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