Why I Love Dallas Travers

YES JEN, WE KNOW YOU LOVE DALLAS. You quote her in every entry, tag her up and down, and even designed this whole biz off a concept that she introduced to you.

WHY MORE DALLAS!?

Because I think you guys need to know how brilliant she is, as WELL as how wonderfully committed she is to helping our ilk: 

I just adore her. :) Isn't it so nice to have someone so steadfastly on your team?

Ahoy, Mateys!
Jen 

Answering YOUR Questions: How Important is Getting Focused?

Matt Wilder is one of my very best friends. We talk shop about our careers all the time, and now he asks: 

"How important is it to decide upon your #1 dream genre?"

[To clarify, he means picking hosting, musical theatre, improv, sitcoms, indie films, etc.]

Matt, I think that your focus is EXTREMELY important. And as a heads-up to you all, I'm going to be straight up channeling Dallas Travers right now. 

See, NOT having focus leaves your action very scattered. When you take scattered action, you don't really get anywhere; you put a lot of energy into a lot of areas, and none of them show much progress. I read a great quote today that I am going to totally misquote right now because I can't find it:

"If you want to make a real dent in what you love, stop making tiny taps everywhere else." Dallas' mantra "Do less more often" can also apply here--choose one goal and WERQ THAT MOTHER OUT.

See Matt, because here's the magic in what happens--yes, I want you to get SUPER LASER FOCUSED and pick just *one* goal and put all your energy towards it. Yes. Do that. BECAUSE.

The MAGIC is that--after you've spent so much joy and life force putting yourself out there in bold new ways, you will attract ALL KINDS OF JOBS. A perfect example is that MY big goal is to have my own sitcom--but what do I attract? Indie films, cable dramas, theatre, etc. (AND sitcoms.)

Just because you put all your focus somewhere doesn't mean it's the ONLY bounty you'll reap; the Universe will bring you so much wealth from other areas that it won't matter that they're not your main focus. Was FRANNY *not* the highlight of my life just because sitcoms are my goal?! 

I ask you to have the bravery to focus and take decisive, consistent, bold action on ONE goal. I know that if you do that every day and keep trusting in your journey, you will see beautiful results!

What do YOU guys think? Have you found that laser-focus helps or hinders your career? Please let me know in the comments, FB or Twitter!

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

Answering YOUR Questions: Marketing for the Beginner Actor

Robert Montgomery asks: "My question is, as an actor just starting out, where do you begin with marketing?" 

An excellent question, since most of the information I distribute here is for the established actor! But in a way, you're in a great position--you have the opportunity to start off on the right foot, versus doing years of crappo marketing the way that most of us do before we get it right. ;)

(And Robert, you may have done a number of these steps already, but I'm just gonna start from square 1!)

1. Get clear on what you want to do. It might seem like you're limiting your options. Actors, especially new ones, love being open to whatever is brought their way! We love theatre! We love film! We love commercials! We love voice-overs! But the downfall here is that we master none of these things; we so widely disperse our seeds of focus that nothing can be sown. So imagine your IDEAL career--mine is to be a series regular on a sitcom--and make that your focus. 

2. Get some killer headshots, with your focus in mind. Do headshot research--specifically, who's really good at photographing your type. Then book them. Then take shots that (1) reflect your brand well, and (2) target your dream jobs. I'm not going to use this headshot to reflect my career goals, know what I mean? Read this before the shutter clicks!

3. Choose your target list. If you're starting out, you're likely unrepresented--and that's totally cool. Being your own agent can be quite freeing and exciting! You chose WHERE you'd direct your energy; now it's time to decide to WHOM. If you chose off-Broadway theatre, who's casting those shows? Write down all the CDs, then pick a maximum of 12 (and pick the ones who cast the most, of course!). This is your target list. Cozy up, you're going to work on getting very intimate with them! (Ack! You know what I mean.)

4. Keep practicality in check. Yeah, if you're BRAND new, you're probably going to need to get your feet wet before you get some good traction in your career. That's okay! While your target list gets familiar with you, now is the time to take classes and do (likely) unpaid work--webisodes, non-union jobs, maybe community theatre; student films, too. 

5. Start sending those ships. If you're brand-spankin'-new, order some simple headshot postcards and send updates like, "Charming, Effervescent Character Dumpling is new in town and taking sketch comedy classes over at PIT! I'll invite you to our next industry night!" Don't get discouraged by your lack of experience; you're laying important groundwork for when you DO have a killer resume! Without credits you can also send one-sheets, castability sheets, press releases...you can do all kinds of ships without a packed resume!

6. Get face-time as much as possible. Again, you may not be able to get into big TV auditions, but if you're getting really good, it would be great to get in front of your targets and show them your chops. These are workshops, and they can be either very beneficial or a giant waste of dough. You're much more likely to reap their rewards if you, again--STAY FOCUSED. Don't workshop with anyone who's not on your list! Even if you have no resume, if they like your work and you're appropriate for a role, they may call you in. 

7. You've got the flow, now stay consistent. Don't add or subtract from your target list, yet. Stay steady and mail to them every month. Need help with creating compelling ships? Just ask me! But you can absolutely find something relevent to send or say on a monthly basis, even as a newbie.

8. In the meantime, build your empire. Create a web presence. Contact a great web designer (ask your actor friends who they love; I adore Erin at The Actors' Enterprise) to design a simple site for you. Open social media accounts--Twitter, Facebook Fan Pages, YouTube. Film yourself doing sides and put it on your channel! Start a blog! Create a presence and find your peers. :)

Hope this was helpful, Robert! :) What questions do YOU have, readers? Did you love this? Need more guidance? Let me know in the comments, FB or Twitter! 

Ahoy, Mateys!

Jen

Answering YOUR Questions: One-Sheets!

(When is it your turn? When you ask me a question, silly. Get on that!)

My new friend Kate O'Phalen says:

"Your one-sheet looks totally awesome. Have been meaning to make my own, but feel a bit overwhelmed with where to start. Tips on that would be awesome!"

The one-sheet to which she is referring is this one:

Create

So Kate, how do you get from desire to product? (Well, first of all, with pulling my hair out over my first one-sheet last year---but after that, it was cake!)

Big Things to Have in Place Before You Start:
 -Your Brand. Definitely Absolutely. Your ANGLE. Don't have that yet? Here's some help. 
-Your Message--maybe it's your first guest star or off-Broadway show? Maybe a first starring role? My news on this is that I'm basically sweeping film festivals--so I keep the news about films!
 -Your Creative Bent. Is your one-sheet gonna be a sort of ad, like mine? Is it going to look like a magazine cover? Maybe it looks like a news article, or like a scrapbook or collage! Whatever your approach is, GREAT--just go forth with it in mind!
 -Your preferred software. Most of you folks will be on Macs--in that case, Pages is the shizz. If you're a PC like me, you can either create giant graphic files or use MS Publisher.

So let's assume all that IS in place. You're rock-solid about your brand, you have a clear message, and you have some creative ideas about what you want to do. Really, brand should steer you entirely. So if you're doing a magazine cover, what mag is on-brand for you? Is it Essence, or GQ, or MAD magazine? Is it Tiger Beat or Simple Living? Or maybe O! Go with fonts, colors that feel like the magazine (which, of course, means they're on-brand for you). Introduce clever article blurbs that relate to you--your jobs, your personality, your castability or interesting talents.

My dear friend Suzanne Smart is a KILLER baker, so hers is modeled after a Bon Appetit magazine index page. Marissa Kelton's simply looking for a job--so hers looks like job applications! Shamia Casiano here looks like hers should be gracing a SAG or AFTRA newsletter cover! My silly friend Natalie Kim makes hers seem like an interview in a magazine. Find even MORE examples in Dallas Travers' FB photos.

Oh, and one more big thing--don't feel like you need SO much content to do these! :) They should be really easily digestible. Just little blurbs and pictures here and there, as long as they're super on-brand and sending an authentic message. You'll know you got it right when you swell with pride just looking at them!

Does that help, Kate? Readers, what do you think? Let me know in the comments, on FB or Twitter!

And psst...if you STILL feel lost? No worries! I make killer one-sheets! Just ask! :)

Ahoy, Mateys!

Jen