July is finding your market month at TAM, so we have 4 weeks of marketing tips about that.
Part I – Focus on one thing
Part II- What is your niche/brand? What makes you unique?
Part III – In what media are you most likely to be booked?
Part IV – Where should you be to work the most?
The whole point behind finding your market is to make your career more successful and your life easier. Why struggle? If you focus on the one thing you do best-and perfect that, you will develop a niche, a market entirely your own, for which you are known. And that, is the key to creating a successful career.
Examples? – Robin Williams and Jerry Seinfeld both did stand-up comedy for a number of years before being offered sitcoms which led to being offered films. Their strength was comedy but it opened doors to amazing careers because they just focused on one thing until they were really excellent at it.
Bebe Neuwirth and Kristen Chenoweth are both singers/dancers as well as good comediennes. They booked broadway shows which led to getting work on sitcoms which led to where they are now- film and TV work. Some of the highest paid actors in NY and Hollywood began as models or doing commercials until they were really good at it and making a living working on camera.
That skill led to getting work on Soap Operas, Primetime TV and major feature films.
So, the trick here is to focus- Choose one thing (one of many of your talents, I’m sure) and do it repeatedly. If you spend your time and energy going in many directions- grabbing every audition for everything in every media trying to just be a “working actor” you will probably succeed at just that, working ….but not succeeding at your highest potential. Instead narrow down your choices in the order of your priorities. What will make you extremely happy if you could be doing it everyday?
WARNING: If your answer is-”Whatever makes me the most money so I can buy my parents a house, get an expensive car, not have to have a day job and buy a lot of great things!” – think again. There are easier
ways to become rich and amass a lot of stuff other than struggling to be a movie star. What you do every day that inspires you, makes you joyous – that’s a successful career and life.
Answer these 3 Questions and you’ll be clear about that one thing.
1. What do you do best? What do you love (or why did you become an actor)?
2. In what media do you work the most right now? (theatre, musical theatre, commercials, daytime, primetime, film, voice -overs, sketch comedy or improv)?
3. Where are you most comfortable auditioning and performing? (on stage, in front of a camera, in a recording studio, with a band, in a comedy club)?
OK, here’s the follow through for that one thing:
Make a list of the top 3 medias in which you would love to be working all the time. Then, follow through with #1 on your list. Spend most of your time learning that craft, studying with the top masters in that media, taking every course and workshop with those top masters, hanging around that theatre or studio, learning, absorbing, meeting, networking, developing your one thing- with an obsession- 24/7. Breathe it, live it, taste it, become a clone of
the masters, see how they got there, ask questions, ask them to be your mentor, assimilate. No other profession requires this much commitment. Doctors, lawyers, businessmen/women-they
need education, training and have to work hard but they don’t have the same level of competition as you. They can get jobs right out of school-you have to fight, focus and be the absolute best in
the audition if you want to just get one little booking-not even a full time job! And then you have to do it again the next day and the next to create a career. It’s a lot tougher for you.
But if you follow though as above, guess what will happen? You’ve just set yourself up for that golden opportunity- the “door-opener” that will jumpstart your career. Being around “greats”, being in the right place at the right time with the right skill set is creating your own lucky break. Believe me, it happens!
Successful Marketing!
Gwyn
