Because I am Terrible at Marketing ...

This week I watched an interview with Manager/Producer, Seth Jaret, on MyTeeVee.  He is currently focusing on New Media and creating webseries.  The whole interview is full of great information for any independent producers out there.

Throughout the interview he keeps bringing up the same thing: MARKETING.  He says marketing can be up to 2/3rds of your job as a producer.  This is something most creators forget about, because we are creators not business people.

I know this very well because I am one of those creative people lacking that business edge.  I am not a natural salesperson (I'm probably the exact opposite of "always be closing.")  It's one of the reasons why I am not great at typical networking. 

So, what do us creative-non-business-types do to get our work in front of the audiences we want?  Especially when we are low-budget producers who lack the funds for billboards and commercials?

Well, the wonderful thing about the internet is that it is very democratic.  Anyone can create something that can become a huge hit, but the downside of that is that almost anyone can create something - so how do you stand out among all the rest?

First, of course, you have to produce quality content.  But beyond that, Seth mentioned in the interview that on the internet it is often good to focus on developing work for a micro audience of really involved viewers.  After that, it's important to produce regular content to keep your audience interested. 

How do you build this micro audience?  As I said at the beginning of this, I am terrible at marketing ... so I don't have all the answers. 

I've noticed the people on Twitter who maintain a large quantity of followers tweet multiple times a day, often about the same sorts of things or at least in the same voice (for example: Patton Oswalt's tweets are comedic and the Dalai Lama is inspirational.)  On Tumblr, I've noticed the same thing.  Those who post regular content geared towards a specific theme are the ones with the most followers.

What I gather from this information is the importance of developing a brand and make sure you keep that brand clear across all your social networking sites.  And it's important to keep your followers engaged by creating new content often.

I wish I was better at selling myself since as an actor I am the product.  It's definitely something I am planning on working on more in the New Year.  Something to go on the goals list ...

What Class is Right for Me?

There are so many classes for actors in Hollywood that it's difficult to know which one is the right one for you.  There are business of acting classes, technique classes, and commercial classes.  Then if you decide to do a technique class, what kind?  Do you want a heavy Meisner class or lighter cold-reading class?

A newer phenomenon in the category of business of the business are these classes specifically geared towards marketing.  Some are taught by people who seem to have little to do with show business and can cost up to $500.  Of course, marketing is important and clearly these teachers are very good at marketing to actors since many are willing to pay the money to take these classes.  Perhaps that does translate for actors marketing to producers, but I'm suspicious.  A few of my friends have taken them and felt like they got a lot out of it.  But are these classes worth all that money?

The same thing can be said for lots of technique classes out there.  So, how do you know if a class is worth taking?

My recommendation is to try it out.  Most places allow you to audit a class for free (and in general if a place doesn't let you do that I would question if it was the right place for me.)  Even some of these marketing classes offer free tidbits online. 

I take every free class offered to me because one thing I believe in wholeheartedly is: free stuff is good. 

Try it out, see if the teacher is right for you.  What's good for me may not work for you, so you can't always just rely on what classes your friends adore.

Recently, I went to audit a commercial class and I knew pretty quick that I would not like this guy as a teacher, but plenty of others swear by him.  If I had just gone by recommendations I would be spending way too much money on a class I would hate.  That allowed me to find another class that was right for me.

Here are a few good websites to find free classes, but be warned some are just trying to sell you on a much larger class:
www.sagfoundation.org
www.actorrated.com
freeworkshops.info