'tier jump,' 'quantum leap,' or otherwise GIANT STEP UP. :)

So what is resume feng shui? Go on and read the article--but here's the essence of it: Your resume needs to show who you are RIGHT NOW and WHERE YOU'RE GOING. Sure, the actual timeline of the resume is where you WERE, but how the heck does that serve the people who are casting you NOW? This is especially true for older actors (whose treasured credits were in an entirely different 'type'), as well as young actors fresh out of college (who are holding onto fun credits that were WAY too old for them).

Hey, I'm a character actress--I get it! I was playing adults while I was in high school! Or if you killed as Juliet years ago, I bet you totally nailed it--but the person reading your resume isn't going to know how to cast you, since even YOU don't showcase the roles that are appropriate for you. The goal is to sweep out the credits that are there for sentimental value--those are special to YOU, and nothing can make them go away. But they don't belong on your resume. <3 

Also, don't be afraid of white space. I know it looks like you haven't done anything--but the real principle (and something that's been a lesson everywhere)--make room in your life for bigger, better things. Literally! Make ROOM! The good stuff has to displace something else, it has to replace the lesser stuff--so REMOVE the lesser stuff to invite that goodness and abundance into your life, your career, and your resume. 

Let me show you how I feng-shui'd the crap out of my old resume (circa Sept. '10). Here's the original resume:

There's a lot there, right? That's a heavy-handed resume, hard to digest. This is also VERY theatre-heavy, and I want to focus on TV and film (and now have substantially more on-camera credits to fill this up). Here's how I tear it apart:

And the final product? A VERY clear resume that shows where I'm going and what I'm currently excelling in. 

So what are you waiting for? Get some spring cleaning done, feng shui your resume and allow the good energy to flow into your career! 

Ahoy, Mateys!

Jen

Answering YOUR Questions: THE VLOG!

Introducing to Ships Ahoy... VLOGS! :D 

The maiden vlog guest is my dear friend Suzanne Smart, who asks:

"What's the best way to track one's marketing so that it becomes like a machine?"

Enjoy! :D

Ahoy, Mateys!

Jen

Answering YOUR Questions: Help! My Branding Lacks Consistency!

A question from the lovely Jamison Daniels:

"I'm working on locking in on my brand and finding my online voice! Any suggestions? #ifeellikeilackconsistency Your thoughts?"

Awesome, Jamison! We're gonna dive deep here, so wear your swimmies! 

Friends, I did a Branding 101 article, but it was more about how to create your branded zinger line (those of you familiar with Sam Christensen have PLENTY of these to choose from, and all are wonderfully compelling!) than about first getting your overall marketing feel.

So locking in your brand is exactly how you explained it, Jamison--it's creating a unified voice that echoes across your online presence, your headshot, your work, and your hard-copy ships. Like the biggest brands out there, there's no question WHO is speaking when you read a tweet/blog/see a clip/etc. And it's just darn hard for us to do that, as spirits, as souls, as human animals; as people with a zillion different moods at any given time. And--to add to this!--as actors who INSIST, "BUT I AM AN ACTOR AND CAN PLAY ANYTHING!" So we keep trying to pull back and be malleable, but what we REALLY do is muddy up others' perception of our brand and send them packing.

As I'm sure it will not surprise you, Dallas Travers has an incredible tool for this. :D One that FLIPPED my idea of marketing into a totally understandable, fun territory! In her article she calls it her Target Audience; she's also referred to it as her Marketing Magnet. It is most favorite tool I've ever learned from her, and it's totally illuminating. Let's go through it!

1. You don't have to market to everyone. Just. One. Person. You want as authentic and unfiltered a version of YOU as you can possibly offer. To keep this pure, you must imagine you're marketing to a single, perfect person; your very biggest fan in the world. Who would love you most? Someone you know? A fictional character? A celebrity? Your mom? Whoever it is--whoever resonates with you SO MUCH that they can't not be your biggest fan--they're your 'marketing magnet.'

2. Spoiler Alert: This might be VERY frustrating. I've seen a LOT of actors have difficulty with this exercise; sometimes it nearly stagnates them! Or for some it's clear immediately, the way it was for me. Either way, accept and welcome however you deal with it--you will come through with clarity!

3. Got that Magnet? COOL. (Yeah, it's okay if there's a huge time lapse here.) Now it's time to figure out HOW to market to your magnet!

4. Flesh out your Magnet's daily life. Consider every possible thing about this person. Likes, dislikes, favorites; the way their home looks, the car they drive, the magazines they read and the music they listen to; the foods they eat. Write it all down and get really specific. The way that we know Bart Simpson reads MAD magazine and how we might assume Julia Roberts listens to Norah Jones. The way we imagine Johnny Depp's bedroom looks. The way you imagine Tom Hanks' office looks. Your mom's new recipes she can't wait to try out! Yeah, get it ALL out.

5. Use these clues to tap you into HOW to market to your magnet. So, if someone's magnet was Donald Trump, what would draw him? I'll guess rich colors (dark reds, navys, hunter greens), heavy card stocks, gold leaf, anything financially-based (a one-sheet based on Money magazine? Or Fortune?); designs that felt aristocratic and Ivy League. Right? Wouldn't he LOVE to open something like that? Or if Julia Roberts were to look at your website, wouldn't she ADORE all those warm, feminine autumnal colors and that sort of whimsical-but-practical-woman font that you've chosen? ;) And for both examples, you'd also use verbiage that would appeal to each. Use these clues to figure out how to best design both your ships AND your online presence. 

6. Get creative! MAKE some ships; design your website; make a Twitter background! ALL using colors, themes, fonts, blurbs and verbiage that resonates with your magnet. Share articles and videos on FB or Twitter that your magnet would love! Get postcards of places your magnet would like to go; buy stickers that your magnet would love. EVERYTHING you create is to please them, got me?

7. Stay consistent! (Are you surprised?) As the theme here seems to be, consistency is king. :D  STICK TO IT! We all know and respect a brand that stays consistent and strong, even if it's not 'for us.' I don't drink Mountain Dew, but I can sure as hell describe everything about it and point out people who DO love it. That's the power of their marketing. Be consistent with your message! 

And the biggest part here is the spoiler. So you'd better not read it until you've done 1-7.

Okay?

8. Notice anything strange about your magnet? Yeah, me too. I don't think I need to tell you that your magnet is pretty much you, in a super-marketable nutshell. It's hard to look at ourselves objectively and see what a pure brand we are; it's much easier to do that through the mental re-routing of your magnet. And as you get more and more comfortable marketing under the safety umbrella of your magnet, you'll realize that it's a beautiful, unfiltered and totally authentic sharing of YOU. Exactly like your marketing should be. ;)

How'd you like them apples, Jamison? How about y'all, readers? Comments, questions, successes, difficulties? Share with me--I'd love to celebrate you or help you out! Here, FB or Twitter! :D

Oh, and BT-dubbs? My magnet is the Muppets. As I'm sure you won't be surprised. ;)

Ahoy, Mateys!

Jen