Which Are The Sure Ways To Promote Yourself As An Actor?

The Actor

Here are the ways to promote yourself as an actor

There are a number of ways of getting your name out there and I am only going to touch on a few.
As an actor, you are a product, like any other product. You have to market yourself. It is a sad reality that some of the most talented actors I know never make it anywhere. One film or one serial and they disappear! They feel awkward marketing themselves. You can be the best actor in the world but if you don't get out there and let the world know you exist, then you better find another line of work.

•  Acting Classes

Take acting classes. Develop your talent. Develop your confidence. Get references and recommendations from your instructors. Some of the students in your class will likely have some success on stage and film, so they would be good contacts in the future for obtaining roles. Even if you have no actual stage or film experience, acting classes are useful on your resume.

• Plays

Audition for as many plays as you can.

• Commercials and other television ads

START SMALL!! Do not hesitate to go for auditions for TV ads and print. Many of top actors have started their career with small opportunities on television and print. Try for reality shows

• Film

Many independent film makers do not have theater backgrounds so they don't know any actors. Most good film actors come from live performance backgrounds, whether it be music, theater or stand-up comedy reality shows or ads.
Sometimes television productions or major films in the area, will look for extras or actors for small speaking roles. They might pay from Rs 1000-Rs5000 a day. Some independent films won't pay more than food, but having an example of your acting on film is great and if the film is included in any festivals so much the better.

• Web sites

Free website templates are available without their ads like Weebly
Promote yourself with your own personal website. Think about having a website to promote yourself. If you are eighteen or over, you can use your website like a portfolio. Put all your news, reviews and pictures on your site. Websites are a cheap and effective way of promoting your acting. Check out www.mackenziegruer.com or www.tonybabcock.com for examples of actor websites. Tony Babcock is an actor in Toronto, who creates websites for his fellow actors.
Keep your website updated. The more current your website is, the more likely you will have internet visitors.

•  Press Releases

Promote yourself with a press release, online. Send out press releases. They don't have to cost anything. There are free places to submit press releases to. Write it in the third person as would a journalist.  A press release acts as an advertisement for your website and for you. It will stay on the web for months like a signpost pointing people to your website. There are also press release distribution services such as Business Wire or Market Wire which can get your press release into the hands of newspaper journalists, television and radio personalities across North America. The costs are quite reasonable. But you do need to write something that looks like interesting news.

• Google Ads

Promote yourself with google ads. If you have a little money to purchase advertising, I would highly recommend Google Ads. The ads that you would use for promoting yourself would not cost very much, as that is not a highly-competitive advertising field. The benefit is great. You only pay when somebody clicks through to your site. Even if nobody does click through, the ads show up on search pages, websites and blogs. With Google Ads, hundreds of thousands of people can view your ad, even millions, if you run your campaign long enough. You only pay, when a visitor clicks through to take a look at your site. The advantage of advertising with Google is that they are the dominant search engine so more people will see your ad. Yahoo has a good advertising tool called Overture.

• You Tube, Vimeo and other video sites

Prepare your show reel. Ask your friend to shoot on a handy-cam. Write a 2 minutes monologue or a scene, rehearse and shoot. Promote yourself with these video uploading sites. These sites are a great way of promoting yourself and it is a very good way of judging how you come across to the viewing public. If people want to watch your You Tube Video you can easily tell by the number of views you get. If you don't get many views you are not doing something right. Do different videos until one hits a home run. If you have a website, you can put the You Tube link on your site.

• Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other social networking sites

Promote yourself on facebook and other sites
Facebook event pages and fan pages are great for getting a following. They take moments to set up, and are an easy way to let your friends know what you are up to in show business

In Summary

There are many different ways to promote yourself as an actor. Having a website in today's internet-savvy world is a good and affordable way of promoting yourself. Press Releases and Search Engine Ads are a cheap and effective way of letting people knows about you. Acting Classes are a good way of making contacts and developing your ability and self-confidence. Getting roles in film and theater is a good way of increasing your credibility with the public.
These social networking sites and You tube are great ways of letting the public know about you. It’s a great way of getting feedback.