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I ALREADY KNOW THIS STUFF, LINK ME TO THE LABELS!
All of your hard work goes to waste if no one sees it or hears about it. If you want them to see it, you send invitations, if you want them to hear about it, you send a POSTCARD! And if you want to invite them to see your work in a timely fashion, you send POSTCARD INVITATIONS.
Mailing Labels are SO IMPORTANT to your creative career. Every time you have even a small bit of creative success, it's important to let those who are important to your career to know about it.. It's called industry publicity, and by sending to agents, managers, and casting directors, producers and directors, you are notifying them that you are working on building a career and that you are SOMEONE TO WATCH!
Did you book a film? A TV guest role? An Indie Film? A commercial? A student film? A one-person show? A play? A showcase? THAT'S the time to send out postcards to those who can effectively help your career forward. Then, when you meet them, you will find that they ALREADY know who you are. It's no surprise.
Did you know that over 30% of roles for episodic television and feature films are booked by talent who don't have an agent? It may be surprising, but those day-player roles are consistently booked directly through the talent. Most of the leading roles, however are booked through agents. Not all, but most. So your AGENT is your partner in your career, and it's good to send to agents to get them excited about you so that you can find a PASSIONATE partner to help you along in your path.
We, at Actorsite, always recommend POSTCARDS because you can tell your story and show your headshot on one side of the card, and put your resume on the reverse side, plus place your mailing label. For examples, check out our POSTCARD area.
To send to Agents, it's good to follow up with a headshot and resume, but to gain their interest and let them know that you exist, the postcard is quicker, tells a more compelling story, and is cheaper to deliver. Plus you can tailor your message many times and woo the agency over time. You also can send a headshot/resume and a reel...the postcard creates the interest.
To send to CASTING DIRECTORS, it's best to postcard because they are so busy that they don't have the time to look at headshots and resumes sent in that are a submission for a particular role.
To send to MANAGERS, it's a good way to nurture a relationship by sending postcards which update the "heat" that you are creating in your career. You can also send a headshot/resume and a reel...the postcard creates the heat, though.
Here are some of our AGENT LISTS:
First the SAG FRANCHISED LABELS is a big list of over 140 agencies of mixed levels. It's MOST LIKELY that you will get called in if you send to this list, since the SAG FRANCHISED agencies are generally the smaller and lesser known agencies. Send them a postcard talking about your successes and also a headshot/resume and you are likely to get called in from this list.
Second: the Association of Talent Agencies LABELS is more the A-list of agencies, since these agencies have been in the business longer and are more well established. These agencies are LESS LIKELY to call you in from your first mailing, but MORE LIKELY to open major doors for you...This list definitely includes the players in Hollywood. Send postcards over time to nurture a relationship with these agencies.
We have the TMA MANAGERS LABELS which is those managers who are members of the Talent Managers Association. This is a group of managers of mixed levels who advise and counsel creative artists of all types, including actors.
Here are some of our CASTING DIRECTOR LISTS: Please keep in mind that many actors report success on each of these lists, and if you send to them when you have GOOD NEWS to announce, it creates demand for your creative services.
EPISODIC TELEVISION LABELS: This is a list of currently busy Casting Directors working on Television shows. This list peaks in March and is at it's lowest level in MAY, so it is constantly being updated and changed with those offices. For those of you who don't know, EPISODIC SEASON is the busiest and longest season in HOLLYWOOD, and begins in JULY and runs to the END OF MARCH each year. Then there is the episodic hiatus time until JULY again. We recommend that you postcard to these offices every three weeks during episodic season...BE BUSY and TELL THEM ABOUT IT.
COMMERCIAL CASTING DIRECTOR LABELS: This list is fairly consistent throughout the year with a few changes each month as Commercial CD's move around.
FEATURE FILM CD LABELS: This list is compiled on a MONTHLY basis and features offices currently casting feature film projects. Feature Film CD's when they are casting those smaller roles, respond to postcards and headshots sent directly to them...even if you don't have an agent.
TO RECAP: Send postcards and send them often expressing your excitement about your creative career...Remember, work begits work, and if you can work consistently at the student film level, you can work at the indie film level and on up to the major FEATURES and EPISODIC TELEVISION. If you can work at the waiver or n/u theater level, you and work you way up...if you can put up a workshopped one person show, you can star in a television show or movie...and postcards let the world know that you can do this...