The first two campaign types are traditionally how you will reach out if you don’t already have professional relationships with your target audience.
*Important reminder* You never want to write a postcard with the expectation of a reply. Most people working in entertainment won’t have the time to reply with an emoji or watch the videos you send. There will be times when they do, but it’s just like you driving by that billboard everyday. It’s the rare occasion that you do decide to try the burger that makes the campaign worthwhile.
INTRODUCING MYSELF - This is a very straight forward campaign type. Let people know a little bit about yourself. Talk about something you are proud of, or what kind of artist you are. Include a photo you feel represents you well, and a link to a professional page of yours. WeAudition, Actors Access, Casting Networks, IMDB, Backstage, Model Mayhem or even a personal website you have built. If you have an annual membership, you can embed a video on the ‘backside’ of the postcard. If you have a demo reel, great. If you don’t have a demo yet, maybe record a short greeting, or a skit you have filmed. Never include an audition you have self taped, though. It is not good form to do that, and most of the projects you auditioned for want the script and characters to remain a secret.
NEW IN TOWN - This is also an appropriate campaign to begin professional relationships, if in fact, you did just move to the same area where the Talent Reps or Casting Team are based. You can talk about the work you did in the area you moved from, and how the town differs from where you are now. It’s always interesting to learn where someone came from. It’s a good opportunity to find some common ground, because chances are, you will find others who are from that town, or went to that school. All of the other rules above apply.
Now, you don’t want to send introduction cards to the same people more than once. This is why we allow you to track your campaigns. It’s now time to move on to the other campaign types.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCE - If you are in a play, a short film, a television episode or a sketch that you want people to look out for, this is the right campaign for you. There is no guarantee that the Casting Person, Agent or Manager will read your postcard in time to catch your performance, but letting them know about it is just as good. They can always search for it online later if they have interest. But they know you are out there working!
UPDATE - This is the right campaign anytime you want to let people know you are getting closer to the date you move to town, or that you have just signed up for a new acting class, changed your look, gotten new photos, adopted a pet that is keeping you busy. Anytime you have a positive update in your career or personal life (to a certain extent - never TMI) this is the go-to campaign.
EXCITING NEWS - These are for the bigger things in your life and career. Things that if you were writing a letter, you would probably underline. You just got a new Manager, you booked a commercial, your photo is appearing in a magazine, you got married, had a baby, won an award, your child’s photo is going to be on the packaging of a new toy. Things that really make your day will probably make the day of the person receiving the news.
All of the above are considered CAMPAIGNS. They go out to a group of people and each campaign postcard you write appears the same to every recipient you choose to send it to.
PERSONALIZED CARDS
Next we have PERSONALIZED CARDS. These get sent to one person at a time and is where you write something specifically for that recipient.
THANK YOU - If a Casting Director has invited you to audition, if a Talent Rep took a meeting with you, if you read a book or essay they wrote that meant something to you, if you took their class, if they replied to your card with an emoji, if you heard them on a podcast or video series that you enjoyed…this is where you get to tell them it was meaningful to you.
CONGRATULATIONS - This is one of my favorite cards. Many people who work in the business but are not in front of the camera can be overlooked and underappreciated. And they work HARD! If you saw a movie they cast and you loved it, this is a great card to let them know you appreciated their work. If their client just got a cover of a magazine, or a write up in an article, or they are up for an award or just won an award. These are all occasions to reach out with a heartfelt congratulations. This is also one of the cards that is not about YOU. It’s about THEM. And we all need to practice that perspective sometimes.
SPECIAL EVENTS - This card will pop up for our annual subscribers whenever we are programming something outside of the usual campaigns. If an Industry Executive is guest hosting our podcast and wants to take questions from our Performers, this is a great opportunity. There will be a chance that the Executive will read your name, location and question on air if they choose to answer it. And if they do not choose the question to answer on air, they have still seen your photo, read your question and learned a bit about you. So it’s still a win. Also, if a Casting Director or Talent Rep ever reaches out to us to see new talent, this is the card you would fill out to respond. As Industry Inbox grows, we will find more and more ways for you to utilize these special event cards.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I really want to welcome you to Industry Inbox! We are so pleased to have you as a member and we are rooting for you and your career!
Respectfully,
Seth Coltan
back to ARTICLES